INLAND EMPIRE – (INT) – Combined, Riverside and San Bernardino counties ended 2025 with the highest inflation rate among the nation’s metropolitan areas. San Diego was a close runner-up.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in its year-end report figured the energy index led the jump increasing 4.8 percent for the 2-month period ending in November. The index for all items less food and energy advanced 0.3 percent during the same period.

Regional BLS Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that the index for all items less food and energy advanced one-tenth-of-a-percent during the two-month period. The food index actually fell 1-point-2 percent.

Story Date: January 5, 2026