Prices in the San Diego area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 0.6 percent for the two months ending in July 2024, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that the July increase was influenced by higher prices for shelter. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U rose 3.5 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Food prices rose 5.6 percent. Energy prices fell 6.2 percent, largely the result of a decrease in the price of electricity. The index for all items less food and energy increased 3.9 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

  

View Chart Data

Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in CPI-U, San Diego-Carlsbad, CA, July 2021–July 2024

Month	All items	All items less food and energy
Jul 2021	6.0	4.4
Sep 2021	6.5	4.7
Nov 2021	6.6	4.5
Jan 2022	8.2	6.0
Mar 2022	7.9	5.6
May 2022	8.3	5.8
Jul 2022	7.3	5.9
Sep 2022	8.2	7.6
Nov 2022	6.7	6.5
Jan 2023	6.4	6.5
Mar 2023	5.3	6.7
May 2023	5.2	7.1
Jul 2023	4.3	5.6
Sep 2023	4.7	4.8
Nov 2023	5.2	5.6
Jan 2024	3.8	5.0
Mar 2024	3.6	3.8
May 2024	3.2	3.1
Jul 2024	3.5	3.9

Food prices rose 0.8 percent for the two months ending in July. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home declined 1.2 percent, with lower prices in four of the six grocery categories. Prices for food away from home advanced 3.4 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices rose 5.6 percent. Prices for food at home rose 1.3 percent since a year ago, led by higher prices for cereals and bakery products (5.1 percent). Prices for food away from home advanced 12.0 percent.

The energy index decreased 5.5 percent for the two months ending in July. The decrease was mainly due to lower prices for gasoline (-8.4 percent). Prices for electricity declined 0.3 percent, while prices for natural gas service advanced 3.3 percent for the same period.

Energy prices fell 6.2 percent over the year, largely due to lower prices for electricity (-12.4 percent). Prices for natural gas service fell 11.3 percent during the past year, and prices paid for gasoline declined 3.3 percent.

The index for all items less food and energy rose 1.0 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for recreation (4.2 percent) and shelter (1.4 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for new and used motor vehicles (-0.3 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 3.9 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (6.5 percent), other goods and services (3.6 percent), and medical care (2.7 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were price decreases in new and used motor vehicles (-5.2 percent) and apparel (-1.5 percent).

The September 2024 Consumer Price Index for the San Diego 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 San Diego-Carlsbad, CA metropolitan area includes San Diego County 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

San Diego-Carlsbad (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Item and Group	Indexes				Percent change from-
	Historical data	May 2024	Jun. 2024	Jul. 2024	Jul. 2023	May 2024	Jun. 2024
Expenditure category
All items		372.858	-	375.072	3.5	0.6	-
All items (1967=100)		1,260.747	-	1,268.232	-	-	-
Food and beverages		328.595	-	330.805	5.2	0.7	-
Food		327.505	-	329.972	5.6	0.8	-
Food at home		294.063	291.477	290.669	1.3	-1.2	-0.3
Cereals and bakery products		403.212	393.756	394.104	5.1	-2.3	0.1
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		284.507	280.034	277.955	1.1	-2.3	-0.7
Dairy and related products		244.798	235.539	234.712	-1.3	-4.1	-0.4
Fruits and vegetables		289.729	290.444	290.019	-1.1	0.1	-0.1
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		326.917	321.358	319.859	1.5	-2.2	-0.5
Other food at home		284.519	286.816	286.445	1.6	0.7	-0.1
Food away from home		371.075	-	383.685	12.0	3.4	-
Alcoholic beverages		325.384	-	323.370	-0.2	-0.6	-
Housing		452.450	-	457.909	4.9	1.2	-
Shelter		518.072	520.648	525.179	6.5	1.4	0.9
Rent of primary residence(2)		516.186	518.880	522.273	6.3	1.2	0.7
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)		551.376	552.888	557.021	6.5	1.0	0.7
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)		551.376	552.888	557.021	6.5	1.0	0.7
Fuels and utilities		461.153	-	462.372	-5.7	0.3	-
Household energy		436.862	436.570	438.777	-11.7	0.4	0.5
Energy services		432.470	432.274	434.435	-11.9	0.5	0.5
Electricity		432.842	431.711	431.711	-12.4	-0.3	0.0
Utility (piped) gas service		281.554	283.835	290.807	-11.3	3.3	2.5
Household furnishings and operations		215.346	-	215.624	-0.9	0.1	-
Apparel		175.893	-	177.667	-1.5	1.0	-
Transportation		302.397	-	294.030	0.0	-2.8	-
Private transportation		304.238	-	295.322	0.7	-2.9	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)		131.352	-	130.972	-5.2	-0.3	-
New vehicles(1)		259.552	-	258.594	-1.7	-0.4	-
Used cars and trucks(1)		302.311	-	299.105	-10.6	-1.1	-
Motor fuel		414.001	387.788	380.074	-3.4	-8.2	-2.0
Gasoline (all types)		414.664	388.128	379.958	-3.3	-8.4	-2.1
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)		429.367	401.367	392.805	-3.4	-8.5	-2.1
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		362.013	340.042	332.705	-3.0	-8.1	-2.2
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)		424.260	398.913	390.941	-2.9	-7.9	-2.0
Medical care		568.695	-	569.408	2.7	0.1	-
Recreation(3)		185.455	-	193.252	2.7	4.2	-
Education and communication(3)		141.623	-	142.188	0.3	0.4	-
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)		1,677.607	-	1,681.739	1.0	0.2	-
Other goods and services		512.427	-	522.177	3.6	1.9	-
Commodity and service group
All items		372.858	-	375.072	3.5	0.6	-
Commodities		245.470	-	243.891	-0.4	-0.6	-
Commodities less food & beverages		203.486	-	200.404	-3.7	-1.5	-
Nondurables less food & beverages		253.128	-	246.949	-1.8	-2.4	-
Durables		155.009	-	154.418	-5.8	-0.4	-
Services		485.110	-	490.739	5.4	1.2	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care		363.446	-	365.720	3.5	0.6	-
All items less shelter		314.407	-	314.288	1.4	0.0	-
Commodities less food		208.709	-	205.617	-3.5	-1.5	-
Nondurables		292.349	-	290.186	1.9	-0.7	-
Nondurables less food		260.184	-	254.147	-1.7	-2.3	-
Services less rent of shelter(2)		468.318	-	471.845	3.6	0.8	-
Services less medical care services		472.419	-	478.423	5.5	1.3	-
Energy		422.577	403.984	399.196	-6.2	-5.5	-1.2
All items less energy		373.324	-	376.951	4.1	1.0	-
All items less food and energy		382.775	-	386.614	3.9	1.0	-
Footnotes (1) Indexes on a November 1977=100 base. (2) Indexes on a November 1982=100 base. (3) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base. (4) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (5) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base.
- Data not available NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.