Why does Tampa have the highest inflation in the nation?

Some U.S. cities are starting to have breathing room as once high gas prices have started to fall, helping to slow inflation. Several cities like San Diego, which cooled down to 7.3% from 8.3% in inflation rates, saw a break in skyrocketing prices due to declines in gasoline and used-car prices while other areas of the Consumer Price Index remained elevated.

But not all cities have felt that relief. The Tampa, Florida metro saw double-digit inflation of 11.2% in June compared to 11.3% in May, according to reporting from Bloomberg.

What's going on with inflation in Tampa?

According to reporting data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Tampa was the only metro city in the U.S. to have double-digit inflation. That makes Tampa's inflation rate nearly 3% above the national average of 8.5%.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the Consumer Price Index for Tampa rose 1.3% from May to July. The bureau also found that the city's food index rose 2.7% during the same period, while the energy index saw a 1.8% decline.

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Timothy Ewing, regional economist with the Bureau of Labor Statistics, said one of the biggest contributors to the high inflation rate was shelter.

"We're seeing the same thing in Atlanta and pretty much throughout the Southeast," he said. "Shelter has been one of the stickier points of inflation."

Why are so many people moving to Florida?

Tampa is also a highly sought-after relocation destination. It is the fifth most popular top metro that homebuyers are looking to relocate to, with most of its relocators coming from other cities in Florida, according to Redfin migration trends data from January.

Dalila Rouri, head of retail markets at BMO Harris Bank, said the Tampa metroplex has seen significant growth and growing competition because of this, creating a competitive housing market.

"When you combine the demand that results to inflationary periods, we'll see more of a pinch in areas like housing or even buying a car," Rouri said.

Roxanne Alexander is the senior financial adviser and partner at Evensky & Katz/Foldes Wealth Management. She said with people having the flexibility to work from home, or virtually anywhere, they're moving to Florida because of the fact that it never really "closed" for the pandemic and it has lower tax rates even for people making a six-figure salary.

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"A lot of tourism is also coming here and it's driving up the prices of goods," Alexander said. "The middle classes are the ones struggling to pay for putting fuel in the car, buying food and finding ways to lower their expenses."

Rouri said she advises people "to ask for guidance from a banker or a financial professional to be able to curb the impact of inflation."

Tampa sees high rent prices and lack of supply

Tampa has seen significant growth, more than the national average. But the increasing demand for affordable housing and rental prices doesn't meet the very limited supply of existing single-family homes and apartment complexes.

Ruth Bryson is the president of Greater Tampa Realtors. She said that while there are multiple developments for new apartment complexes across the metro area, they aren't being built fast enough to meet that demand.

"We have a severe shortage of housing," she said. "But there's a lot of push or resistance from within many communities to new projects."

Bryson said Florida has experienced seven straight months of population growth, forcing rents and home prices to continue getting higher. According to data from Apartment List, rent prices have increased nearly 28% since last year, with the average rent for available one-bedroom apartments at $1,897.

Bryson said so many people are moving to Tampa quickly that although builders are trying to construct apartments, the prices will only get higher.

"Building units faster is easier said than done," Bryson said adding that the crisis will continue until there are enough places to house the people moving to Florida.

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Bryson also mentioned that the end of the moratoriums and high rent prices have landlords wanting to cash in and try to make extra money to keep up. She said many short-term vacation rental landlords are turning their properties into full-term rentals to keep up with high inflation.

"These owners want to take advantage of the exorbitant rents," Bryson said. "Nothing is going to change until we build more units for people to live and it's not going to change as long as people continue to come here."

Sara Edwards is a consumer news intern at USA TODAY. You can follow her on Twitter @sedwards380.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Inflation in Tampa has become the highest in the US. But why Tampa?