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News Release Information

23-2219-SAN
Thursday, October 12, 2023

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

Consumer Price Index, Riverside Area — September 2023

Area prices were up 1.4 percent over the past two months, up 4.9 percent from a year ago

Prices in the Riverside area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), increased 1.4 percent for the two months ending in September 2023, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that the September increase was influenced by higher prices for shelter and gasoline. (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 4.9 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Food prices increased 3.4 percent. Energy prices advanced 5.1 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of electricity. The index for all items less food and energy increased 5.5 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices declined 0.1 percent for the two months ending in September. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home decreased 0.3 percent, influenced by lower prices for dairy and related products (-3.9 percent) and nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials (-2.8 percent). Prices for food away from home advanced 0.3 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices increased 3.4 percent. Prices for food at home rose 2.1 percent since a year ago, led by higher prices for fruits and vegetables (4.5 percent) and meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (4.4 percent). Prices for food away from home advanced 5.8 percent.

Energy

The energy index increased 10.4 percent for the two months ending in September. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (16.2 percent). Prices for natural gas service increased 0.9 percent, and prices for electricity advanced 0.5 percent for the same period.

Energy prices advanced 5.1 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for electricity (14.0 percent). Prices paid for gasoline increased 4.7 percent, but prices for natural gas service decreased 17.6 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.8 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for other goods and services (4.2 percent) and shelter (2.4 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for used cars and trucks (-7.2 percent) and household furnishings and operations (-4.7 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 5.5 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (9.8 percent) and other goods and services (8.5 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were price decreases in used cars and trucks (-7.7 percent) and education and communication (-0.2 percent).

Table A. Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, 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

January

0.4 3.0 0.5 3.0 0.9 2.2 1.5 8.6 1.3 7.3

March

0.7 2.8 0.0 2.3 1.3 3.6 2.7 10.0 0.0 4.6

May

1.2 2.9 -0.2 0.9 2.0 5.9 1.4 9.4 0.8 3.9

July

-0.1 2.6 0.7 1.7 1.3 6.5 1.1 9.2 0.6 3.4

September

0.6 3.1 0.5 1.7 0.8 6.8 0.0 8.4 1.4 4.9

November

0.2 2.9 0.4 1.9 1.4 7.9 0.6 7.5

The November 2023 Consumer Price Index for the Riverside area is scheduled to be released on December 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 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
Jul.
2023
Aug.
2023
Sep.
2023
Sep.
2022
Jul.
2023
Aug.
2023

Expenditure category

All items

129.525 - 131.372 4.9 1.4 -

Food and beverages

133.342 - 133.346 3.3 0.0 -

Food

134.559 - 134.400 3.4 -0.1 -

Food at home

133.048 133.916 132.600 2.1 -0.3 -1.0

Cereals and bakery products

149.369 153.219 149.628 3.1 0.2 -2.3

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs

137.990 137.665 138.364 4.4 0.3 0.5

Dairy and related products

116.936 110.625 112.323 -5.3 -3.9 1.5

Fruits and vegetables

132.947 134.921 133.168 4.5 0.2 -1.3

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials

129.711 130.545 126.021 -3.8 -2.8 -3.5

Other food at home

127.559 129.768 128.538 2.7 0.8 -0.9

Food away from home

136.828 - 137.199 5.8 0.3 -

Alcoholic beverages

110.508 - - - - -

Housing

134.730 - 136.628 8.5 1.4 -

Shelter

132.285 134.013 135.520 9.8 2.4 1.1

Rent of primary residence

138.436 139.307 140.359 11.5 1.4 0.8

Owners' equiv. rent of residences

131.244 132.665 134.160 9.0 2.2 1.1

Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence

131.244 132.665 134.160 9.0 2.2 1.1

Fuels and utilities

155.723 - 156.682 5.3 0.6 -

Household energy

165.203 167.633 166.155 4.3 0.6 -0.9

Energy services

166.628 169.195 167.609 4.5 0.6 -0.9

Electricity

168.898 168.943 169.721 14.0 0.5 0.5

Utility (piped) gas service

159.622 169.708 161.071 -17.6 0.9 -5.1

Household furnishings and operations

128.361 - 122.276 1.2 -4.7 -

Apparel

115.601 - 113.222 0.0 -2.1 -

Transportation

133.784 - 138.735 1.7 3.7 -

Private transportation

136.708 - 141.741 2.0 3.7 -

New and used motor vehicles

119.574 - 117.471 -1.3 -1.8 -

New vehicles

116.087 - 115.390 2.3 -0.6 -

Used cars and trucks

146.801 - 136.207 -7.7 -7.2 -

Motor fuel

159.295 169.068 185.361 4.7 16.4 9.6

Gasoline (all types)

159.294 168.896 185.172 4.7 16.2 9.6

Gasoline, unleaded regular(1)

159.908 169.675 186.148 4.7 16.4 9.7

Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(1)

159.788 169.144 185.543 4.6 16.1 9.7

Gasoline, unleaded premium(1)

156.146 165.075 180.498 4.5 15.6 9.3

Medical care

- - 121.962 0.2 - -

Recreation

111.851 - 110.877 3.1 -0.9 -

Education and communication

109.597 - 109.643 -0.2 0.0 -

Tuition, other school fees, and child care

127.458 - 127.557 - 0.1 -

Other goods and services

126.433 - 131.688 8.5 4.2 -

Commodity and service group

All items

129.525 - 131.372 4.9 1.4 -

Commodities

127.866 - 128.991 0.8 0.9 -

Commodities less food & beverages

124.921 - 126.622 -0.6 1.4 -

Nondurables less food & beverages

132.284 - 139.327 1.6 5.3 -

Durables

117.306 - 114.136 -2.7 -2.7 -

Services

130.806 - 133.163 7.7 1.8 -

Special aggregate indexes

All items less medical care

130.110 - 132.032 5.2 1.5 -

All items less shelter

128.157 - 129.269 2.3 0.9 -

Commodities less food

124.487 - 126.226 -0.6 1.4 -

Nondurables

132.836 - 136.230 2.5 2.6 -

Nondurables less food

131.127 - 137.988 1.5 5.2 -

Services less rent of shelter

128.497 - 129.572 4.7 0.8 -

Services less medical care services

131.422 - 133.926 8.5 1.9 -

Energy

162.162 169.231 178.949 5.1 10.4 5.7

All items less energy

126.738 - 127.595 5.2 0.7 -

All items less food and energy

125.492 - 126.518 5.5 0.8 -

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: Thursday, October 12, 2023