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News Release Information

24-682-SAN
Wednesday, April 10, 2024

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

Consumer Price Index, San Diego Area — March 2024

Area prices were up 0.8 percent over the past two months, up 3.6 percent from a year ago

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.)

Food

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.

Energy

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.

All items less food and energy

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).

Table A. San Diego-Carlsbad, CA, CPI-U 2-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted
Month20202021202220232024
2-month12-month2-month12-month2-month12-month2-month12-month2-month12-month

January

0.32.30.41.72.08.21.86.40.43.8

March

0.01.82.44.12.17.91.05.30.83.6

May

-0.40.30.75.31.18.30.95.2

July

1.42.12.16.01.27.30.34.3

September

-0.41.10.16.50.98.21.34.7

November

0.61.60.76.6-0.76.7-0.25.2

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


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

IndexesPercent change from-
Historical
data
Jan.
2024
Feb.
2024
Mar.
2024
Mar.
2023
Jan.
2024
Feb.
2024

Expenditure category

All items

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ESA0
367.917-370.8583.60.8-

All items (1967=100)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49EAA0
1,244.040-1,253.983---

Food and beverages

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ESAF
322.975-324.6414.70.5-

Food

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ESAF1
321.860-323.5464.90.5-

Food at home

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ESAF11
289.136289.001287.2562.0-0.7-0.6

Cereals and bakery products

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ESAF111
389.747383.479384.0997.6-1.40.2

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ESAF112
279.518283.871277.7893.2-0.6-2.1

Dairy and related products

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ESEFJ
235.019238.709233.430-0.6-0.7-2.2

Fruits and vegetables

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ESAF113
291.752288.054286.509-1.1-1.8-0.5

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ESAF114
317.578319.563322.7902.21.61.0

Other food at home

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ESAF115
280.706279.886279.6340.8-0.4-0.1

Food away from home

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ESEFV
364.433-372.2809.02.2-

Alcoholic beverages

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ESAF116
320.506-321.7682.30.4-

Housing

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ESAH
448.711-451.4834.40.6-

Shelter

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ESAH1
513.711516.408515.8025.60.4-0.1

Rent of primary residence(2)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ESEHA
510.542512.479511.0225.80.1-0.3

Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ESEHC
546.246549.925548.7126.20.5-0.2

Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ESEHC01
546.246549.925548.7126.20.5-0.2

Fuels and utilities

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ESAH2
456.067-470.825-3.73.2-

Household energy

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ESAH21
431.835438.151455.309-8.15.43.9

Energy services

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ESEHF
425.058432.403450.413-8.26.04.2

Electricity

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ESEHF01
415.725415.725439.022-10.95.65.6

Utility (piped) gas service

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ESEHF02
301.695325.401323.5562.47.2-0.6

Household furnishings and operations

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ESAH3
214.325-216.4910.11.0-

Apparel

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ESAA
172.535-175.108-5.41.5-

Transportation

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ESAT
286.099-294.7403.23.0-

Private transportation

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ESAT1
280.663-295.9924.05.5-

New and used motor vehicles(3)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ESETA
128.392-130.824-4.11.9-

New vehicles(1)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ESETA01
259.865-260.194-0.50.1-

Used cars and trucks(1)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ESETA02
297.444-300.431-2.71.0-

Motor fuel

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ESETB
371.504381.273395.9341.56.63.8

Gasoline (all types)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ESETB01
370.589380.056395.4111.66.74.0

Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ESS47014
383.136393.088409.1741.66.84.1

Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ESS47015
324.195332.327345.3211.76.53.9

Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ESS47016
381.264390.416405.4831.76.43.9

Medical care

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ESAM
571.375-571.7593.60.1-

Recreation(3)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ESAR
190.159-189.4932.6-0.4-

Education and communication(3)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ESAE
142.163-141.5600.4-0.4-

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

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ESEEB
1,671.072-1,671.0720.30.0-

Other goods and services

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ESAG
509.723-507.1533.7-0.5-

Commodity and service group

All items

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ESA0
367.917-370.8583.60.8-

Commodities

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ESAC
241.802-243.8920.90.9-

Commodities less food & beverages

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ESACL11
200.738-202.934-1.41.1-

Nondurables less food & beverages

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ESANL11
243.323-249.545-0.22.6-

Durables

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ESAD
157.703-156.759-2.7-0.6-

Services

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ESAS
479.057-482.7434.90.8-

Special aggregate indexes

All items less medical care

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ESA0L5
358.184-361.2303.60.9-

All items less shelter

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ESA0L2
309.008-312.4692.21.1-

Commodities less food

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ESACL1
205.878-208.076-1.21.1-

Nondurables

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ESAN
284.480-288.5502.31.4-

Nondurables less food

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ESANL1
250.514-256.5540.02.4-

Services less rent of shelter(2)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ESASL2RS
459.006-465.6293.81.4-

Services less medical care services

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ESASL5
465.944-469.9785.00.9-

Energy

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ESA0E
391.074399.855415.323-1.86.23.9

All items less energy

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ESA0LE
369.788-371.5923.90.5-

All items less food and energy

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49ESA0L1E
379.576-381.4083.80.5-

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.

 

Last Modified Date: Wednesday, April 10, 2024