Prices in the San Diego area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 0.8 percent for the two months ending in March 2024, 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 gasoline 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 3.6 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Food prices rose 4.9 percent. Energy prices fell 1.8 percent, largely the result of a decrease in the price of electricity. The index for all items less food and energy rose 3.8 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

  

View Chart Data

Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in CPI-U, San Diego-Carlsbad, CA, March 2021–March 2024

Month	All items	All items less food and energy
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
Jul 2023	4.3	5.6
Sep 2023	4.7	4.8
Nov 2023	5.2	5.6
Jan 2024	3.8	5.0
Mar 2024	3.6	3.8

Food prices increased 0.5 percent for the two months ending in March. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home decreased 0.7 percent, led by lower prices for fruits and vegetables (-1.8 percent) and cereals and bakery products (-1.4 percent). Prices for food away from home rose 2.2 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices rose 4.9 percent. Prices for food at home increased 2.0 percent since a year ago, led by higher prices for cereals and bakery products (7.6 percent). Prices for food away from home increased 9.0 percent.

The energy index rose 6.2 percent for the two months ending in March. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (6.7 percent). Prices for natural gas service advanced 7.2 percent, and prices for electricity rose 5.6 percent for the same period.

Energy prices fell 1.8 percent over the year, largely due to lower prices for electricity (-10.9 percent). Prices paid for natural gas service rose 2.4 percent, and prices for gasoline advanced 1.6 percent during the past year.

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.5 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for new and used motor vehicles (1.9 percent) and shelter (0.4 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for education and communication (-0.4 percent) and recreation (-0.4 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 3.8 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (5.6 percent) and medical care (3.6 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were price decreases in apparel (-5.4 percent) and new and used motor vehicles (-4.1 percent).

The May 2024 Consumer Price Index for the San Diego area is scheduled to be released on June 12, 2024.

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	Jan. 2024	Feb. 2024	Mar. 2024	Mar. 2023	Jan. 2024	Feb. 2024
Expenditure category
All items		367.917	-	370.858	3.6	0.8	-
All items (1967=100)		1,244.040	-	1,253.983	-	-	-
Food and beverages		322.975	-	324.641	4.7	0.5	-
Food		321.860	-	323.546	4.9	0.5	-
Food at home		289.136	289.001	287.256	2.0	-0.7	-0.6
Cereals and bakery products		389.747	383.479	384.099	7.6	-1.4	0.2
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		279.518	283.871	277.789	3.2	-0.6	-2.1
Dairy and related products		235.019	238.709	233.430	-0.6	-0.7	-2.2
Fruits and vegetables		291.752	288.054	286.509	-1.1	-1.8	-0.5
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		317.578	319.563	322.790	2.2	1.6	1.0
Other food at home		280.706	279.886	279.634	0.8	-0.4	-0.1
Food away from home		364.433	-	372.280	9.0	2.2	-
Alcoholic beverages		320.506	-	321.768	2.3	0.4	-
Housing		448.711	-	451.483	4.4	0.6	-
Shelter		513.711	516.408	515.802	5.6	0.4	-0.1
Rent of primary residence(2)		510.542	512.479	511.022	5.8	0.1	-0.3
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)		546.246	549.925	548.712	6.2	0.5	-0.2
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)		546.246	549.925	548.712	6.2	0.5	-0.2
Fuels and utilities		456.067	-	470.825	-3.7	3.2	-
Household energy		431.835	438.151	455.309	-8.1	5.4	3.9
Energy services		425.058	432.403	450.413	-8.2	6.0	4.2
Electricity		415.725	415.725	439.022	-10.9	5.6	5.6
Utility (piped) gas service		301.695	325.401	323.556	2.4	7.2	-0.6
Household furnishings and operations		214.325	-	216.491	0.1	1.0	-
Apparel		172.535	-	175.108	-5.4	1.5	-
Transportation		286.099	-	294.740	3.2	3.0	-
Private transportation		280.663	-	295.992	4.0	5.5	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)		128.392	-	130.824	-4.1	1.9	-
New vehicles(1)		259.865	-	260.194	-0.5	0.1	-
Used cars and trucks(1)		297.444	-	300.431	-2.7	1.0	-
Motor fuel		371.504	381.273	395.934	1.5	6.6	3.8
Gasoline (all types)		370.589	380.056	395.411	1.6	6.7	4.0
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)		383.136	393.088	409.174	1.6	6.8	4.1
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		324.195	332.327	345.321	1.7	6.5	3.9
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)		381.264	390.416	405.483	1.7	6.4	3.9
Medical care		571.375	-	571.759	3.6	0.1	-
Recreation(3)		190.159	-	189.493	2.6	-0.4	-
Education and communication(3)		142.163	-	141.560	0.4	-0.4	-
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)		1,671.072	-	1,671.072	0.3	0.0	-
Other goods and services		509.723	-	507.153	3.7	-0.5	-
Commodity and service group
All items		367.917	-	370.858	3.6	0.8	-
Commodities		241.802	-	243.892	0.9	0.9	-
Commodities less food & beverages		200.738	-	202.934	-1.4	1.1	-
Nondurables less food & beverages		243.323	-	249.545	-0.2	2.6	-
Durables		157.703	-	156.759	-2.7	-0.6	-
Services		479.057	-	482.743	4.9	0.8	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care		358.184	-	361.230	3.6	0.9	-
All items less shelter		309.008	-	312.469	2.2	1.1	-
Commodities less food		205.878	-	208.076	-1.2	1.1	-
Nondurables		284.480	-	288.550	2.3	1.4	-
Nondurables less food		250.514	-	256.554	0.0	2.4	-
Services less rent of shelter(2)		459.006	-	465.629	3.8	1.4	-
Services less medical care services		465.944	-	469.978	5.0	0.9	-
Energy		391.074	399.855	415.323	-1.8	6.2	3.9
All items less energy		369.788	-	371.592	3.9	0.5	-
All items less food and energy		379.576	-	381.408	3.8	0.5	-
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.