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News Release Information

19-53-SAN
Friday, January 11, 2019

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

Consumer Price Index, San Francisco Area — December 2018

Area prices were up 0.1 percent over the past two months, up 4.5 percent from a year ago

Prices in the San Francisco area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), inched up 0.1 percent for the two months ending in December 2018, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Richard Holden noted that the December increase was influenced by higher prices for medical care and 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 increased 4.5 percent.  (See chart 1 and table A.) Energy prices rose 8.8 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of gasoline. The index for all items less food and energy advanced 4.3 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices increased 0.9 percent for the two months ending in December. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home rose 1.1 percent, and prices for food away from home advanced 0.7 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices advanced 4.6 percent. Prices for food away from home increased 6.9 percent since a year ago, and prices for food at home rose 1.9 percent.

Energy

The energy index decreased 5.9 percent for the two months ending in December. The decrease was mainly due to lower prices for gasoline (-7.0 percent). Prices for natural gas service decreased 7.2 percent, and prices for electricity declined 2.7 percent for the same period.

Energy prices rose 8.8 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for gasoline (14.0 percent). Prices paid for electricity advanced 2.3 percent, but prices for natural gas service declined (-4.2 percent) during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 0.3 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for medical care (5.8 percent) and shelter (0.4 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for apparel (-6.7 percent) and recreation (-1.9 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 4.3 percent. Components contributing to the increase included medical care (9.4 percent), education and communication (6.7 percent) and shelter (3.8 percent). Partly offsetting the increases was a price decline in recreation (-0.1 percent).

Table A. San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward CPI-U bi-monthly and annual percent changes (not seasonally adjusted)
Month201320142015201620172018
Bi-monthlyAnnualBi-monthlyAnnualBi-monthlyAnnualBi-monthlyAnnualBi-monthlyAnnualBi-monthlyAnnual

February

1.32.41.22.41.02.50.93.00.83.4 1.43.6

April

0.82.41.22.81.12.40.72.71.13.8 0.83.2

June

0.52.60.73.00.62.30.62.70.33.5 0.93.9

August

0.12.00.03.00.32.60.73.10.23.0 0.6 4.3

October

0.21.60.53.20.42.60.93.60.62.7 0.7 4.4

December

-0.42.6-0.92.7-0.33.2-0.33.5-0.12.9 0.14.5

The February 2019 Consumer Price Index for the San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward area is scheduled to be released on March 12, 2019.

Consumer Price Index Geographic Revision for 2018

In January 2018, BLS introduced a new geographic area sample for the Consumer Price Index (CPI). As part of the new sample, the index for this area was renamed. Additional information on the geographic revision is available at: www.bls.gov/cpi/additional-resources/geographic-revision-2018.htm.


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 94 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 75 urban areas across the country from about 5,000 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 (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 Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA. metropolitan area covered in this release is comprised of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo Counties 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 Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)
Item and Group

IndexesPercent change from-
Oct.
2018
Nov.
2018
Dec.
2018
Dec.
2017
Oct.
2018
Nov.
2018

Expenditure category

All items

289.673-289.8964.50.1-

All items (1967=100)

890.535-891.220---

Food and beverages

280.826-284.7385.71.4-

Food

278.503-280.9284.60.9-

Food at home

249.897250.641252.5721.91.10.8

Cereals and bakery products

257.066-259.5732.41.0-

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs

246.113-252.6992.02.7-

Dairy and related products

266.719-268.2082.00.6-

Fruits and vegetables

332.103-333.2442.20.3-

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)

201.587-204.2766.21.3-

Other food at home

216.582-217.463-0.20.4-

Food away from home

312.003-314.1976.90.7-

Food away from home

312.003-314.1976.90.7-

Alcoholic beverages

308.605-325.12614.75.4-

Housing

340.845-341.5163.70.2-

Shelter

389.814389.454391.2303.80.40.5

Rent of primary residence(2)

443.964444.830448.2114.61.00.8

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

417.507418.773419.5773.10.50.2

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

417.507418.773419.5773.10.50.2

Fuels and utilities

399.718-390.2071.8-2.4-

Household energy

351.334333.819337.8440.7-3.81.2

Energy services(2)

351.971334.378338.7730.7-3.71.3

Electricity(2)

379.558369.436369.4362.3-2.70.0

Utility (piped) gas service(2)

279.604245.023259.550-4.2-7.25.9

Household furnishings and operations

138.416-138.7594.20.2-

Apparel

117.912-110.0471.0-6.7-

Transportation

206.408-201.8384.6-2.2-

Private transportation

202.191-197.6356.2-2.3-

New and used motor vehicles(4)

94.826-95.3000.40.5-

New vehicles(1)

156.553-161.6070.93.2-

Used cars and trucks(1)

247.988-250.6791.31.1-

Motor fuel

284.833278.051264.92914.0-7.0-4.7

Gasoline (all types)

283.748276.974263.83414.0-7.0-4.7

Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)

284.133277.336263.94214.0-7.1-4.8

Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)

262.242257.896247.68314.7-5.6-4.0

Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)

268.051261.340249.82114.3-6.8-4.4

Motor vehicle insurance(1)

519.535-516.4269.9-0.6-

Medical care

510.198-539.5959.45.8-

Recreation(6)

117.987-115.799-0.1-1.9-

Education and communication(6)

151.974-151.2966.7-0.4-

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

1,834.544-1,833.23412.7-0.1-

Other goods and services

496.483-495.5707.0-0.2-

Commodity and service group

All items

289.673-289.8964.50.1-

Commodities

192.611-191.6614.4-0.5-

Commodities less food & beverages

144.999-141.7673.2-2.2-

Nondurables less food & beverages

195.307-187.0264.3-4.2-

Durables

96.863-98.1661.31.3-

Services

370.500-371.6744.50.3-

Special aggregate indexes

All items less medical care

280.659-279.7314.1-0.3-

All items less shelter

248.281-247.9395.0-0.1-

Commodities less food

151.875-149.6054.3-1.5-

Nondurables

239.372-237.1755.2-0.9-

Nondurables less food

203.765-197.9305.8-2.9-

Services less rent of shelter(3)

362.295-363.1735.60.2-

Services less medical care services

361.723-360.8833.9-0.2-

Energy

316.237305.771297.6908.8-5.9-2.6

All items less energy

291.913-293.0364.30.4-

All items less food and energy

294.834-295.7514.30.3-

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: Friday, January 11, 2019