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News Release Information

21-1049-SAN
Thursday, June 10, 2021

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (415) 625-2270

Consumer Price Index, San Diego Area – May 2021

Area prices were up 0.7 percent over the past two months, up 5.3 percent from a year ago

Prices in the San Diego area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 0.7 percent for the two months ending in May 2021, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that the May increase was influenced by higher prices for new and used motor vehicles and 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 5.3 percent. Food prices rose 1.4 percent. Energy prices jumped 35.3 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of gasoline. The index for all items less food and energy rose 4.3 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices edged down 0.2 percent for the two months ending in May. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home decreased 0.8 percent, primarily from lower prices for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (-6.1 percent). Prices for food away from home rose 0.5 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices rose 1.4 percent. Prices for food at home decreased 1.0 percent since a year ago, influenced by lower prices for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (-5.2 percent). Prices for food away from home advanced 4.1 percent.

Energy

The energy index rose 4.2 percent for the two months ending in May. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (6.1 percent). Prices for natural gas service increased 7.4 percent, but prices for electricity inched down 0.2 percent for the same period.

Energy prices jumped 35.3 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for gasoline (45.9 percent). Prices paid for electricity jumped 24.1 percent, and prices for natural gas service increased 9.1 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.6 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for new and used motor vehicles (8.2 percent) and shelter (0.8 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for apparel (-1.5 percent) and medical care (-0.8 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 4.3 percent. Components contributing to the increase included new and used motor vehicles (18.0 percent), education and communication (4.9 percent), and shelter (1.8 percent).

The July 2021 Consumer Price Index for the San Diego area is scheduled to be released on August 11, 2021.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Impact on May 2021 Consumer Price Index Data

Data collection by personal visit for the Consumer Price Index (CPI) program has been suspended since March 16, 2020. When possible, data normally collected by personal visit were collected either online or by phone. Additionally, data collection in May was affected by the temporary closing or limited operations of certain types of establishments. These factors resulted in an increase in the number of prices considered temporarily unavailable and imputed.

While the CPI program attempted to collect as much data as possible, many indexes are based on smaller amounts of collected prices than usual, and a small number of indexes that are normally published were not published this month. Additional information is available at https://www.bls.gov/covid19/effects-of-covid-19-pandemic-on-consumer-price-index.htm.

 


Technical Note

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

IndexesPercent change from-
Mar.
2021
Apr.
2021
May
2021
May
2020
Mar.
2021
Apr.
2021

Expenditure category

All items

315.035-317.1415.30.7-

All items (1967=100)

1,065.230-1,072.350---

Food and beverages

278.996-278.5762.2-0.2-

Food

275.919-275.4501.4-0.2-

Food at home

242.457243.033240.557-1.0-0.8-1.0

Cereals and bakery products

281.459-282.960-0.90.5-

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs

262.732-246.704-5.2-6.1-

Dairy and related products

189.226-192.3274.91.6-

Fruits and vegetables

263.057-271.0876.03.1-

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)

272.367-279.972-1.22.8-

Other food at home

223.987-220.952-3.2-1.4-

Food away from home

320.471-322.0904.10.5-

Alcoholic beverages

299.689-299.7669.50.0-

Housing

369.943-372.4552.60.7-

Shelter

417.793420.625421.2891.80.80.2

Rent of primary residence(2)

414.559415.398417.3651.20.70.5

Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)

444.089444.318444.6571.00.10.1

Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)

444.089444.318444.6571.00.10.1

Fuels and utilities

386.887-389.66813.60.7-

Household energy

369.388365.947373.55920.31.12.1

Energy services

364.885362.238369.82220.41.42.1

Electricity

359.351358.532358.53224.1-0.20.0

Utility (piped) gas service

267.681260.655287.4629.17.410.3

Household furnishings and operations

196.713-195.5031.5-0.6-

Apparel

163.621-161.2337.5-1.5-

Transportation

248.311-256.59622.03.3-

Private transportation

237.549-250.74621.45.6-

New and used motor vehicles(3)

114.069-123.45318.08.2-

New vehicles(1)

244.183-248.1096.81.6-

Used cars and trucks(1)

254.539-296.86929.216.6-

Motor fuel

309.969317.951328.85045.96.13.4

Gasoline (all types)

309.731317.794328.69945.96.13.4

Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)

320.079328.934340.28346.66.33.5

Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)

272.004277.219286.68143.85.43.4

Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)

318.912325.279336.18543.25.43.4

Motor vehicle insurance(1)

567.678-572.27216.50.8-

Medical care

527.185-522.7762.7-0.8-

Recreation(3)

163.934-163.7310.5-0.1-

Education and communication(3)

135.784-135.6964.9-0.1-

Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)

1,554.342-1,554.3421.00.0-

Other goods and services

440.903-445.9156.41.1-

Commodity and service group

All items

315.035-317.1415.30.7-

Commodities

214.474-217.3897.11.4-

Commodities less food & beverages

180.327-185.11711.62.7-

Nondurables less food & beverages

213.679-216.37513.11.3-

Durables

145.170-151.7789.84.6-

Services

403.695-404.8204.20.3-

Special aggregate indexes

All items less medical care

305.038-307.4465.50.8-

All items less shelter

274.086-275.6647.20.6-

Commodities less food

185.805-190.35511.52.4-

Nondurables

247.869-248.9006.30.4-

Nondurables less food

222.023-224.46912.71.1-

Services less rent of shelter(2)

407.622-405.9317.5-0.4-

Services less medical care services

389.837-391.3864.40.4-

Energy

326.408330.484340.16435.34.22.9

All items less energy

317.233-318.6743.80.5-

All items less food and energy

326.043-327.9094.30.6-

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.

 

Last Modified Date: Thursday, June 10, 2021