Department of Labor Logo United States Department of Labor
Dot gov

The .gov means it's official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you're on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

News Release Information

24-302-SAN
Tuesday, February 13, 2024

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

Consumer Price Index, Riverside Area — January 2024

Area prices were unchanged over the past two months, up 2.9 percent from a year ago

Prices in the Riverside area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), were unchanged 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 higher prices for shelter, education and communication, and apparel were offset by lower prices for gasoline and new and used motor vehicles. (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 2.9 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Food prices increased 2.8 percent. Energy prices fell 10.4 percent, largely the result of a decrease in the price of natural gas service. The index for all items less food and energy increased 4.4 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices advanced 0.3 percent for the two months ending in January. (See table 1.)Prices for food at home decreased 0.3 percent, led by lower prices for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (-1.7 percent) and other food at home (-1.4 percent). Prices for food away from home advanced 1.1 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices increased 2.8 percent. Prices for food at home advanced 0.9 percent since a year ago, led by higher prices for cereals and bakery products (4.2 percent). Prices for food away from home rose 5.9 percent.

Energy

The energy index fell 6.3 percent for the two months ending in January. The decrease was mainly due to lower prices for gasoline (-9.4 percent). Prices for natural gas service declined 8.5 percent, while prices for electricity advanced 0.8 percent for the same period.

Energy prices fell 10.4 percent over the year, largely due to lower prices for natural gas service (-62.4 percent). Prices paid for electricity rose 5.6 percent, and prices for gasoline advanced 2.1 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 0.6 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for apparel (4.6 percent), education and communication (1.9 percent), and shelter (0.3 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for new and used motor vehicles (-2.8 percent) and household furnishings and operations (-1.4 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 4.4 percent. Components contributing to the increase included other goods and services (11.1 percent) and shelter (8.1 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were price decreases in household furnishings and operations (-6.0 percent) and new and used motor vehicles (-4.4 percent).

Table A. Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA, CPI-U 2-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted
Month 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
2-month 12-month 2-month 12-month 2-month 12-month 2-month 12-month 2-month 12-month

January

0.5 3.0 0.9 2.2 1.5 8.6 1.3 7.3 0.0 2.9

March

0.0 2.3 1.3 3.6 2.7 10.0 0.0 4.6

May

-0.2 0.9 2.0 5.9 1.4 9.4 0.8 3.9

July

0.7 1.7 1.3 6.5 1.1 9.2 0.6 3.4

September

0.5 1.7 0.8 6.8 0.0 8.4 1.4 4.9

November

0.4 1.9 1.4 7.9 0.6 7.5 0.0 4.3

The March 2024 Consumer Price Index for the Riverside 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 Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA metropolitan area includes Riverside and San Bernardino Counties 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

Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario (December 2017=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

131.372 - 131.358 2.9 0.0 -

Food and beverages

133.674 - 134.015 2.7 0.3 -

Food

134.840 - 135.262 2.8 0.3 -

Food at home

132.251 132.091 131.852 0.9 -0.3 -0.2

Cereals and bakery products

151.129 152.594 153.524 4.2 1.6 0.6

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs

135.113 134.543 132.855 0.6 -1.7 -1.3

Dairy and related products

113.696 116.269 112.795 -0.4 -0.8 -3.0

Fruits and vegetables

130.429 128.859 132.556 -1.2 1.6 2.9

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials

130.700 130.174 130.411 1.0 -0.2 0.2

Other food at home

128.256 127.698 126.411 0.8 -1.4 -1.0

Food away from home

139.087 - 140.638 5.9 1.1 -

Alcoholic beverages

111.905 - 110.907 -0.5 -0.9 -

Housing

138.210 - 138.264 3.5 0.0 -

Shelter

137.324 137.018 137.790 8.1 0.3 0.6

Rent of primary residence

142.282 142.927 142.915 7.4 0.4 0.0

Owners' equiv. rent of residences

136.143 136.646 137.195 8.5 0.8 0.4

Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence

136.143 136.646 137.195 8.5 0.8 0.4

Fuels and utilities

162.493 - 161.457 -15.9 -0.6 -

Household energy

175.670 172.839 173.440 -23.5 -1.3 0.3

Energy services

177.213 174.253 174.859 -23.8 -1.3 0.3

Electricity

181.889 182.556 183.343 5.6 0.8 0.4

Utility (piped) gas service

163.015 149.236 149.174 -62.4 -8.5 0.0

Household furnishings and operations

119.480 - 117.771 -6.0 -1.4 -

Apparel

107.169 - 112.057 -1.8 4.6 -

Transportation

135.566 - 132.350 1.9 -2.4 -

Private transportation

138.208 - 133.887 1.3 -3.1 -

New and used motor vehicles

116.682 - 113.428 -4.4 -2.8 -

New vehicles

114.683 - 114.021 -2.2 -0.6 -

Used cars and trucks

135.561 - 130.458 -3.5 -3.8 -

Motor fuel

162.681 151.481 147.254 1.9 -9.5 -2.8

Gasoline (all types)

162.434 151.258 147.146 2.1 -9.4 -2.7

Gasoline, unleaded regular(1)

163.085 151.723 147.450 2.0 -9.6 -2.8

Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(1)

162.705 151.738 147.899 2.1 -9.1 -2.5

Gasoline, unleaded premium(1)

159.146 148.736 145.207 2.2 -8.8 -2.4

Medical care

122.223 - - - - -

Recreation

112.406 - 112.709 3.1 0.3 -

Education and communication

108.350 - 110.436 -0.8 1.9 -

Tuition, other school fees, and child care

129.012 - 129.012 2.7 0.0 -

Other goods and services

134.369 - 134.621 11.1 0.2 -

Commodity and service group

All items

131.372 - 131.358 2.9 0.0 -

Commodities

125.657 - 124.772 0.0 -0.7 -

Commodities less food & beverages

121.404 - 119.884 -1.5 -1.3 -

Nondurables less food & beverages

129.907 - 127.475 2.0 -1.9 -

Durables

112.778 - 112.000 -4.9 -0.7 -

Services

135.511 - 136.084 4.8 0.4 -

Special aggregate indexes

All items less medical care

132.013 - 131.753 2.8 -0.2 -

All items less shelter

128.311 - 128.044 0.1 -0.2 -

Commodities less food

121.088 - 119.568 -1.5 -1.3 -

Nondurables

131.864 - 130.860 2.4 -0.8 -

Nondurables less food

128.932 - 126.544 1.9 -1.9 -

Services less rent of shelter

132.663 - 133.350 0.3 0.5 -

Services less medical care services

136.331 - 136.896 5.0 0.4 -

Energy

168.209 160.090 157.673 -10.4 -6.3 -1.5

All items less energy

128.300 - 128.988 4.1 0.5 -

All items less food and energy

127.266 - 128.003 4.4 0.6 -

Footnotes
(1) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample.

- Data not available
NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.

 

Last Modified Date: Tuesday, February 13, 2024