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News Release Information

23-2004-SAN
Wednesday, September 13, 2023

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

Consumer Price Index, Los Angeles area — August 2023

Area prices were up 0.7 percent over the past month, up 3.3 percent from a year ago

Prices in the Los Angeles area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), increased 0.7 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 gasoline and 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 advanced 3.3 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Food prices increased 4.1 percent. Energy prices increased 0.7 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of electricity. The index for all items less food and energy rose 3.5 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices declined 0.1 percent for the month of August. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home decreased 0.2 percent, influenced by lower prices for other food at home (-1.5 percent) and fruits and vegetables (-1.4 percent). Prices for food away from home were unchanged for the same period.

Over the year, food prices increased 4.1 percent. Prices for food at home rose 2.5 percent since a year ago, with higher prices in four of the six grocery categories. Prices for food away from home advanced 6.2 percent.

Energy

The energy index advanced 4.0 percent over the month. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (5.7 percent). Prices for natural gas service rose 7.6 percent, while prices for electricity were unchanged for the same period.

Energy prices increased 0.7 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for electricity (13.7 percent). Prices paid for natural gas service fell 14.3 percent, and prices for gasoline declined 2.2 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 0.5 percent in August. Higher prices for apparel (6.1 percent) and shelter (0.4 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for used cars and trucks (-1.4 percent) and household furnishings and operations (-0.6 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 3.5 percent. Components contributing to the increase included other goods and services (8.2 percent) and shelter (5.0 percent). Partly offsetting the increases was a price decrease in used cars and trucks (-6.2 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 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
1-month 12-month 1-month 12-month 1-month 12-month 1-month 12-month 1-month 12-month

January

0.7 3.2 0.8 3.1 0.2 0.9 1.1 7.5 1.9 5.8

February

0.1 2.5 0.3 3.4 0.4 1.0 0.3 7.4 -0.3 5.1

March

0.6 2.7 0.7 1.9 0.5 2.2 1.5 8.5 0.1 3.7

April

1.0 3.3 -0.3 0.7 1.1 3.6 0.5 7.9 0.7 3.8

May

0.2 3.1 0.4 0.9 0.6 3.9 0.8 8.0 0.1 3.2

June

0.0 3.3 0.5 1.4 0.6 4.0 1.1 8.6 0.5 2.5

July

0.1 3.3 0.6 1.9 0.6 3.9 -0.2 7.7 0.0 2.7

August

0.0 3.0 0.1 2.0 0.2 4.0 0.1 7.6 0.7 3.3

September

0.5 3.0 -0.3 1.2 0.3 4.6 0.5 7.8

October

0.7 3.2 0.2 0.7 0.9 5.4 0.6 7.5

November

-0.3 3.2 0.1 1.0 0.6 6.0 -0.8 6.0

December

-0.6 3.0 -0.2 1.5 0.4 6.6 -0.6 4.9

The September 2023 Consumer Price Index for the Los Angeles area is scheduled to be released on October 12, 2023.


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
Jun.
2023
Jul.
2023
Aug.
2023
Aug.
2022
Jun.
2023
Jul.
2023

Expenditure category

All items

322.055 321.931 324.050 3.3 0.6 0.7

All items (1967=100)

951.494 951.126 957.388 - - -

Food and beverages

328.406 330.276 330.114 3.9 0.5 0.0

Food

329.962 332.354 331.989 4.1 0.6 -0.1

Food at home

315.871 318.975 318.410 2.5 0.8 -0.2

Cereals and bakery products

343.414 350.051 350.457 5.6 2.1 0.1

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs

337.829 340.830 345.117 2.3 2.2 1.3

Dairy and related products

297.390 300.894 299.145 -1.7 0.6 -0.6

Fruits and vegetables

411.595 418.910 413.075 -1.1 0.4 -1.4

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)

306.049 304.262 310.546 4.8 1.5 2.1

Other food at home

258.294 259.738 255.943 4.8 -0.9 -1.5

Food away from home

340.405 341.524 341.505 6.2 0.3 0.0

Alcoholic beverages

285.493 280.398 282.904 1.2 -0.9 0.9

Housing

366.319 367.102 368.480 4.6 0.6 0.4

Shelter

418.164 419.001 420.623 5.0 0.6 0.4

Rent of primary residence(2)

443.737 444.931 447.648 5.8 0.9 0.6

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

432.069 433.348 434.944 4.8 0.7 0.4

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

432.044 433.323 434.919 4.8 0.7 0.4

Fuels and utilities

460.548 466.723 472.708 5.0 2.6 1.3

Household energy

409.392 420.614 427.795 4.7 4.5 1.7

Energy services(2)

407.773 418.879 426.093 4.8 4.5 1.7

Electricity(2)

475.574 487.574 487.706 13.7 2.6 0.0

Utility (piped) gas service(2)

311.953 322.618 346.998 -14.3 11.2 7.6

Household furnishings and operations

132.982 132.065 131.281 0.6 -1.3 -0.6

Apparel

120.659 116.984 124.088 1.2 2.8 6.1

Transportation

265.189 264.953 267.894 -0.7 1.0 1.1

Private transportation

267.102 267.483 270.235 -0.8 1.2 1.0

New and used motor vehicles(4)

114.195 114.278 113.742 -2.2 -0.4 -0.5

New vehicles(1)

196.567 196.489 195.700 0.4 -0.4 -0.4

Used cars and trucks(1)

386.881 385.592 380.049 -6.2 -1.8 -1.4

Motor fuel

371.604 375.619 397.083 -2.2 6.9 5.7

Gasoline (all types)

362.182 366.090 386.936 -2.2 6.8 5.7

Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)

362.871 366.863 387.990 -2.3 6.9 5.8

Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)

346.686 350.244 369.541 -2.2 6.6 5.5

Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)

347.052 350.513 369.611 -2.0 6.5 5.4

Medical care

556.890 557.087 556.071 1.8 -0.1 -0.2

Recreation(6)

124.389 124.435 125.820 4.8 1.2 1.1

Education and communication(6)

156.957 157.089 158.154 0.5 0.8 0.7

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

2,234.511 2,241.252 2,269.579 2.4 1.6 1.3

Other goods and services

540.739 512.741 529.462 8.2 -2.1 3.3

Commodity and service group

All items

322.055 321.931 324.050 3.3 0.6 0.7

Commodities

218.667 218.535 220.389 0.7 0.8 0.8

Commodities less food & beverages

162.770 162.044 164.318 -1.9 1.0 1.4

Nondurables less food & beverages

226.577 225.104 232.980 0.3 2.8 3.5

Durables

103.638 103.368 102.864 -3.4 -0.7 -0.5

Services

413.438 413.327 415.619 4.7 0.5 0.6

Special aggregate indexes

All items less medical care

311.682 311.545 313.783 3.4 0.7 0.7

All items less shelter

279.524 278.963 281.314 2.3 0.6 0.8

Commodities less food

168.129 167.297 169.614 -1.7 0.9 1.4

Nondurables

279.075 279.177 283.339 2.5 1.5 1.5

Nondurables less food

233.154 231.442 239.099 0.3 2.5 3.3

Services less rent of shelter(3)

418.030 416.357 419.790 4.4 0.4 0.8

Services less medical care services

399.506 399.457 401.922 5.0 0.6 0.6

Energy

388.643 395.638 411.315 0.7 5.8 4.0

All items less energy

320.168 319.644 321.018 3.6 0.3 0.4

All items less food and energy

318.489 317.529 319.163 3.5 0.2 0.5

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: Wednesday, September 13, 2023