Prices in the San Diego area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 0.4 percent for the two months ending in January 2024, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that the January increase was influenced by higher prices for 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 3.8 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Food prices increased 3.7 percent.  Energy prices fell 11.6 percent, largely the result of a decrease in the price of natural gas service. The index for all items less food and energy increased 5.0 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

  

View Chart Data

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

Month	All items	All items less food and energy
Jan 2021	1.7	1.5
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

Food prices increased 2.7 percent for the two months ending in January. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home rose 1.3 percent, with higher prices in four of the six grocery categories. Prices for food away from home advanced 4.6 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices increased 3.7 percent. Prices for food at home advanced 2.8 percent since a year ago, with higher prices in five of the six grocery categories. Prices for food away from home rose 4.8 percent.

The energy index fell 11.0 percent for the two months ending in January. The decrease was mainly due to lower prices for gasoline (-9.9 percent). Prices for electricity fell 15.8 percent, and prices for natural gas service declined 12.1 percent for the same period.

Energy prices declined 11.6 percent over the year, largely due to lower prices for natural gas service (-59.1 percent). Prices paid for electricity decreased 15.6 percent, while prices for gasoline advanced 2.7 percent during the past year.

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 1.0 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for shelter (1.2 percent) and recreation (1.1 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for used cars and trucks (-3.8 percent) and medical care (-0.9 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 5.0 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (7.6 percent) and medical care (4.0 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were price decreases for used cars and trucks (-3.5 percent) and apparel (-3.1 percent).

The March 2024 Consumer Price Index for the San Diego area is scheduled to be released on April 10, 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	Nov. 2023	Dec. 2023	Jan. 2024	Jan. 2023	Nov. 2023	Dec. 2023
Expenditure category
All items		366.343	-	367.917	3.8	0.4	-
All items (1967=100)		1,238.718	-	1,244.040	-	-	-
Food and beverages		315.064	-	322.975	3.4	2.5	-
Food		313.528	-	321.860	3.7	2.7	-
Food at home		285.507	286.227	289.136	2.8	1.3	1.0
Cereals and bakery products		377.341	379.328	389.747	8.2	3.3	2.7
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		277.106	277.526	279.518	0.1	0.9	0.7
Dairy and related products		236.901	240.227	235.019	1.2	-0.8	-2.2
Fruits and vegetables		284.253	281.941	291.752	-0.1	2.6	3.5
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		312.082	315.118	317.578	5.2	1.8	0.8
Other food at home		281.165	281.361	280.706	3.0	-0.2	-0.2
Food away from home		348.330	-	364.433	4.8	4.6	-
Alcoholic beverages		319.555	-	320.506	-0.3	0.3	-
Housing		445.971	-	448.711	5.0	0.6	-
Shelter		507.408	510.242	513.711	7.6	1.2	0.7
Rent of primary residence(2)		505.055	509.044	510.542	8.4	1.1	0.3
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)		539.280	542.298	546.246	7.5	1.3	0.7
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)		539.280	542.298	546.246	7.5	1.3	0.7
Fuels and utilities		496.736	-	456.067	-17.9	-8.2	-
Household energy		501.577	494.367	431.835	-27.6	-13.9	-12.6
Energy services		498.140	490.627	425.058	-28.2	-14.7	-13.4
Electricity		493.909	493.909	415.725	-15.6	-15.8	-15.8
Utility (piped) gas service		343.289	312.056	301.695	-59.1	-12.1	-3.3
Household furnishings and operations		212.023	-	214.325	2.3	1.1	-
Apparel		169.697	-	172.535	-3.1	1.7	-
Transportation		291.341	-	286.099	2.3	-1.8	-
Private transportation		293.302	-	280.663	0.9	-4.3	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)		132.979	-	128.392	-4.1	-3.4	-
New vehicles(1)		260.046	-	259.865	0.2	-0.1	-
Used cars and trucks(1)		309.081	-	297.444	-3.5	-3.8	-
Motor fuel		412.665	385.252	371.504	2.4	-10.0	-3.6
Gasoline (all types)		411.241	384.026	370.589	2.7	-9.9	-3.5
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)		425.803	397.323	383.136	2.7	-10.0	-3.6
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		358.839	335.382	324.195	2.8	-9.7	-3.3
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)		420.727	394.062	381.264	2.7	-9.4	-3.2
Medical care		576.526	-	571.375	4.0	-0.9	-
Recreation(3)		188.077	-	190.159	4.4	1.1	-
Education and communication(3)		141.550	-	142.163	0.1	0.4	-
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)		1,671.072	-	1,671.072	0.3	0.0	-
Other goods and services		503.438	-	509.723	5.2	1.2	-
Commodity and service group
All items		366.343	-	367.917	3.8	0.4	-
Commodities		242.509	-	241.802	1.4	-0.3	-
Commodities less food & beverages		204.830	-	200.738	0.1	-2.0	-
Nondurables less food & beverages		251.971	-	243.323	1.3	-3.4	-
Durables		158.166	-	157.703	-1.2	-0.3	-
Services		475.396	-	479.057	5.0	0.8	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care		356.324	-	358.184	3.8	0.5	-
All items less shelter		309.553	-	309.008	1.1	-0.2	-
Commodities less food		209.866	-	205.878	0.1	-1.9	-
Nondurables		285.339	-	284.480	2.5	-0.3	-
Nondurables less food		258.667	-	250.514	1.1	-3.2	-
Services less rent of shelter(2)		459.157	-	459.006	0.8	0.0	-
Services less medical care services		462.104	-	465.944	5.0	0.8	-
Energy		439.189	419.430	391.074	-11.6	-11.0	-6.8
All items less energy		365.476	-	369.788	4.9	1.2	-
All items less food and energy		375.915	-	379.576	5.0	1.0	-
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.