Cost of living rises slower in NC than national pace | Eastern NC Now

    Publisher's Note: This post appears here courtesy of the Carolina Journal. The author of this post is David Bass.

    North Carolina residents experienced a slightly lower inflation rate in January 2026 compared to the national average, according to the latest data from the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics released Feb. 13.

    The Consumer Price (CPI) Index for the Southern region - which includes North Carolina - increased by 1.9% over the past 12 months ending in January 2026. That contrasts with the 2.4% CPI recorded for the US overall during the same period.

    The CPI measures the average change over time in the prices paid by urban consumers for a market basket of consumer goods and services.

    The South's performance on the CPI was significantly better than that of the Northeast, at 2.8%, and the West, at 2.7%. The region even out-performed the Midwest, whose CPI was at 2.4%.

    "The latest CPI data show inflation in the South running below the national rate over the past year, both overall and on a core basis," noted Joseph Harris, fiscal policy analyst for the John Locke Foundation. "A steeper decline in gasoline prices than the national average helped pull the region's overall rate lower. That said, households are still feeling pressure from higher electricity, natural gas, and food prices, even as overall inflation continues to moderate."

    Breaking down the data, the "all items less food and energy" index - often referred to as core inflation, which strips out volatile food and energy prices - also showed a more favorable trend for the region. Nationwide, core inflation was up 2.5% over the past 12 months. But for the South, that figure was 2.0%.

    The more moderate trend in the South compared to other regions of the country extended to core inflation as well. The Northeast, Midwest, and West all saw core inflation at 2.7%, 2.7%, and 2.9%, respectively.

    Energy was a significant contributing factor to the South's lower cost of living. While the national energy index decreased a slight 0.1% over the past year, the South region experienced a larger decline of 1.0%. That was largely driven by a more substantial dip in gasoline prices in the South, which fell 9.0% over the 12-month period, compared to a 7.5% national decrease.


    Despite the regional advantages, some energy costs still climbed. Electricity rose by 6.4% in the South - nearly matching the national average of 6.3% - while prices for natural gas edged up 9.5% compared to the national average of 9.8%.

    Food price increases were largely consistent with national trends. The food index for the South Region rose 2.8% over the past 12 months, very close to the national 2.9% increase.

    Shelter costs, a major component of household budgets, also contributed to the South's comparatively lower inflation. The shelter index increased by 2.6% in the South over the last year, which was slightly less than the 3.0% recorded nationally.

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Now that President Trump is picking his cabinet and immediate staff to insulate him from the poor judgement of the Bureaucratic Class, while moving quickly to transition this Constitutional Republic unto a wise and sustainable direction: What is your immediate impression as to how our nation will prosper?

  We are headed toward a Golden Age in America's self-governed society.

  This will all wind up in a clustered mess since Trump is a Fascist, and thought to be the second coming of Adolf Hitler by our best journalists.

  This is a time where critical days lay ahead, where only wise and responsible decisions must be made to sustain US.

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