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The Paddock Viaduct, also known as the Main Street Viaduct, goes over the West Fork of the Trinity River north of downtown Fort Worth. (Rodger Mallison | Fort Worth Report)
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The Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex recently ranked first in the nation for metrics analyzing inflation rate trends.

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and a study from WalletHub showed North Texas’ increased costs. However, experts described high inflation as a double-edged sword that heavily impacts consumers but also speaks to the area’s business growth.

The study analyzed regional consumer price index, which is the primary measurement for inflation and details changes in costs for several goods and services. The regions in the study are 23 metropolitan statistical areas in the country. Dallas-Fort Worth ranked second in both consumer price index increases from March to May and in the increase over the last year.

Consumer price index increased 5% in the Dallas-Fort Worth area from May 2023 to May 2024. Over the same period, the national average for all urban consumers increased 3.3%.

The difference between the national and local average is because of the area’s exponential growth, said Eddie Broussard, president of the Fort Worth market at UMB Bank. 

“It just seemed like Texas was kind of an outlier from a growth standpoint,” Broussard said. “I mean, other parts of the country are growing OK, but Texas has been and continues to grow at an amazing rate. And I think that drives that higher inflation.”

The Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex also reigns supreme in Texas. The Houston metropolitan area ranked last out of the 23 cities in the study and saw a 2.1% increase in inflation over the same 12-month span. 

The difference is because of North Texas’ business diversity, Broussard said. 

“There’s so many other things going on that historically wouldn’t have happened or are not really happening in Houston or Austin,” Broussard said.

Another aspect of local inflation is the cost of housing. In the consumer price index, housing accounted for over 36% in May 2024. 

Median housing costs in Fort Worth increased over 47% from $235,000 in June 2019 to $346,000 in June 2024, according to Redfin.

“If our housing prices are going up, then our inflation would be going up faster,” said John T. Harvey, an economics professor at Texas Christian University.

Edgar Escoto, a Tarrant County native who works in corporate finance, said everything — from groceries to gas — is more expensive.

Escoto also invests in real estate, and housing is probably the best indicator of the change in cost, he said.

“I remember in 2004, when my family first moved to Texas from California, houses were very cheap,” Escoto said.

National inflation has seen spikes in the last couple of years. Over a 12-month span ending in June 2022, the consumer price index for all urban consumers saw an increase of 9.1% — the highest increase over a year-long period since 1981. 

Contributing factors included Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and spending sprees at the tail end of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research.

Inflation nationally has decreased in several sectors since the inflation peak in June 2022, Harvey said.

Despite the negative connotations around increased inflation, the business growth and housing demand in the North Texas region is positive, Harvey said.

“It is a side effect of an otherwise positive economic event, and that is that people are being attracted to this area,” Harvey said.

Ismael M. Belkoura is a reporting fellow for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at ismael.belkoura@fortworthreport.org. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.