Latest / Wages and Prices with Fexingo: Cost of Living, Pay Raises, and Workers' Purchasing Power
How Your Raise Is Finally Outrunning Rent Prices
In episode 49 of Wages and Prices, Lucas and Luna examine a long-awaited shift in the cost-of-living landscape: for the first time in three years, average hourly earnings are growing faster than rent. Using May 2026 data—average hourly earnings at $37.50 and CPI shelter index up just 3.8% year-over-year—they unpack why rents have decelerated while wages keep climbing. The hosts explore the role of new multifamily supply hitting the market, softening demand from remote-work normalization, and what this means for workers in high-cost cities like Austin and Phoenix. They also look ahead: if the…
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