Prices in the Los Angeles area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), increased 0.1 percent in August, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that the August increase was influenced by higher prices for shelter. (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 rose 2.9 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Food prices increased 2.5 percent. Energy prices declined 8.8 percent, largely the result of a decrease in the price of gasoline. The index for all items less food and energy rose 3.9 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

  

View Chart Data

Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in CPI-U, Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA, August 2021–August 2024

Month	All items	All items less food and energy
Aug 2021	4.0	2.3
Sep 2021	4.6	3.0
Oct 2021	5.4	3.4
Nov 2021	6.0	3.6
Dec 2021	6.6	4.4
Jan 2022	7.5	5.5
Feb 2022	7.4	5.9
Mar 2022	8.5	6.2
Apr 2022	7.9	5.8
May 2022	8.0	5.8
Jun 2022	8.6	6.0
Jul 2022	7.7	5.7
Aug 2022	7.6	6.2
Sep 2022	7.8	6.3
Oct 2022	7.5	6.0
Nov 2022	6.0	5.2
Dec 2022	4.9	4.5
Jan 2023	5.8	4.5
Feb 2023	5.1	4.5
Mar 2023	3.7	4.3
Apr 2023	3.8	4.5
May 2023	3.2	4.3
Jun 2023	2.5	4.0
Jul 2023	2.7	3.4
Aug 2023	3.3	3.5
Sep 2023	3.2	3.2
Oct 2023	2.4	2.7
Nov 2023	2.8	2.8
Dec 2023	3.5	3.4
Jan 2024	2.5	3.7
Feb 2024	3.4	3.8
Mar 2024	4.0	4.3
Apr 2024	3.9	3.8
May 2024	3.9	3.8
Jun 2024	3.2	3.6
Jul 2024	3.4	4.2
Aug 2024	2.9	3.9

Food prices advanced 0.2 percent for the month of August. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home increased 0.4 percent, with higher prices in four of the six grocery categories. Prices for food away from home declined 0.1 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices increased 2.5 percent. Prices for food at home rose 0.5 percent since a year ago, led by higher prices for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (3.7 percent). Prices for food away from home rose 4.9 percent.

The energy index decreased 1.5 percent over the month. The decrease was mainly due to lower prices for gasoline (-2.7 percent). Prices for natural gas service increased 0.2 percent, while prices for electricity were unchanged for the same period.

Energy prices declined 8.8 percent over the year, largely due to lower prices for gasoline (-13.1 percent). Prices for natural gas service declined 14.6 percent during the past year, while prices paid for electricity increased 0.6 percent.

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 0.2 percent in August. Higher prices for apparel (3.1 percent) and shelter (0.3 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for new and used motor vehicles (-1.2 percent) and household furnishings and operations (-0.6 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 3.9 percent. Components contributing to the increase included medical care (6.4 percent) and shelter (5.5 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were price decreases in new and used motor vehicles (-3.8 percent) and recreation (-3.0 percent).

The September 2024 Consumer Price Index for the Los Angeles area is scheduled to be released on October 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 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	Jun. 2024	Jul. 2024	Aug. 2024	Aug. 2023	Jun. 2024	Jul. 2024
Expenditure category
All items		332.357	332.928	333.359	2.9	0.3	0.1
All items (1967=100)		981.930	983.616	984.889	-	-	-
Food and beverages		337.624	337.127	337.593	2.3	0.0	0.1
Food		340.124	339.651	340.205	2.5	0.0	0.2
Food at home		320.069	318.628	320.037	0.5	0.0	0.4
Cereals and bakery products		342.228	341.760	344.645	-1.7	0.7	0.8
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		356.286	355.284	357.951	3.7	0.5	0.8
Dairy and related products		292.577	300.092	304.786	1.9	4.2	1.6
Fruits and vegetables		405.043	404.396	400.070	-3.1	-1.2	-1.1
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		300.753	294.232	300.188	-3.3	-0.2	2.0
Other food at home		266.007	263.174	263.081	2.8	-1.1	0.0
Food away from home		358.065	358.686	358.273	4.9	0.1	-0.1
Alcoholic beverages		280.885	280.061	279.126	-1.3	-0.6	-0.3
Housing		382.279	384.559	385.413	4.6	0.8	0.2
Shelter		440.257	442.490	443.826	5.5	0.8	0.3
Rent of primary residence(2)		464.130	467.990	469.096	4.8	1.1	0.2
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)(3)		456.384	459.086	460.341	5.8	0.9	0.3
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(1)(2)		456.357	459.060	460.315	5.8	0.9	0.3
Fuels and utilities		466.055	482.383	483.364	2.3	3.7	0.2
Household energy		406.695	415.012	415.114	-3.0	2.1	0.0
Energy services(2)		405.123	413.420	413.511	-3.0	2.1	0.0
Electricity(2)		482.766	490.758	490.679	0.6	1.6	0.0
Utility (piped) gas service(2)		286.096	295.848	296.299	-14.6	3.6	0.2
Household furnishings and operations		130.103	128.799	127.973	-2.5	-1.6	-0.6
Apparel		120.005	118.044	121.681	-1.9	1.4	3.1
Transportation		272.825	269.571	267.380	-0.2	-2.0	-0.8
Private transportation		274.080	272.088	269.340	-0.3	-1.7	-1.0
New and used motor vehicles(4)		110.129	110.712	109.425	-3.8	-0.6	-1.2
New vehicles(1)		191.809	191.569	191.152	-2.3	-0.3	-0.2
Used cars and trucks(1)		348.984	344.608	342.987	-9.8	-1.7	-0.5
Motor fuel		365.320	354.443	344.816	-13.2	-5.6	-2.7
Gasoline (all types)		356.202	345.473	336.083	-13.1	-5.6	-2.7
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)		356.433	345.558	335.970	-13.4	-5.7	-2.8
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		341.277	331.239	322.562	-12.7	-5.5	-2.6
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)		342.954	333.101	324.718	-12.1	-5.3	-2.5
Medical care		585.589	592.969	591.787	6.4	1.1	-0.2
Recreation(6)		121.191	121.592	122.005	-3.0	0.7	0.3
Education and communication(6)		160.716	160.733	161.702	2.2	0.6	0.6
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)		2,311.711	2,316.780	2,336.334	2.9	1.1	0.8
Other goods and services		538.631	540.020	541.422	2.3	0.5	0.3
Commodity and service group
All items		332.357	332.928	333.359	2.9	0.3	0.1
Commodities		217.773	216.573	216.614	-1.7	-0.5	0.0
Commodities less food & beverages		158.871	157.442	157.308	-4.3	-1.0	-0.1
Nondurables less food & beverages		222.781	220.300	221.020	-5.1	-0.8	0.3
Durables		100.109	99.474	98.884	-3.9	-1.2	-0.6
Services		434.542	436.796	437.591	5.3	0.7	0.2
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care		321.292	321.609	322.097	2.6	0.3	0.2
All items less shelter		284.481	284.266	284.270	1.1	-0.1	0.0
Commodities less food		164.135	162.700	162.545	-4.2	-1.0	-0.1
Nondurables		281.339	279.864	280.455	-1.0	-0.3	0.2
Nondurables less food		229.262	226.847	227.477	-4.9	-0.8	0.3
Services less rent of shelter(3)		438.195	440.527	440.439	4.9	0.5	0.0
Services less medical care services		419.824	421.710	422.746	5.2	0.7	0.2
Energy		384.090	380.754	374.923	-8.8	-2.4	-1.5
All items less energy		331.310	332.087	332.847	3.7	0.5	0.2
All items less food and energy		329.903	330.897	331.692	3.9	0.5	0.2
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.