Data from the Economic Innovation Group's (EIG) Distressed Communities Index shows that as of 2023, local economies across America still hadn't fully recovered from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Average pay has actually gone up faster than inflation over that last year, and over the last four years, but that doesn't mean it's reached everyone. There was a two year period in the middle where inflation outpaced wages, but that effect was outdone by the other two years.