Prices in the San Diego area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 0.5 percent for the two months ending in May 2024, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that the May 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 increased 3.2 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Food prices rose 5.4 percent. Energy prices advanced 0.6 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of gasoline. The index for all items less food and energy advanced 3.1 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

  

View Chart Data

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

Month	All items	All items less food and energy
May 2021	5.3	4.3
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

Food prices rose 1.2 percent for the two months ending in May. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home increased 2.4 percent, led by higher prices for cereals and bakery products (5.0 percent). Prices for food away from home declined 0.3 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices rose 5.4 percent. Prices for food at home increased 3.5 percent since a year ago, led by higher prices for cereals and bakery products (7.9 percent) and meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (7.5 percent). Prices for food away from home increased 8.3 percent.

The energy index advanced 1.7 percent for the two months ending in May. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (4.9 percent). Prices for natural gas service fell 13.0 percent, and prices for electricity declined 1.4 percent for the same period.

Energy prices advanced 0.6 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for gasoline (7.7 percent). Prices for electricity fell 12.4 percent, and prices paid for natural gas service declined 10.6 percent during the past year.

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.4 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for other goods and services (1.0 percent) and shelter (0.4 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for recreation (-2.1 percent) and medical care (-0.5 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 3.1 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (5.2 percent) and medical care (0.9 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were price decreases in new and used motor vehicles (-4.5 percent) and apparel (-3.7 percent).

The July 2024 Consumer Price Index for the San Diego area is scheduled to be released on August 14, 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	Mar. 2024	Apr. 2024	May 2024	May 2023	Mar. 2024	Apr. 2024
Expenditure category
All items		370.858	-	372.858	3.2	0.5	-
All items (1967=100)		1,253.983	-	1,260.747	-	-	-
Food and beverages		324.641	-	328.595	5.1	1.2	-
Food		323.546	-	327.505	5.4	1.2	-
Food at home		287.256	288.354	294.063	3.5	2.4	2.0
Cereals and bakery products		384.099	385.671	403.212	7.9	5.0	4.5
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		277.789	282.153	284.507	7.5	2.4	0.8
Dairy and related products		233.430	235.402	244.798	3.3	4.9	4.0
Fruits and vegetables		286.509	284.634	289.729	-0.9	1.1	1.8
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		322.790	317.573	326.917	2.3	1.3	2.9
Other food at home		279.634	282.759	284.519	1.9	1.7	0.6
Food away from home		372.280	-	371.075	8.3	-0.3	-
Alcoholic beverages		321.768	-	325.384	1.6	1.1	-
Housing		451.483	-	452.450	3.9	0.2	-
Shelter		515.802	517.407	518.072	5.2	0.4	0.1
Rent of primary residence(2)		511.022	514.841	516.186	5.4	1.0	0.3
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)		548.712	550.573	551.376	5.4	0.5	0.1
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)		548.712	550.573	551.376	5.4	0.5	0.1
Fuels and utilities		470.825	-	461.153	-5.7	-2.1	-
Household energy		455.309	435.114	436.862	-11.8	-4.1	0.4
Energy services		450.413	430.041	432.470	-12.0	-4.0	0.6
Electricity		439.022	432.842	432.842	-12.4	-1.4	0.0
Utility (piped) gas service		323.556	273.715	281.554	-10.6	-13.0	2.9
Household furnishings and operations		216.491	-	215.346	-0.4	-0.5	-
Apparel		175.108	-	175.893	-3.7	0.4	-
Transportation		294.740	-	302.397	3.8	2.6	-
Private transportation		295.992	-	304.238	5.2	2.8	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)		130.824	-	131.352	-4.5	0.4	-
New vehicles(1)		260.194	-	259.552	-1.1	-0.2	-
Used cars and trucks(1)		300.431	-	302.311	-8.8	0.6	-
Motor fuel		395.934	422.827	414.001	7.4	4.6	-2.1
Gasoline (all types)		395.411	423.145	414.664	7.7	4.9	-2.0
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)		409.174	438.337	429.367	7.8	4.9	-2.0
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		345.321	368.688	362.013	7.7	4.8	-1.8
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)		405.483	432.313	424.260	7.4	4.6	-1.9
Medical care		571.759	-	568.695	0.9	-0.5	-
Recreation(3)		189.493	-	185.455	0.2	-2.1	-
Education and communication(3)		141.560	-	141.623	0.4	0.0	-
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)		1,671.072	-	1,677.607	0.7	0.4	-
Other goods and services		507.153	-	512.427	2.3	1.0	-
Commodity and service group
All items		370.858	-	372.858	3.2	0.5	-
Commodities		243.892	-	245.470	0.7	0.6	-
Commodities less food & beverages		202.934	-	203.486	-1.9	0.3	-
Nondurables less food & beverages		249.545	-	253.128	0.8	1.4	-
Durables		156.759	-	155.009	-4.9	-1.1	-
Services		482.743	-	485.110	4.4	0.5	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care		361.230	-	363.446	3.3	0.6	-
All items less shelter		312.469	-	314.407	1.8	0.6	-
Commodities less food		208.076	-	208.709	-1.7	0.3	-
Nondurables		288.550	-	292.349	3.0	1.3	-
Nondurables less food		256.554	-	260.184	0.8	1.4	-
Services less rent of shelter(2)		465.629	-	468.318	3.2	0.6	-
Services less medical care services		469.978	-	472.419	4.6	0.5	-
Energy		415.323	428.287	422.577	0.6	1.7	-1.3
All items less energy		371.592	-	373.324	3.4	0.5	-
All items less food and energy		381.408	-	382.775	3.1	0.4	-
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.