\n The cost of living in the US has risen for years, mainly driven by food and energy. But the culprit behind Seattle\u2019s sharp increase is energy \u2013 both gasoline and for the home.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cThat to me, is the whole enchilada, not to minimize the other stuff, like food,\u201d said Victor Menaldo, University of Washington professor of political science and expert on political economy. \u201cWe\u2019re very much into regulating energy in this state, whether for good or ill \u2013 I\u2019m not here to comment on that \u2013 but\u2026 we\u2019re starting from a higher base.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n Washington state\u2019s cap-and-invest program, for example, has limited carbon emissions but also been blamed for higher prices. A gallon of regular gas around Seattle currently costs about $5.30 on average<\/a>, more than a dollar above the national average.\n <\/p>\n \n Johnson makes more than $30 an hour, which in many parts of the country, is a decent wage.\n <\/p>\n \n But money is tight. Her utilities alone are about $200 per month on top of the $1,700 she pays in rent for the one-bedroom apartment she shares with her partner.\n <\/p>\n \n Utility costs are climbing nationwide as demand surges to feed energy-hungry data centers, and climate change spurs costly upgrades. The average rate for US residential electricity is up more than 6% over the past year, according to the EIA<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n \n In Seattle, electric bills for many residents have increased 48.5% since 2024, well above the national average, the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC) told CNN. Puget Sound Energy, a major provider, has requested additional rate increases for 2027 and 2029.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cAfter decades of relatively low utility rates supported by our inexpensive hydropower system and relatively mild climate, both the climate and rates are changing,\u201d a UTC spokesperson said.\n <\/p>\n \n So when gas prices spiked after the war in Iran began, Johnson not only changed her commute but considered a second job or seeking out a roommate for her and her partner.\n <\/p>\n \n The couple also no longer go out to eat, stopped planning trips and are limiting how much fresh produce they buy.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cIt makes it difficult to see a horizon where we can continue and be hopeful,\u201d she said. \u201cBecause right now, it\u2019s a thing where money is all that we can think about.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Even so, Johnson still takes pride in serving different exotic cuisines to tech workers, who sometimes take pictures and post her food on social media \u2013 a high compliment, she says.\n <\/p>\n \n But the dichotomy of experiences in one cafeteria is not lost on her. Johnson thinks the people she cooks for largely don\u2019t have to make the same tough choices.\n <\/p>\n \n Chris Elford, who owns a brewery and a cocktail bar downtown, has a lot of regulars who work at Seattle tech giants like Amazon and Microsoft. He said even tech workers aren\u2019t impervious to the city\u2019s rising cost of living.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cFor the first time in the almost 13 years that I\u2019ve lived in Seattle, I am noticing a culture shift in the tech people \u2026that they, for the first time, are also feeling vulnerable,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd it\u2019s not because they don\u2019t have money, like expendable income. It\u2019s because their jobs are no longer secure.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n In 2024, about 205,000 people in the Seattle area held \u201ccomputer and mathematical occupations,\u201d according to the US Census Bureau\u2019s American Community Survey, 11,000 fewer than the year before. Only California outpaced Washington for tech layoffs.\n <\/p>\n \n Elford said he can tell consumers are craving deals just by looking at how the Monday crowd at his brewery, Here Today, has grown 20% compared to last summer. Word has gotten out about Monday\u2019s $8 smashburger deal (usually priced at $16).\n <\/p>\n \n Then there\u2019s the Jell-O shots.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cI did not see myself at 43 selling the amount of Jell-O shots that I sell,\u201d Elford said.\n <\/p>\n \n He believes skyrocketing Jell-O shot sales are because people are looking for something fun and nostalgic, but also affordable. At $4 each, it\u2019s easy to buy a round for friends.\n <\/p>\n \n It\u2019s not just his customers. Like all restaurants and bar owners, Elford is also dealing with rising costs. He employs fewer people, and they don\u2019t go out after work as much.\n <\/p>\n \n He\u2019s also absorbed the more than 11%<\/a> rise in beef prices<\/a> over past year but may have to raise menu prices soon. And costlier citrus fruits mean certain drinks at his cocktail bar, Navy Strength, are now made with a shelf-stable \u201csuper juice\u201d concoction instead of fresh-squeezed limes.\n <\/p>\n \n While many are flocking to take advantage of an $8 burger, Alicia Roten\u2019s family is simply trying not to eat out at all. The cost of daily life in Lake Stevens, Washington \u2013 fuel, groceries, medications and children\u2019s formula \u2013 has added up.\n <\/p>\n \n Roten\u2019s oldest son has autism and Down syndrome. He\u2019s had 16 procedures in 4 years, so he requires specific medicines and trips to Seattle Children\u2019s Hospital for regular treatment.\n <\/p>\n \n The 70-mile roundtrip to the hospital now costs more due to higher gas prices. The price of benefit plans for Medicaid and Medicare have also gone up substantially.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cYou notice that every little bill goes up just 5% or 10%, and all of a sudden it adds up to just being more than you make,\u201d she said.\n <\/p>\n \n Roten\u2019s husband works as a general contractor. She, like her sister and her mother, works in the grocery business.\n <\/p>\n \n But things have changed. Her parents were able to buy a nice home in the Seattle area for $300,000 and still afford different extracurricular activities for her and her siblings.\n <\/p>\n \n Meanwhile, Roten and her husband are stretched thin, putting renovations of what was supposed to be a starter home on hold.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cHow could we have gone from that to this in one single generation? We\u2019re not high class, we\u2019re not low class, but there\u2019s so much of us in the middle that are just wondering where we fit into this equation,\u201d she said.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Seattle, WA\u00a0\u2014\u00a0 Britney Johnson has started setting her alarm for 3:50am. That\u2019s the only way she\u2019ll make it…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":801009,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[28,101],"class_list":["post-801008","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-economy","tag-business","tag-economy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/801008","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=801008"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/801008\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/801009"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=801008"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=801008"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=801008"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/gettyimages-2273295627.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Britney](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/britney-2.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/gettyimages-2258344211.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Chris](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/chriselford-sarahcass-02.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Alicia](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/alicia-2.jpg\")
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