The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for San Diego-Carlsbad increased 2.0 percent for the two months ending in September 2026, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today. Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that prices for energy increased 4.5 percent during the two-month period. The food index increased 0.3 percent, and the all items less food and energy index increased 2.0 percent. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

The San Diego area all items CPI-U increased 4.7 percent for the 12 months ending in September. The index for all items less food and energy increased 3.8 percent over the year. Food prices advanced 1.9 percent. Energy prices advanced 23.3 percent.

Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in CPI-U, San Diego-Carlsbad, CA, September 2023–September 2026

Month	All items	All items less food and energy
Sep 2023	4.7	4.8
Nov 2023	5.2	5.6
Jan 2024	3.8	5.0
Mar 2024	3.6	3.8
May 2024	3.2	3.1
Jul 2024	3.5	3.9
Sep 2024	2.5	3.4
Nov 2024	2.6	3.2
Jan 2025	3.8	4.0
Mar 2025	3.8	4.1
May 2025	3.8	4.3
Jul 2025	4.0	4.2
Sep 2025	3.9	4.0
Nov 2025	4.0	4.2
Jan 2026	2.6	2.5
Mar 2026	3.2	2.6
May 2026	3.8	2.5
Jul 2026	2.7	1.9
Sep 2026	4.7	3.8

View Chart Data

Food

Food prices rose 0.3 percent for the two months ending in September. Prices for food at home (grocery store purchases) rose 0.3 percent, with higher prices in 3 of the 6 major grocery store food groups. Prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) advanced 0.3 percent for the same period.

Food prices advanced 1.9 percent over the year. Prices for food at home rose 1.3 percent, with higher prices in 3 of the 6 major grocery store food groups. Prices for food away from home advanced 2.9 percent.

Energy

The energy index rose 4.5 percent for the two months ending in September. Gasoline prices increased 10.5 percent.

Energy prices advanced 23.3 percent over the year. Gasoline prices rose 29.5 percent.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 2.0 percent during the two-month period. Among the index’s components, prices were higher for apparel (+6.1 percent) and shelter (+0.7 percent). In contrast, prices were lower for household furnishings and operations (-0.6 percent).

The index for all items less food and energy rose 3.8 percent over the year. Components contributing to the increase included education and communication (+14.2 percent) and shelter (+2.5 percent). In contrast, prices were lower for used cars and trucks (-2.2 percent).

The November 2026 Consumer Price Index for the San Diego area is scheduled to be released on December 10, 2026.

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 Consumer Price Index for San Diego is published bi-monthly. The set of components and sub-aggregates published for regional and metropolitan indexes is more limited than at the U.S. city average level; these indexes are byproducts of the national CPI program. Each local index has a much smaller sample size than the national or regional indexes and is, therefore, subject to substantially more sampling and other measurement error. As a result, local-area indexes are more volatile than the national or regional indexes. In addition, local indexes are not adjusted for seasonal influences. 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.

Table 1. San Diego-Carlsbad, CA, CPI-U by expenditure category for September 2026, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Expenditure category	Indexes				Percent change from -
	Historical data	Jul. 2026	Aug. 2026	Sep. 2026	Sep. 2025	Jul. 2026	Aug. 2026
All Items		400.877	-	409.029	4.7	2.0	-
All items (1967=100)		1,355.488	-	1,383.051
Food and beverages		349.048	-	350.073	2.4	0.3	-
Food		346.761	-	347.659	1.9	0.3	-
Food at home		302.255	301.814	303.048	1.3	0.3	0.4
Cereals and bakery products		401.970	390.941	394.525	-2.6	-1.9	0.9
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		301.271	299.878	304.198	1.5	1.0	1.4
Dairy and related products		247.019	248.240	242.679	5.2	-1.8	-2.2
Fruits and vegetables		294.999	306.994	309.100	7.1	4.8	0.7
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		351.311	331.861	333.975	-3.6	-4.9	0.6
Other food at home		288.992	290.609	290.408	-0.3	0.5	-0.1
Food away from home		408.974	-	410.010	2.9	0.3	-
Alcoholic beverages		360.660	-	363.398	9.1	0.8	-
Housing		493.637	-	494.931	3.0	0.3	-
Shelter		562.499	561.349	566.172	2.5	0.7	0.9
Rent of primary residence		557.976	559.876	563.972	2.7	1.1	0.7
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)		595.055	593.679	597.770	2.1	0.5	0.7
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)		595.055	593.679	597.770	2.1	0.5	0.7
Household furnishings and operations		224.418	-	223.049	1.4	-0.6	-
Apparel		168.245	-	178.452	3.6	6.1	-
Transportation		322.842	-	331.486	7.0	2.7	-
Private transportation		320.648	-	329.261	6.2	2.7	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)		131.812	-	131.761	-0.3	0.0	-
New vehicles(1)		260.734	-	260.968	0.1	0.1	-
Used cars and trucks(1)		304.925	-	305.013	-2.2	0.0	-
Motor fuel		443.874	460.088	494.295	30.6	11.4	7.4
Gasoline (all types)		443.038	456.808	489.772	29.5	10.5	7.2
Unleaded regular(4)		458.706	473.191	507.768	30.0	10.7	7.3
Unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		385.753	397.665	425.151	28.7	10.2	6.9
Unleaded premium(4)		453.525	466.798	499.029	28.0	10.0	6.9
Medical Care		610.187	-	623.757	3.2	2.2	-
Recreation(3)		197.393	-	203.093	8.5	2.9	-
Education and communication(3)		-	-	168.288	14.2	-	-
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(6)		-	-	128.583	-	-	-
Other goods and services		546.447	-	555.464	2.8	1.7	-
Footnotes (1) Index is on a November 1977=100 base. (2) Index is 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. (6) Indexes on a December 2024=100 base.
- Data not available. NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date. Data not seasonally adjusted.

Table 2. San Diego-Carlsbad, CA, CPI-U by special aggregate index for September 2026, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Special aggregate index	Indexes				Percent change from -
	Historical data	Jul. 2026	Aug. 2026	Sep. 2026	Sep. 2025	Jul. 2026	Aug. 2026
All items		400.877	-	409.029	4.7	2.0	-
Food		346.761	-	347.659	1.9	0.3	-
Energy		484.997	484.802	506.808	23.3	4.5	4.5
All items less food and energy		410.521	-	418.936	3.8	2.0	-
All items less energy		399.690	-	407.162	3.6	1.9	-
All items less medical care		390.818	-	398.708	4.8	2.0	-
All items less shelter		335.305	-	345.161	6.1	2.9	-
Commodities		253.724	-	257.920	3.9	1.7	-
Commodities less food		211.659	-	216.349	4.5	2.2	-
Commodities less food & beverages		205.694	-	210.344	4.3	2.3	-
Durables		156.529	-	156.268	-0.9	-0.2	-
Nondurables		307.976	-	317.211	7.6	3.0	-
Nondurables less food & beverages		263.064	-	279.187	13.8	6.1	-
Nondurables less food		271.563	-	287.132	13.4	5.7	-
Services		530.743	-	542.522	5.0	2.2	-
Services less rent of shelter(1)		518.868	-	541.902	8.5	4.4	-
Services less medical care services		517.568	-	528.763	5.1	2.2	-
Footnotes (1) Indexes on a November 1982=100 base.
- Data not available. NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.