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News Release Information

24-513-SAN
Tuesday, March 12, 2024

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

Consumer Price Index, Los Angeles area — February 2024

Area prices were up 0.5 percent over the past month, up 3.4 percent from a year ago

Prices in the Los Angeles area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 0.5 percent in February, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that the February increase was influenced by higher prices for shelter and medical care. (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 advanced 3.4 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Food prices advanced 2.9 percent. Energy prices fell 0.9 percent, largely the result of a decrease in the price of natural gas service. The index for all items less food and energy advanced 3.8 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in CPI-U, Los Angeles, February 2021-February 2024
Food

Food prices advanced 0.1 percent for the month of February. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home rose 0.2 percent, led by higher prices for other food at home (1.7 percent) and meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (1.2 percent). Prices for food away from home increased 0.1 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices advanced 2.9 percent. Prices for food at home advanced 1.7 percent since a year ago, led by higher prices for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (3.9 percent) and other food at home (3.8 percent). Prices for food away from home rose 5.0 percent.

Energy

The energy index increased 2.0 percent over the month. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (3.1 percent). Prices for natural gas service rose 3.0 percent, while prices for electricity were unchanged for the same period.

Energy prices fell 0.9 percent over the year, largely due to lower prices for natural gas service (-24.4 percent). Prices paid for electricity increased 5.1 percent, and prices for gasoline advanced 0.9 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 0.4 percent in February. Higher prices for medical care (2.7 percent) and shelter (0.6 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for apparel (-5.3 percent) and household furnishings and operations (-1.8 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 3.8 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (5.3 percent) and medical care (2.9 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were price decreases in new and used motor vehicles (-1.1 percent) and household furnishings and operations (-1.1 percent).

Table A. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA, CPI-U 1-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted
Month 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
1-month 12-month 1-month 12-month 1-month 12-month 1-month 12-month 1-month 12-month

January

0.8 3.1 0.2 0.9 1.1 7.5 1.9 5.8 1.0 2.5

February

0.3 3.4 0.4 1.0 0.3 7.4 -0.3 5.1 0.5 3.4

March

-0.7 1.9 0.5 2.2 1.5 8.5 0.1 3.7

April

-0.3 0.7 1.1 3.6 0.5 7.9 0.7 3.8

May

0.4 0.9 0.6 3.9 0.8 8.0 0.1 3.2

June

0.5 1.4 0.6 4.0 1.1 8.6 0.5 2.5

July

0.6 1.9 0.6 3.9 -0.2 7.7 0.0 2.7

August

0.1 2.0 0.2 4.0 0.1 7.6 0.7 3.3

September

-0.3 1.2 0.3 4.6 0.5 7.8 0.3 3.2

October

0.2 0.7 0.9 5.4 0.6 7.5 -0.1 2.4

November

0.1 1.0 0.6 6.0 -0.8 6.0 -0.4 2.8

December

-0.2 1.5 0.4 6.6 -0.6 4.9 0.0 3.5

The March 2024 Consumer Price Index for the Los Angeles area is scheduled to be released on April 10, 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 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA metropolitan area includes Los Angeles and Orange Counties in California.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

Table 1. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): Indexes and percent changes for selected periods

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)
Item and Group

Indexes Percent change from-
Historical
data
Dec.
2023
Jan.
2024
Feb.
2024
Feb.
2023
Dec.
2023
Jan.
2024

Expenditure category

All items

323.456 326.640 328.232 3.4 1.5 0.5

All items (1967=100)

955.632 965.040 969.743 - - -

Food and beverages

333.802 335.312 335.560 2.7 0.5 0.1

Food

335.923 337.261 337.751 2.9 0.5 0.1

Food at home

319.805 321.664 322.334 1.7 0.8 0.2

Cereals and bakery products

351.146 349.337 351.618 0.5 0.1 0.7

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs

349.043 348.207 352.507 3.9 1.0 1.2

Dairy and related products

302.927 302.835 296.315 -3.6 -2.2 -2.2

Fruits and vegetables

415.278 419.481 415.558 0.0 0.1 -0.9

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)

