Prices in the San Diego area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), increased 0.6 percent for the two months ending in September 2019, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Richard Holden noted that the September increase was influenced by higher prices for apparel 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 1.7 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) The index for all items less food and energy increased 2.1 percent over the year. Food prices advanced 0.4 percent. Energy prices declined 0.2 percent, largely the result of a decrease in the price of electricity. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices rose 0.9 percent for the two months ending in September. (See table 1.) Prices for food away from home increased 0.9 percent, and prices for food at home advanced 0.8 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices moved up 0.4 percent. Prices for food at home advanced 0.5 percent since a year ago, and prices for food away from home increased 0.4 percent.

Energy

The energy index declined 1.1 percent for the two months ending in September. The decrease was mainly due to lower prices for gasoline (-1.7 percent). Prices for natural gas service decreased 1.6 percent, while electricity prices were unchanged for the same period.

Energy prices decreased 0.2 percent over the year, largely due to lower prices for electricity (-2.6 percent). Prices paid for natural gas service declined 0.4 percent, but prices for gasoline rose 1.0 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 0.7 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for apparel (11.6 percent), recreation (2.6 percent), and shelter (0.7 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for household furnishings and operations (-5.0 percent) and new and used motor vehicles (-2.1 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 2.1 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (3.5 percent) and household furnishings and operations (2.8 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were price declines in apparel (-8.0 percent) and education and communication (-2.4 percent).

The November 2019 Consumer Price Index for the San Diego area is scheduled to be released on December 11, 2019.

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-
	Jul. 2019	Aug. 2019	Sep. 2019	Sep. 2018	Jul. 2019	Aug. 2019
Expenditure category
All items	299.333	-	301.033	1.7	0.6	-
All items (1967=100)	1,012.135	-	1,017.886	-	-	-
Food and beverages	258.336	-	261.023	0.5	1.0	-
Food	256.476	-	258.680	0.4	0.9	-
Food at home	228.779	230.944	230.653	0.5	0.8	-0.1
Cereals and bakery products	267.664	-	260.394	-0.1	-2.7	-
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	229.556	-	237.007	2.3	3.2	-
Dairy and related products	187.593	-	190.050	5.3	1.3	-
Fruits and vegetables	264.580	-	269.633	0.3	1.9	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	249.966	-	246.405	-1.5	-1.4	-
Other food at home	214.551	-	215.755	-1.5	0.6	-
Food away from home	292.841	-	295.494	0.4	0.9	-
Food away from home	292.841	-	295.494	0.4	0.9	-
Alcoholic beverages	267.968	-	275.751	0.9	2.9	-
Housing	357.487	-	357.699	3.0	0.1	-
Shelter	403.840	404.251	406.683	3.5	0.7	0.6
Rent of primary residence(2)	398.695	401.514	402.529	2.7	1.0	0.3
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)	428.972	430.301	431.157	3.8	0.5	0.2
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)	428.972	430.301	431.157	3.8	0.5	0.2
Fuels and utilities	351.388	-	353.831	-0.9	0.7	-
Household energy	324.290	323.786	323.472	-2.3	-0.3	-0.1
Energy services	320.610	320.165	319.788	-2.3	-0.3	-0.1
Electricity	324.183	324.183	324.183	-2.6	0.0	0.0
Utility (piped) gas service	208.597	206.762	205.204	-0.4	-1.6	-0.8
Household furnishings and operations	196.300	-	186.521	2.8	-5.0	-
Apparel	153.363	-	171.134	-8.0	11.6	-
Transportation	234.757	-	234.106	2.2	-0.3	-
Private transportation	229.641	-	226.943	1.6	-1.2	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)	109.230	-	106.930	1.6	-2.1	-
New vehicles(1)	233.627	-	229.008	1.7	-2.0	-
Used cars and trucks(1)	237.776	-	231.004	1.8	-2.8	-
Motor fuel	304.325	297.250	299.371	1.1	-1.6	0.7
Gasoline (all types)	304.265	297.099	299.202	1.0	-1.7	0.7
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	315.629	308.139	310.336	0.9	-1.7	0.7
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	264.713	258.975	259.794	1.5	-1.9	0.3
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	308.488	301.428	303.710	1.4	-1.5	0.8
Motor vehicle insurance(1)	534.137	-	533.034	-0.2	-0.2	-
Medical care	492.275	-	494.789	-	0.5	-
Recreation(3)	152.422	-	156.400	1.6	2.6	-
Education and communication(3)	131.299	-	130.136	-2.4	-0.9	-
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)	1,578.552	-	1,538.385	-3.0	-2.5	-
Other goods and services	410.943	-	405.354	1.2	-1.4	-
Commodity and service group
All items	299.333	-	301.033	1.7	0.6	-
Commodities	204.823	-	204.877	-0.1	0.0	-
Commodities less food & beverages	176.079	-	175.019	-0.5	-0.6	-
Nondurables less food & beverages	208.043	-	212.219	-1.4	2.0	-
Durables	142.770	-	136.273	1.1	-4.6	-
Services	382.877	-	386.086	2.7	0.8	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	290.235	-	291.897	1.6	0.6	-
All items less shelter	258.082	-	259.334	0.7	0.5	-
Commodities less food	180.307	-	179.550	-0.4	-0.4	-
Nondurables	234.457	-	238.012	-0.5	1.5	-
Nondurables less food	213.909	-	218.363	-1.3	2.1	-
Services less rent of shelter(2)	377.177	-	380.967	1.7	1.0	-
Services less medical care services	370.732	-	373.883	2.6	0.8	-
Energy	307.845	303.176	304.412	-0.2	-1.1	0.4
All items less energy	301.310	-	303.403	1.9	0.7	-
All items less food and energy	310.932	-	313.020	2.1	0.7	-
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.