Inflation in Illinois: New report finds nearly half of residents struggle to pay bills

In the Chicago Metro area, prices this past March were up 7.8% from a year ago, according to the Consumer Price Index.

Photo by Dawn McDonald on Unsplash

(CHICAGO) If you've noticed your household bills are up lately, you're not alone. Everything seems to cost more these days. And Americans are struggling to pay for it all, according to the latest report from QuoteWizard, a LendingTree company.

According to the new report, 45% of Americans report having a "difficult time" paying for their usual household expense. And 15% said they are having a "very difficult" time.

Last year, 50% of Americans said they had no trouble paying household bills. This year, it's 40%.

The report breaks it down by state.

In Illinois:

• 49% of residents said they have "slight to moderate difficulty."
• 12% having a "very difficult time", an increase from 8% a year ago.

"Rising prices have affected each state differently. The number of people who are really struggling is up 100% or more in 18 states and in some states it's up by more than 200%," said Nick VinZant, Sr. Research Analyst with QuoteWizard by Lending Tree in a press release.

Inflation in Chicago

According to the Consumer Price Index published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, overall prices in the Chicago Metro area rose 7.8% in March from the previous year. Prices were up 1.4% from the past month.

Rising prices in the Chicago/Naperville/Elgin area:

• Food prices increased 9.4% overall in March from last year. Groceries were up 10.2%, with restaurants and take-out food up 7.8%.
• Energy prices were up 12% in March from the previous month and 33.7% from the prior year. The culprit was skyrocketing gas prices. The cost of gas jumped up by 20.3% in one month and 48.5% in the year.
• New and used car prices were 16.8% higher in March than the previous year.

Inflation rising everywhere

It's not only the Chicago area struggling with inflation and finding themselves paying more for usual household items.

According to QuoteWizard, "Changing economic conditions are making it more difficult for people to afford household expenses. Our team of analysts found that the number of people who said they were having a “very difficult” time paying for their usual household expenses has increased by 85% since June."

******

Have you tried the NewsBreak mobile app yet? (Full disclosure: I get a small commission if you click my referral links.) Download the NewsBreak App to get local news conveniently delivered to your phone.