300.440 308.219 303.271 0.6 0.9 -1.6

Other food at home

258.853 260.755 265.093 3.8 2.4 1.7

Food away from home

349.499 350.233 350.514 5.0 0.3 0.1

Alcoholic beverages

283.123 287.206 283.712 -0.3 0.2 -1.2

Housing

372.378 375.856 377.297 4.4 1.3 0.4

Shelter

427.059 429.501 432.052 5.3 1.2 0.6

Rent of primary residence(2)

453.306 454.118 455.850 4.8 0.6 0.4

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

445.317 448.036 450.137 6.0 1.1 0.5

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

445.292 448.010 450.112 6.0 1.1 0.5

Fuels and utilities

467.928 475.860 478.022 0.2 2.2 0.5

Household energy

419.952 418.822 421.506 -2.9 0.4 0.6

Energy services(2)

418.283 417.202 419.946 -2.9 0.4 0.7

Electricity(2)

500.343 496.375 496.279 5.1 -0.8 0.0

Utility (piped) gas service(2)

291.498 296.238 305.093 -24.4 4.7 3.0

Household furnishings and operations

129.068 134.374 131.896 -1.1 2.2 -1.8

Apparel

115.263 127.262 120.505 0.0 4.5 -5.3

Transportation

261.051 261.850 266.174 2.6 2.0 1.7

Private transportation

263.268 262.944 266.791 2.6 1.3 1.5

New and used motor vehicles(4)

111.242 111.770 110.532 -1.1 -0.6 -1.1

New vehicles(1)

193.132 193.458 193.296 -1.1 0.1 -0.1

Used cars and trucks(1)

355.740 342.665 344.429 -1.8 -3.2 0.5

Motor fuel

360.249 349.563 360.451 0.8 0.1 3.1

Gasoline (all types)

350.793 340.400 351.094 0.9 0.1 3.1

Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)

351.222 340.618 351.507 0.8 0.1 3.2

Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)

335.894 326.441 336.312 0.8 0.1 3.0

Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)

337.051 327.729 337.389 1.1 0.1 2.9

Medical care

546.364 557.372 572.628 2.9 4.8 2.7

Recreation(6)

121.374 121.418 122.119 0.3 0.6 0.6

Education and communication(6)

158.821 159.364 160.535 3.0 1.1 0.7

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

2,288.732 2,286.263 2,286.262 4.9 -0.1 0.0

Other goods and services

530.757 537.406 528.754 5.6 -0.4 -1.6

Commodity and service group

All items

323.456 326.640 328.232 3.4 1.5 0.5

Commodities

215.491 218.074 217.585 0.9 1.0 -0.2

Commodities less food & beverages

157.323 160.220 159.455 -0.1 1.4 -0.5

Nondurables less food & beverages

218.029 223.024 222.894 0.3 2.2 -0.1

Durables

100.569 101.877 100.869 -0.7 0.3 -1.0

Services

419.503 423.191 426.740 4.7 1.7 0.8

Special aggregate indexes

All items less medical care

313.555 316.435 317.514 3.4 1.3 0.3

All items less shelter

277.532 281.104 282.256 2.0 1.7 0.4

Commodities less food

162.657 165.625 164.782 -0.1 1.3 -0.5

Nondurables

277.055 280.285 280.347 1.6 1.2 0.0

Nondurables less food

224.865 229.872 229.540 0.2 2.1 -0.1

Services less rent of shelter(3)

419.579 425.412 430.692 3.6 2.6 1.2

Services less medical care services

406.165 409.674 412.462 4.8 1.6 0.7

Energy

386.254 379.289 386.994 -0.9 0.2 2.0

All items less energy

321.788 325.517 326.798 3.6 1.6 0.4

All items less food and energy

319.457 323.601 325.020 3.8 1.7 0.4

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: Tuesday, March 12, 2024