A new analysis of nearly two dozen U.S. metropolitan areas is providing a snapshot of “cities with the biggest inflation problems,” and it’s not a pretty picture for Detroit.

“To determine how inflation is impacting people in different parts of the country, WalletHub compared 23 major MSAs (Metropolitan Statistical Areas) across two key metrics related to the Consumer Price Index, which measures inflation,” the personal finance website reports. “We compared the Consumer Price Index for the latest month for which (Bureau of Labor Statistics) data is available to two months prior and one year prior to get a snapshot of how inflation has changed in the short and long term.”

The results show the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn MSA ranks third in the nation overall with inflation at 3.5% over the last year, and a 1% CPI increase in just the last two months. Only the New York and Minneapolis MSAs were worse.

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Detroit’s two-month inflation rate was the second highest in the nation behind second-place Minneapolis and first-place New York City.

One expert who spoke with WalletHub pointed to government spending as the main driver of inflation in the U.S. generally.

“The main factors, in my opinion, are excessive government spending and the Federal Reserve’s purchase of treasury securities to finance such spending,” said Xu Jiang, professor at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. “The Fed’s balance sheet is now $8.9 trillion, compared to $870 billion before the financial crisis. When there is too much money in the economy, it inflates the price of everything, thus driving inflation.”

In Detroit, and Michigan in general, state policies are also contributing to higher costs.

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Since 2001, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has supported $16.2 billion in taxpayer funded corporate subsidies, including billions pumped into the electric vehicle industry since she entered the governor’s mansion in 2019.

Whitmer’s climate goals are also pushing up the cost of electrical service, with DTE demanding back-to-back double digit rate increases to generate $833 million the company claims it needs to comply.

Auto insurance reforms Whitmer claims “put money back in people’s pockets while helping to attract new businesses and jobs to our state” has contributed to the highest auto insurance rates in the nation, with Michigan motorists paying as much as 117% more than the rest of the country.

The governor, along with Democrats who gained a majority in the Michigan legislature in 2022 for the first time in 40 years, has also repealed the state’s right-to-work law, expanded prevailing wages, and nixed a scheduled tax cut – all changes economists and policy experts know drive up costs for both businesses and taxpayers.

Other pressures are coming from government inaction. Research shows Michigan’s terrible roads are cost motorists $17 billion a year in higher operating costs, traffic crashes, and congestion-related delays.

Despite Whitmer’s campaign promises to “fix the damn roads,” Michigan’s Transportation Asset Management Council contends they’re “deteriorating faster than the agencies can repair them.”

The leadership in Lansing is a big reason why more than twice as many Michigan CEOs predict the state’s economy will continue to decline through the second half of 2024 than those who expect it to improve.

Jeff Donofino, CEO of Business Leaders for Michigan, cited “persistent barriers to sustained long-term growth” when he announced that finding and others from a survey of members last week.

“Consumers and businesses are worried about increased costs, many of which can be impacted by state policies and talent shortages,” he said. “To grow our economy, Michigan needs to continue improving its competitiveness in job and business creation and talent.”

The “inflationary pressures” and waning interest in electric vehicles have convinced Stellantis and other Michigan companies to layoff thousands of employees in recent months, resulting in increasing demand at food pantries and thrift stores.

Statewide, at least 41% in Whitmer’s Michigan are now living paycheck to paycheck, unable to afford a “survival budget” that includes the basics like housing, child care, food, transportation and health care, despite working full-time.

In Detroit, where inflation is nearly the highest in the nation, it’s 69%.