Prices in the San Diego area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 0.3 percent for the two months ending in January 2020, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Richard Holden noted that the January 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 rose 2.3 percent. The index for all items less food and energy advanced 2.1 percent over the year. Energy prices rose 7.8 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of gasoline. Food prices rose 0.4 percent. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices were unchanged for the two months ending in January. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home declined 0.8 percent, but prices for food away from home advanced 0.9 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices rose 0.4 percent. Prices for food away from home rose 1.8 percent since a year ago, but prices for food at home declined 0.7 percent.

Energy

The energy index decreased 6.0 percent for the two months ending in January. The decrease was mainly due to lower prices for gasoline (-10.9 percent). Prices for electricity decreased 2.3 percent, but prices for natural gas service jumped 29.4 percent for the same period.

Energy prices rose 7.8 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for gasoline (8.0 percent). Prices paid for natural gas service jumped 14.1 percent, and prices for electricity increased 5.7 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.9 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for household furnishings and operations (1.9 percent) and shelter (1.0 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for used cars and trucks (-0.9 percent) and education and communication (-0.4 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 2.1 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (3.6 percent) and medical care (3.4 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were price decreases in new and used motor vehicles (-2.2 percent) and education and communication (-2.1 percent).

The March 2020 Consumer Price Index for the San Diego area is scheduled to be released on April 10, 2020.

Technical Note

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measure 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 89 percent of the total population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers 28 percent of the total 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 87 urban areas across the country from about 6,000 housing units and approximately 24,000 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 (1982-84) that equals 100.0. An increase of 16.5 percent, for example, is shown as 116.5. This change can also be expressed in dollars as follows: the price of a base period "market basket" of goods and services in the CPI has risen from $10 in 1982-84 to $11.65. For further details see the CPI home page on the Internet at www.bls.gov/cpi and the BLS Handbook of Methods, Chapter 17, The Consumer Price Index, 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 covered in this release consists of San Diego County in the State of 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-
	Nov. 2019	Dec. 2019	Jan. 2020	Jan. 2019	Nov. 2019	Dec. 2019
Expenditure category
All items	301.520	-	302.564	2.3	0.3	-
All items (1967=100)	1,019.532	-	1,023.062	-	-	-
Food and beverages	263.074	-	262.528	0.1	-0.2	-
Food	261.605	-	261.528	0.4	0.0	-
Food at home	232.641	228.122	230.671	-0.7	-0.8	1.1
Cereals and bakery products	264.756	-	260.540	-3.2	-1.6	-
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	240.881	-	239.904	3.2	-0.4	-
Dairy and related products	193.319	-	193.408	2.8	0.0	-
Fruits and vegetables	268.477	-	260.880	-3.5	-2.8	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	261.284	-	256.982	-2.3	-1.6	-
Other food at home	212.487	-	213.699	-1.3	0.6	-
Food away from home	299.759	-	302.504	1.8	0.9	-
Food away from home	299.759	-	302.504	1.8	0.9	-
Alcoholic beverages	268.306	-	263.403	-3.0	-1.8	-
Housing	357.465	-	361.568	3.2	1.1	-
Shelter	408.643	410.759	412.648	3.6	1.0	0.5
Rent of primary residence(2)	406.049	407.922	408.428	4.1	0.6	0.1
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)	433.641	435.233	436.396	3.6	0.6	0.3
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)	433.641	435.233	436.396	3.6	0.6	0.3
Fuels and utilities	336.057	-	342.790	5.5	2.0	-
Household energy	298.621	302.223	308.284	7.9	3.2	2.0
Energy services	294.357	298.093	304.148	7.9	3.3	2.0
Electricity	297.342	297.342	290.406	5.7	-2.3	-2.3
Utility (piped) gas service	192.531	207.961	249.092	14.1	29.4	19.8
Household furnishings and operations	185.892	-	189.407	-1.2	1.9	-
Apparel	161.566	-	161.111	3.0	-0.3	-
Transportation	235.748	-	231.819	3.0	-1.7	-
Private transportation	231.889	-	223.798	2.8	-3.5	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)	106.856	-	105.898	-2.2	-0.9	-
New vehicles(1)	226.635	-	230.644	0.2	1.8	-
Used cars and trucks(1)	228.974	-	226.820	-2.4	-0.9	-
Motor fuel	318.091	293.234	283.929	8.0	-10.7	-3.2
Gasoline (all types)	318.175	293.024	283.626	8.0	-10.9	-3.2
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	330.527	303.511	293.004	7.6	-11.4	-3.5
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	271.475	253.485	247.834	9.0	-8.7	-2.2
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	321.591	299.350	292.655	9.7	-9.0	-2.2
Motor vehicle insurance(1)	535.994	-	556.668	5.4	3.9	-
Medical care	496.264	-	498.962	3.4	0.5	-
Recreation(3)	158.427	-	159.728	2.4	0.8	-
Education and communication(3)	130.967	-	130.384	-2.1	-0.4	-
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)	1,538.385	-	1,538.385	-3.6	0.0	-
Other goods and services	410.688	-	411.720	0.0	0.3	-
Commodity and service group
All items	301.520	-	302.564	2.3	0.3	-
Commodities	205.831	-	203.197	0.8	-1.3	-
Commodities less food & beverages	175.479	-	171.845	1.1	-2.1	-
Nondurables less food & beverages	213.666	-	206.337	4.0	-3.4	-
Durables	135.709	-	135.842	-3.3	0.1	-
Services	386.131	-	390.676	3.1	1.2	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	292.338	-	293.305	2.2	0.3	-
All items less shelter	259.245	-	259.123	1.5	0.0	-
Commodities less food	179.736	-	175.979	0.8	-2.1	-
Nondurables	239.760	-	235.690	2.1	-1.7	-
Nondurables less food	219.230	-	211.900	3.3	-3.3	-
Services less rent of shelter(2)	378.681	-	384.065	2.4	1.4	-
Services less medical care services	373.723	-	378.263	3.0	1.2	-
Energy	307.509	293.003	288.936	7.8	-6.0	-1.4
All items less energy	303.702	-	306.116	1.9	0.8	-
All items less food and energy	312.866	-	315.675	2.1	0.9	-
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.