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News Release Information

23-2445-SAN
Tuesday, November 14, 2023

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

Consumer Price Index, San Francisco Area — October 2023

Area prices were up 0.3 percent over the past two months, up 2.8 percent from a year ago

Prices in the San Francisco area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), increased 0.3 percent for the two months ending in October 2023, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that the October increase was influenced by higher prices for energy. (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 2.8 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Food prices rose 2.8 percent. Energy prices declined 2.5 percent, largely the result of a decrease in the price of gasoline. The index for all items less food and energy advanced 3.1 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices were unchanged for the two months ending in October. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home declined 0.4 percent, with lower prices in three of the six grocery categories. Prices for food away from home rose 0.8 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices rose 2.8 percent. Prices for food at home increased 1.9 percent since a year ago, with higher prices in four of the six grocery categories.  Prices for food away from home advanced 5.0 percent.

Energy

The energy index increased 6.8 percent for the two months ending in October. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (8.3 percent). Prices for natural gas service increased 18.5 percent, and prices for electricity rose 0.3 percent for the same period.

Energy prices declined 2.5 percent over the year, largely due to lower prices for gasoline (-8.1 percent). Prices paid for natural gas service declined 12.2 percent, but electricity prices advanced 14.1 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy was unchanged in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for household furnishings and operations (1.8 percent) and shelter (0.1 percent) were offset by lower prices for new and used motor vehicles (-2.9 percent), recreation (-0.7 percent) and education and communication (-0.6 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 3.1 percent. Components contributing to the increase included household furnishings and operations (4.9 percent) and shelter (3.6 percent). Partly offsetting the increases was a price decrease in used cars and trucks (-6.8 percent).

Table A. San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA, CPI-U 2-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted
Month 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
2-month 12-month 2-month 12-month 2-month 12-month 2-month 12-month 2-month 12-month

February

0.5 3.5 0.9 2.9 0.5 1.6 1.4 5.2 1.8 5.3

April

1.2 4.0 -0.5 1.1 1.7 3.8 1.5 5.0 0.4 4.2

June

0.2 3.2 0.7 1.6 0.0 3.2 1.7 6.8 0.5 2.9

August

0.1 2.7 0.0 1.6 0.5 3.7 -0.5 5.7 0.0 3.4

October

1.0 3.0 0.5 1.1 0.7 3.8 1.0 6.0 0.3 2.8

December

-0.5 2.5 0.4 2.0 0.8 4.2 -0.3 4.9

The December 2023 Consumer Price Index for the San Francisco area is scheduled to be released on January 11, 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 Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA. metropolitan area covered in this release is comprised of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo Counties in the State of California.

Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments 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

San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)
Item and Group

Indexes Percent change from-
Historical
data
Aug.
2023
Sep.
2023
Oct.
2023
Oct.
2022
Aug.
2023
Sep.
2023

Expenditure category

All items

340.094 - 341.219 2.8 0.3 -

All items (1967=100)

1,045.544 - 1,049.001 - - -

Food and beverages

363.484 - 363.712 2.8 0.1 -

Food

366.277 - 366.142 2.8 0.0 -

Food at home

331.589 330.240 330.300 1.9 -0.4 0.0

Cereals and bakery products

326.609 330.298 332.010 2.8 1.7 0.5

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs

354.085 359.745 359.247 2.0 1.5 -0.1

Dairy and related products

338.521 334.243 336.736 -0.3 -0.5 0.7

Fruits and vegetables

416.407 413.420 415.948 -1.9 -0.1 0.6

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)

239.132 241.778 249.969 6.5 4.5 3.4

Other food at home

298.757 290.595 285.068 3.4 -4.6 -1.9

Food away from home

406.376 - 409.744 5.0 0.8 -

Alcoholic beverages

333.818 - 338.114 3.4 1.3 -

Housing

391.561 - 393.659 3.9 0.5 -

Shelter

436.689 436.017 437.202 3.6 0.1 0.3

Rent of primary residence(2)

501.255 502.863 502.626 4.7 0.3 0.0

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

467.028 467.004 468.810 3.4 0.4 0.4

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

467.028 467.004 468.810 3.4 0.4 0.4

Fuels and utilities

568.379 - 587.603 5.2 3.4 -

Household energy

523.691 542.934 551.068 4.7 5.2 1.5

Energy services(2)

525.493 545.071 553.244 5.0 5.3 1.5

Electricity(2)

617.731 627.505 619.499 14.1 0.3 -1.3

Utility (piped) gas service(2)

368.634 403.323 436.938 -12.2 18.5 8.3

Household furnishings and operations

171.606 - 174.636 4.9 1.8 -

Apparel

117.759 - 114.346 2.9 -2.9 -

Transportation

254.009 - 256.018 -3.1 0.8 -

Private transportation

255.641 - 257.641 -2.3 0.8 -

New and used motor vehicles(4)

121.463 - 117.888 -2.5 -2.9 -

New vehicles(1)

196.016 - 194.805 0.1 -0.6 -

Used cars and trucks(1)

359.111 - 333.804 -6.8 -7.0 -

Motor fuel

370.944 398.486 401.688 -7.9 8.3 0.8

Gasoline (all types)

368.512 395.843 399.007 -8.1 8.3 0.8

Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)

368.820 396.493 399.529 -8.3 8.3 0.8

Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)

343.435 368.226 371.517 -7.9 8.2 0.9

Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)

348.359 373.037 376.494 -7.4 8.1 0.9

Medical care

591.060 - 594.003 1.1 0.5 -

Recreation(6)

145.580 - 144.574 4.7 -0.7 -

Education and communication(6)

161.488 - 160.472 2.7 -0.6 -

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

- - 1,945.129 0.1 - -

Other goods and services

629.145 - 632.977 10.7 0.6 -

Commodity and service group

All items

340.094 - 341.219 2.8 0.3 -

Commodities

235.609 - 236.108 0.2 0.2 -

Commodities less food & beverages

168.637 - 169.145 -2.0 0.3 -

Nondurables less food & beverages

225.002 - 230.276 -1.6 2.3 -

Durables

116.655 - 115.076 -1.0 -1.4 -

Services

428.124 - 429.785 4.0 0.4 -

Special aggregate indexes

All items less medical care

329.675 - 330.728 2.9 0.3 -

All items less shelter

302.755 - 304.254 2.1 0.5 -

Commodities less food

176.054 - 176.660 -1.7 0.3 -

Nondurables

296.189 - 299.255 1.3 1.0 -

Nondurables less food

233.700 - 238.950 -1.1 2.2 -

Services less rent of shelter(3)

441.080 - 444.924 4.7 0.9 -

Services less medical care services

416.663 - 418.547 4.3 0.5 -

Energy

433.524 457.669 462.892 -2.5 6.8 1.1

All items less energy

339.847 - 339.705 3.1 0.0 -

All items less food and energy

336.662 - 336.518 3.1 0.0 -

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, November 14, 2023