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 November 2020, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Richard Holden noted that the November increase was influenced by higher prices for recreation, food, and apparel. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U increased 1.6 percent. The index for all items less food and energy increased 2.2 percent over the year. Food prices rose 3.9 percent. Energy prices fell 12.0 percent, largely the result of a decrease in the price of gasoline. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices rose 0.8 percent for the two months ending in November. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home rose 1.6 percent, influenced by higher prices for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (6.9 percent). Prices for food away from home were unchanged for the same period.

Over the year, food prices rose 3.9 percent. Prices for food away from home rose 4.1 percent. Since a year ago, prices for food at home rose 3.7 percent, led by higher prices for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (12.6 percent).

Energy

The energy index rose 0.5 percent for the two months ending in November. The increase was due to higher prices for electricity (0.5 percent) and gasoline (0.3 percent). Prices for natural gas service were unchanged for the same period.

Energy prices fell 12.0 percent over the year, largely due to lower prices for gasoline (-21.9 percent). Prices paid for natural gas service jumped 36.8 percent, and prices for electricity advanced 1.9 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 0.6 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for apparel (4.2 percent) and recreation (4.0 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for shelter (-0.7 percent) and medical care (-1.9 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 2.2 percent. Components contributing to the increase included recreation (7.5 percent) and shelter (0.7 percent). Partly offsetting the increases was a price decrease in motor vehicle insurance (-0.5 percent).

The January 2021 Consumer Price Index for the San Diego area is scheduled to be released on February 10, 2021.

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	Indexes			Percent change from-
	Sep. 2020	Oct. 2020	Nov. 2020	Nov. 2019	Sep. 2020	Oct. 2020
Expenditure category
All items	304.443	-	306.334	1.6	0.6	-
All items (1967=100)	1,029.416	-	1,035.810	-	-	-
Food and beverages	270.656	-	273.069	3.8	0.9	-
Food	269.523	-	271.740	3.9	0.8	-
Food at home	237.596	247.592	241.315	3.7	1.6	-2.5
Cereals and bakery products	276.331	-	271.021	2.4	-1.9	-
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	253.671	-	271.192	12.6	6.9	-
Dairy and related products	190.686	-	189.425	-2.0	-0.7	-
Fruits and vegetables	259.588	-	268.504	0.0	3.4	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	263.223	-	276.253	5.7	5.0	-
Other food at home	220.690	-	212.039	-0.2	-3.9	-
Food away from home	311.938	-	311.935	4.1	0.0	-
Alcoholic beverages	272.552	-	276.814	3.2	1.6	-
Housing	363.605	-	361.884	1.2	-0.5	-
Shelter	414.420	414.666	411.467	0.7	-0.7	-0.8
Rent of primary residence(2)	411.291	412.273	409.768	0.9	-0.4	-0.6
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)	440.818	441.690	439.096	1.3	-0.4	-0.6
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)	440.818	441.690	439.096	1.3	-0.4	-0.6
Fuels and utilities	350.044	-	351.513	4.6	0.4	-
Household energy	320.310	322.979	322.467	8.0	0.7	-0.2
Energy services	317.042	319.300	318.259	8.1	0.4	-0.3
Electricity	301.433	302.179	302.948	1.9	0.5	0.3
Utility (piped) gas service	263.306	269.165	263.298	36.8	0.0	-2.2
Household furnishings and operations	190.539	-	192.188	3.4	0.9	-
Apparel	155.118	-	161.598	0.0	4.2	-
Transportation	218.701	-	224.415	-4.8	2.6	-
Private transportation	216.732	-	220.231	-5.0	1.6	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)	108.570	-	111.202	4.1	2.4	-
New vehicles(1)	235.746	-	233.329	3.0	-1.0	-
Used cars and trucks(1)	252.342	-	251.690	9.9	-0.3	-
Motor fuel	247.731	247.308	248.603	-21.8	0.4	0.5
Gasoline (all types)	247.633	247.251	248.439	-21.9	0.3	0.5
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	254.488	254.450	256.020	-22.5	0.6	0.6
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	221.455	219.306	219.032	-19.3	-1.1	-0.1
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	260.494	258.832	258.768	-19.5	-0.7	0.0
Motor vehicle insurance(1)	526.040	-	533.568	-0.5	1.4	-
Medical care	520.992	-	510.994	3.0	-1.9	-
Recreation(3)	163.789	-	170.331	7.5	4.0	-
Education and communication(3)	134.857	-	135.798	3.7	0.7	-
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)	1,558.575	-	1,558.362	1.3	0.0	-
Other goods and services	423.334	-	429.614	4.6	1.5	-
Commodity and service group
All items	304.443	-	306.334	1.6	0.6	-
Commodities	205.325	-	207.434	0.8	1.0	-
Commodities less food & beverages	170.657	-	172.613	-1.6	1.1	-
Nondurables less food & beverages	195.762	-	199.278	-6.7	1.8	-
Durables	143.346	-	143.815	6.0	0.3	-
Services	392.182	-	393.732	2.0	0.4	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	294.246	-	296.689	1.5	0.8	-
All items less shelter	261.018	-	264.634	2.1	1.4	-
Commodities less food	175.299	-	177.364	-1.3	1.2	-
Nondurables	235.093	-	238.013	-0.7	1.2	-
Nondurables less food	203.214	-	206.802	-5.7	1.8	-
Services less rent of shelter(2)	385.314	-	392.822	3.7	1.9	-
Services less medical care services	377.681	-	380.477	1.8	0.7	-
Energy	269.255	269.870	270.547	-12.0	0.5	0.3
All items less energy	309.278	-	311.222	2.5	0.6	-
All items less food and energy	317.751	-	319.630	2.2	0.6	-
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.