Prices in the San Diego area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 0.9 percent for the two months ending in May 2023, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that the May increase was influenced by higher prices for shelter. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U advanced 5.2 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Food prices rose 0.3 percent. Energy prices fell 7.9 percent, largely the result of a decrease in the price of gasoline. The index for all items less food and energy increased 7.1 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

View Chart Data

Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in CPI-U, San Diego-Carlsbad, CA, May 2020–May 2023

Month	All items	All items less food and energy
May 2020	0.3	0.9
Jul 2020	2.1	2.5
Sep 2020	1.1	1.5
Nov 2020	1.6	2.2
Jan 2021	1.7	1.5
Mar 2021	4.1	3.2
May 2021	5.3	4.3
Jul 2021	6.0	4.4
Sep 2021	6.5	4.7
Nov 2021	6.6	4.5
Jan 2022	8.2	6.0
Mar 2022	7.9	5.6
May 2022	8.3	5.8
Jul 2022	7.3	5.9
Sep 2022	8.2	7.6
Nov 2022	6.7	6.5
Jan 2023	6.4	6.5
Mar 2023	5.3	6.7
May 2023	5.2	7.1

Food prices rose 0.7 percent for the two months ending in May. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home rose 0.9 percent, led by higher prices for cereals and bakery products (4.7 percent). Prices for food away from home rose 0.4 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices rose 0.3 percent. Prices for food at home advanced 3.7 percent since a year ago, with higher prices in five of the six grocery categories. Prices for food away from home declined 4.0 percent over the year.

The energy index declined 0.7 percent for the two months ending in May. The decrease was mainly due to lower prices for gasoline (-1.1 percent). Prices for natural gas service declined 0.3 percent for the same period, but prices for electricity increased 0.2 percent.

Energy prices fell 7.9 percent over the year, largely due to lower prices for gasoline (-18.3 percent). Prices for natural gas service fell 7.2 percent during the past year, but prices paid for electricity rose 16.5 percent.

The index for all items less food and energy rose 1.1 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for medical care (2.2 percent) and shelter (0.9 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for apparel (-1.3 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 7.1 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (10.9 percent) and medical care (4.6 percent). Partly offsetting the increases was a price decrease in used cars and trucks (-3.3 percent).

The July 2023 Consumer Price Index for the San Diego area is scheduled to be released on August 10, 2023.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measures of the average change in prices over time in a fixed market basket of goods and services. The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes CPIs for two population groups: (1) a CPI for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) which covers approximately 93 percent of the total U.S. population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers approximately 29 percent of the total U.S. population. The CPI-U includes, in addition to wage earners and clerical workers, groups such as professional, managerial, and technical workers, the self-employed, short-term workers, the unemployed, and retirees and others not in the labor force.

The CPI is based on prices of food, clothing, shelter, and fuels, transportation fares, charges for doctors' and dentists' services, drugs, and the other goods and services that people buy for day-to-day living. Each month, prices are collected in 75 urban areas across the country from about 6,000 housing units and approximately 22,000 retail establishments—department stores, supermarkets, hospitals, filling stations, and other types of stores and service establishments. All taxes directly associated with the purchase and use of items are included in the index.

The index measures price changes from a designated reference date; for most of the CPI-U the reference base is 1982-84 equals 100. An increase of 7 percent from the reference base, for example, is shown as 107.000.  Alternatively, that relationship can also be expressed as the price of a base period market basket of goods and services rising from $100 to $107. For further details see the CPI home page on the Internet at www.bls.gov/cpi and the CPI section of the BLS Handbook of Methods available on the internet at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/cpi/.

In calculating the index, price changes for the various items in each location are averaged together with weights that represent their importance in the spending of the appropriate population group. Local data are then combined to obtain a U.S. city average. Because the sample size of a local area is smaller, the local area index is subject to substantially more sampling and other measurement error than the national index. In addition, local indexes are not adjusted for seasonal influences. As a result, local area indexes show greater volatility than the national index, although their long-term trends are quite similar. NOTE: Area indexes do not measure differences in the level of prices between cities; they only measure the average change in prices for each area since the base period.

The San Diego-Carlsbad, CA metropolitan area includes San Diego County in California.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.

