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News Release Information

24-680-SAN
Wednesday, April 10, 2024

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

Consumer Price Index, Los Angeles area — March 2024

Area prices were up 0.7 percent over the past month, up 4.0 percent from a year ago

Prices in the Los Angeles area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 0.7 percent in March, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that the March increase was influenced by higher prices for shelter. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U advanced 4.0 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Food prices rose 2.9 percent. Energy prices advanced 3.3 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of electricity. The index for all items less food and energy rose 4.3 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices declined 0.2 percent for the month of March. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home decreased 0.1 percent, with lower prices in three of the six grocery categories. Prices for food away from home decreased 0.3 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices rose 2.9 percent. Prices for food at home increased 2.4 percent since a year ago, led by higher prices for other food at home (4.6 percent) and meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (4.2 percent). Prices for food away from home increased 3.8 percent.

Energy

The energy index rose 3.3 percent over the month. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (4.5 percent). Prices for electricity rose 2.1 percent, and prices for natural gas service advanced 0.5 percent for the same period.

Energy prices advanced 3.3 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for electricity (8.3 percent). Prices paid for gasoline advanced 1.8 percent, while prices for natural gas service decreased 4.5 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.7 percent in March. Higher prices for apparel (3.4 percent) and shelter (0.7 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for education and communication (-0.5 percent) and medical care (-0.3 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 4.3 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (5.6 percent) and medical care (3.1 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were price decreases in new and used motor vehicles (-1.2 percent) and household furnishings and operations (-0.4 percent).

Table A. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA, CPI-U 1-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted
Month20202021202220232024
1-month12-month1-month12-month1-month12-month1-month12-month1-month12-month

January

0.83.10.20.91.17.51.95.81.02.5

February

0.33.40.41.00.37.4-0.35.10.53.4

March

-0.71.90.52.21.58.50.13.70.74.0

April

-0.30.71.13.60.57.90.73.8

May

0.40.90.63.90.88.00.13.2

June

0.51.40.64.01.18.60.52.5

July

0.61.90.63.9-0.27.70.02.7

August

0.12.00.24.00.17.60.73.3

September

-0.31.20.34.60.57.80.33.2

October

0.20.70.95.40.67.5-0.12.4

November

0.11.00.66.0-0.86.0-0.42.8

December

-0.21.50.46.6-0.64.90.03.5

The April 2024 Consumer Price Index for the Los Angeles area is scheduled to be released on May 15, 2024.


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 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA metropolitan area includes Los Angeles and Orange Counties in California.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

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

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)
Item and Group

IndexesPercent change from-
Historical
data
Jan.
2024
Feb.
2024
Mar.
2024
Mar.
2023
Jan.
2024
Feb.
2024

Expenditure category

All items

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ASA0
326.640328.232330.6714.01.20.7

All items (1967=100)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49AAA0
965.040969.743976.949---

Food and beverages

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ASAF
335.312335.560334.7812.6-0.2-0.2

Food

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ASAF1
337.261337.751337.1712.90.0-0.2

Food at home

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ASAF11
321.664322.334322.0812.40.1-0.1

Cereals and bakery products

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ASAF111
349.337351.618348.307-0.8-0.3-0.9

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ASAF112
348.207352.507351.2014.20.9-0.4

Dairy and related products

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ASEFJ
302.835296.315301.9160.0-0.31.9

Fruits and vegetables

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ASAF113
419.481415.558417.339-0.2-0.50.4

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ASAF114
308.219303.271308.1883.70.01.6

Other food at home

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ASAF115
260.755265.093261.8264.60.4-1.2

Food away from home

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ASEFV
350.233350.514349.5753.8-0.2-0.3

Alcoholic beverages

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ASAF116
287.206283.712279.886-2.3-2.5-1.3

Housing

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ASAH
375.856377.297379.8485.11.10.7

Shelter

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ASAH1
429.501432.052435.2475.61.30.7

Rent of primary residence(2)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ASEHA
454.118455.850458.1844.70.90.5

Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)(3)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ASEHC
448.036450.137452.3376.11.00.5

Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(1)(2)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ASEHC01
448.010450.112452.3116.11.00.5

Fuels and utilities

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ASAH2
475.860478.022483.8386.11.71.2

Household energy

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ASAH21
418.822421.506428.8055.32.41.7

Energy services(2)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ASEHF
417.202419.946427.2205.42.41.7

Electricity(2)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ASEHF01
496.375496.279506.6478.32.12.1

Utility (piped) gas service(2)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ASEHF02
296.238305.093306.737-4.53.50.5

Household furnishings and operations

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ASAH3
134.374131.896131.272-0.4-2.3-0.5

Apparel

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ASAA
127.262120.505124.6144.3-2.13.4

Transportation

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ASAT
261.850266.174273.7224.54.52.8

Private transportation

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ASAT1
262.944266.791274.8834.64.53.0

New and used motor vehicles(4)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ASETA
111.770110.532111.055-1.2-0.60.5

New vehicles(1)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ASETA01
193.458193.296192.873-1.6-0.3-0.2

Used cars and trucks(1)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ASETA02
342.665344.429346.106-2.61.00.5

Motor fuel

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ASETB
349.563360.451376.6101.77.74.5

Gasoline (all types)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ASETB01
340.400351.094367.0311.87.84.5

Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ASS47014
340.618351.507367.6681.87.94.6

Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ASS47015
326.441336.312350.9681.87.54.4

Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ASS47016
327.729337.389352.0232.07.44.3

Medical care

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ASAM
557.372572.628570.8453.12.4-0.3

Recreation(6)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ASAR
121.418122.119122.6031.01.00.4

Education and communication(6)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ASAE
159.364160.535159.7272.00.2-0.5

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

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ASEEB
2,286.2632,286.2622,286.2624.60.00.0

Other goods and services

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ASAG
537.406528.754529.4825.0-1.50.1

Commodity and service group

All items

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ASA0
326.640328.232330.6714.01.20.7

Commodities

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ASAC
218.074217.585218.1840.90.10.3

Commodities less food & beverages

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ASACL11
160.220159.455160.5860.00.20.7

Nondurables less food & beverages

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ASANL11
223.024222.894226.1031.11.41.4

Durables

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ASAD
101.877100.869100.678-1.4-1.2-0.2

Services

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ASAS
423.191426.740430.8865.71.81.0

Special aggregate indexes

All items less medical care

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ASA0L5
316.435317.514320.0974.11.20.8

All items less shelter

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ASA0L2
281.104282.256284.3613.01.20.7

Commodities less food

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ASACL1
165.625164.782165.807-0.10.10.6

Nondurables

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ASAN
280.285280.347281.5341.80.40.4

Nondurables less food

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ASANL1
229.872229.540232.3700.81.11.2

Services less rent of shelter(3)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ASASL2RS
425.412430.692436.5055.92.61.3

Services less medical care services

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ASASL5
409.674412.462416.5795.91.71.0

Energy

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ASA0E
379.289386.994399.7433.35.43.3

All items less energy

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ASA0LE
325.517326.798328.7124.11.00.6

All items less food and energy

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ASA0L1E
323.601325.020327.3664.31.20.7

Footnotes
(1) Indexes on a December 1977=100 base.
(2) This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator. All other item stratum index series were calculated using a geometric means estimator.
(3) Indexes on a December 1982=100 base.
(4) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample.
(5) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base.
(6) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base.

- Data not available
NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.

 

Last Modified Date: Wednesday, April 10, 2024