Seattle-area prices jump nearly 5% from a year ago

The war in Iran has hit Seattle-area consumers' pockets as higher energy prices have pushed costs up across the board.

In the Seattle, Tacoma and Bellevue region, prices for goods and services rose 4.9% in April from a year ago, according to the latest consumer price index, published Tuesday. The increase marks the highest rate since August 2023.

That makes the Seattle area one of the hardest hit regions by rising costs over the last year. Nationwide, prices increased 3.8% year over year.

Excluding food and energy, prices in the Seattle area increased 3.8% in April from a year ago, exceeding the national average of 2.8%.

"We are now squarely above the national average," said Thomas Gilbert, an associate finance professor at the University of Washington. "Prices are growing up. Wages are not growing as fast as they used to, and this will continue to eat into people's budgets."

Most of the Seattle area's jump comes from massive spikes in energy costs since the war in Iran began, with prices up nearly 24% in April from a year ago.

Gas prices, specifically, increased by 29% from February to April.

That's likely unsurprising to consumers, who have watched gas prices tick up higher than $6 a gallon in many spots around the Seattle area.

After the U.S. and Israel struck Iran in late February, the oil-rich country retaliated by effectively blocking the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's busiest oil shipping channels. The blockage sent energy prices soaring with no end in sight. While a fragile ceasefire is in place, the strait remains effectively closed.

Although fuel prices make up the most noticeable shift, other prices are also rising.

The Seattle area saw the largest price jumps in apparel (15%), recreation (8%), produce (8%) and restaurant food (7%).

Gilbert attributes those jumps partly to the Trump administration's tariffs. The higher demand in a region where some high earners have plenty of money to spend is also a factor.

Business owners have seen their costs increase, "but what they're seeing is the customer keeps coming. So they keep raising prices," he said.

For folks who struggle to put food on the table, the rest of the year might feel even more challenging.

James McCafferty, director of the Center for Economic and Business Research at Western Washington University, said wartime fuel prices and tariffs will push up food prices in the months to come.

Rising transportation and fertilizer prices could cause food prices to grow as farmers' costs rise. (About one-third of global seaborne trade in fertilizers typically passes through the Strait of Hormuz, according to the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.)

"Over the next several months, these prices are going to ripple into almost all consumer products because they all can contain some form of petroleum, either in packaging, in the manufacturing process, (or) in transportation," McCafferty said.

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This story was originally published May 12, 2026 at 4:50 PM.