Table 1. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): Indexes and percent changes for selected periods

San Diego-Carlsbad (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Item and Group	Indexes				Percent change from-
	Historical data	Mar. 2023	Apr. 2023	May 2023	May 2022	Mar. 2023	Apr. 2023
Expenditure category
All items		358.026	-	361.339	5.2	0.9	-
All items (1967=100)		1,210.597	-	1,221.798	-	-	-
Food and beverages		310.093	-	312.595	0.6	0.8	-
Food		308.570	-	310.762	0.3	0.7	-
Food at home		281.662	281.883	284.213	3.7	0.9	0.8
Cereals and bakery products		357.071	-	373.782	14.1	4.7	-
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		269.241	-	264.659	-8.6	-1.7	-
Dairy and related products		234.783	-	236.979	10.1	0.9	-
Fruits and vegetables		289.590	-	292.380	0.9	1.0	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		315.944	-	319.434	3.1	1.1	-
Other food at home		277.406	-	279.110	9.0	0.6	-
Food away from home		341.455	-	342.756	-4.0	0.4	-
Alcoholic beverages		314.633	-	320.355	3.5	1.8	-
Housing		432.456	-	435.491	10.1	0.7	-
Shelter		488.507	490.964	492.666	10.9	0.9	0.3
Rent of primary residence(2)		483.046	487.743	489.581	10.9	1.4	0.4
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)		516.795	520.130	523.044	11.4	1.2	0.6
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)		516.795	520.130	523.044	11.4	1.2	0.6
Fuels and utilities		488.791	-	488.900	9.8	0.0	-
Household energy		495.607	494.422	495.426	11.7	0.0	0.2
Energy services		490.532	489.612	491.306	12.3	0.2	0.3
Electricity		492.686	493.909	493.909	16.5	0.2	0.0
Utility (piped) gas service		315.937	307.835	314.878	-7.2	-0.3	2.3
Household furnishings and operations		216.233	-	216.184	3.2	0.0	-
Apparel		185.154	-	182.725	10.2	-1.3	-
Transportation		285.635	-	291.319	-3.1	2.0	-
Private transportation		284.530	-	289.146	-1.6	1.6	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)		136.483	-	137.595	2.2	0.8	-
New vehicles(1)		261.552	-	262.512	4.9	0.4	-
Used cars and trucks(1)		308.612	-	331.329	-3.3	7.4	-
Motor fuel		389.899	390.153	385.381	-18.4	-1.2	-1.2
Gasoline (all types)		389.085	389.717	384.947	-18.3	-1.1	-1.2
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)		402.725	403.362	398.310	-18.6	-1.1	-1.3
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		339.547	340.116	336.103	-17.5	-1.0	-1.2
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)		398.607	399.320	394.878	-17.0	-0.9	-1.1
Medical care		551.638	-	563.670	4.6	2.2	-
Recreation(3)		184.708	-	185.060	3.4	0.2	-
Education and communication(3)		141.042	-	141.002	1.0	0.0	-
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)		1,665.655	-	1,665.240	3.5	0.0	-
Other goods and services		488.923	-	500.676	9.8	2.4	-
Commodity and service group
All items		358.026	-	361.339	5.2	0.9	-
Commodities		241.799	-	243.748	-0.5	0.8	-
Commodities less food & beverages		205.718	-	207.375	-1.2	0.8	-
Nondurables less food & beverages		250.024	-	251.224	-1.6	0.5	-
Durables		161.110	-	163.013	-0.7	1.2	-
Services		460.155	-	464.680	8.4	1.0	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care		348.776	-	351.685	5.2	0.8	-
All items less shelter		305.841	-	308.833	1.8	1.0	-
Commodities less food		210.581	-	212.376	-1.0	0.9	-
Nondurables		281.962	-	283.783	-0.3	0.6	-
Nondurables less food		256.503	-	258.018	-1.1	0.6	-
Services less rent of shelter(2)		448.518	-	453.840	4.7	1.2	-
Services less medical care services		447.501	-	451.607	8.7	0.9	-
Energy		422.785	422.517	419.892	-7.9	-0.7	-0.6
All items less energy		357.535	-	361.220	6.2	1.0	-
All items less food and energy		367.464	-	371.402	7.1	1.1	-
Footnotes (1) Indexes on a November 1977=100 base. (2) Indexes on a November 1982=100 base. (3) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base. (4) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (5) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base.
- Data not available NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.