Inflation hit Black and Hispanic families the hardest

We've all been affected by the rapid price increases that began in 2021, but Black and Hispanic families have felt the pinch the most.

That's according to a study released Wednesday by the New York Fed. In 2021 and 2022, the majority of Black and Hispanic families had above-average experiences, the report found. However, inflationary disparity has decreased as the price of gas and used cars has increased.

On average, different groups of people buy different amounts of different things, so price increases in different categories do not affect everyone equally. For example, Hispanic households spend 22% of their income on transportation, compared to 15% in Asian-American/Pacific Islanders. When prices started to rise, the two groups actually experienced different inflation rates, as the graph below shows.

People with different income levels also had different experiences during this inflation. Middle-income families were hit hardest initially (again, because they spent proportionally more on transportation), but the lowest-income 40% of households have been hit hardest in recent months, as inflation is now concentrated in housing and food. more than the budget of low-income families.

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