Georgia inflation
The Peach State, by the price tag.
Inflation in Georgia tracks the broader U.S. South. The Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell MSA has its own CPI series, published every other month. Below: how Georgia compares to the nation, what's driving prices, and whether wages are keeping up.
South region vs U.S. headline CPI
Year-over-year change in the Consumer Price Index. The South region (which includes Georgia) tracks the U.S. headline closely but is typically a touch hotter when gasoline and shelter spike, and a touch cooler when they cool.
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell CPI
BLS publishes Atlanta's CPI every other month (Feb, Apr, Jun, Aug, Oct, Dec) — one of only a handful of MSAs in the country with its own CPI series. Bars below show YoY change at each release.
What’s driving inflation
South-region CPI broken into spending categories. Year-over-year change at left; cumulative 5-year change at right. Bars colored coral for prices up, teal for prices down.
| Category | YoY | vs year ago | 5-yr |
|---|
Cumulative price level
Both series rebased to Jan 2020 = 100. This is the "how much have prices gone up overall" view — useful for comparing today’s prices to the pre-pandemic baseline.
Retail gasoline, regular unleaded
Monthly average price per gallon. The "South Urban" series is the closest BLS geography to Georgia — there's no GA-only monthly retail series. GA gas is consistently below the U.S. average thanks to lower state fuel taxes and proximity to Gulf Coast refining.
Real vs nominal wages (GA)
GA total-private average weekly earnings, year-over-year. "Nominal" is the raw dollar change; "real" deflates by the South region CPI to show actual purchasing-power growth. When the lines cross, prices are growing faster than paychecks.