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errata

Index and average price data for utility (piped) gas in San Diego in November through December 2022 were incorrectly published in the database. The error also includes related aggregate data within San Diego and several related areas. A list of affected series and the corrected indexes and average price values is available at https://www.bls.gov/bls/errata/data-series-affected-by-consumer-price-index-data-suppression-for-utilities-and-related-series-in-2022.htm

 

Corrections to be made on 4/28/23.

News Release Information

23-711-SAN
Wednesday, April 12, 2023

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

Consumer Price Index, San Diego Area — March 2023

Area prices were up 1.0 percent over the past two months, up 5.3 percent from a year ago

Prices in the San Diego area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 1.0 percent for the two months ending in March 2023, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that the March 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 advanced 5.3 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Food prices increased 1.9 percent. Energy prices declined 4.7 percent, largely the result of a decrease in the price of gasoline. The index for all items less food and energy advanced 6.7 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices declined 0.6 percent for the two months ending in March. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home advanced 0.2 percent. Higher prices for nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials (4.7 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (-3.6 percent). Prices for food away from home declined 1.8 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices increased 1.9 percent. Prices for food at home increased 5.6 percent since a year ago, with higher prices in five of the six grocery categories. Prices for food away from home declined 2.5 percent.

Energy

The energy index declined 4.4 percent for the two months ending in March. Prices for gasoline advanced 7.8 percent, while prices for electricity were unchanged for the same period.

Energy prices declined 4.7 percent over the year, largely due to lower prices for gasoline (-14.2 percent). Prices paid for electricity increased 13.4 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 1.6 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for household furnishings and operations (3.3 percent) and shelter (2.3 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for education and communication (-0.7 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 6.7 percent. Components contributing to the increase included apparel (10.8 percent) and shelter (10.6 percent). Partly offsetting the increases was a price decrease in used cars and trucks (-9.4 percent).

Table A. San Diego-Carlsbad, 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

2.6 0.3 2.3 0.4 1.7 2.0 8.2 1.8 6.4

March

0.5 2.2 0.0 1.8 2.4 4.1 2.1 7.9 1.0 5.3

May

1.0 3.8 -0.4 0.3 0.7 5.3 1.1 8.3

July

-0.3 1.4 1.4 2.1 2.1 6.0 1.2 7.3

September

0.6 1.7 -0.4 1.1 0.1 6.5 0.9 8.2

November

0.2 2.6 0.6 1.6 0.7 6.6 -0.7 6.7

The May 2023 Consumer Price Index for the San Diego area is scheduled to be released on June 13, 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 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
Jan.
2023
Feb.
2023
Mar.
2023
Mar.
2022
Jan.
2023
Feb.
2023

Expenditure category

All items

354.453 - 358.026 5.3 1.0 -

All items (1967=100)

1,198.513 - 1,210.597 - - -

Food and beverages

312.294 - 310.093 1.9 -0.7 -

Food

310.318 - 308.570 1.9 -0.6 -

Food at home

281.196 284.103 281.662 5.6 0.2 -0.9

Cereals and bakery products

360.156 - 357.071 11.1 -0.9 -

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs

279.220 - 269.241 -3.9 -3.6 -

Dairy and related products

232.246 - 234.783 13.1 1.1 -

Fruits and vegetables

291.932 - 289.590 0.6 -0.8 -

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)

301.742 - 315.944 6.1 4.7 -

Other food at home

272.464 - 277.406 11.5 1.8 -

Food away from home

347.597 - 341.455 -2.5 -1.8 -

Alcoholic beverages

321.588 - 314.633 1.3 -2.2 -

Housing

427.507 - 432.456 10.1 1.2 -

Shelter

477.403 486.522 488.507 10.6 2.3 0.4

Rent of primary residence(2)

470.769 481.858 483.046 10.9 2.6 0.2

Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)

508.275 516.735 516.795 11.3 1.7 0.0

Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)

508.275 516.735 516.795 11.3 1.7 0.0

Fuels and utilities

- - - - - -

Household energy

- - - - - -

Energy services

- - - - - -

Electricity

492.686 492.686 492.686 13.4 0.0 0.0

Utility (piped) gas service

- - - - - -

Household furnishings and operations

209.406 - 216.233 5.4 3.3 -

Apparel

178.142 - 185.154 10.8 3.9 -

Transportation

279.733 - 285.635 -3.3 2.1 -

Private transportation

278.104 - 284.530 -2.0 2.3 -

New and used motor vehicles(3)

133.889 - 136.483 1.2 1.9 -

New vehicles(1)

259.263 - 261.552 5.9 0.9 -

Used cars and trucks(1)

308.255 - 308.612 -9.4 0.1 -

Motor fuel

362.898 376.412 389.899 -14.2 7.4 3.6

Gasoline (all types)

360.873 374.795 389.085 -14.2 7.8 3.8

Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)

373.110 387.694 402.725 -14.5 7.9 3.9

Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)

315.507 327.520 339.547 -13.5 7.6 3.7

Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)

371.309 384.884 398.607 -13.0 7.4 3.6

Medical care

549.305 - 551.638 3.7 0.4 -

Recreation(3)

182.118 - 184.708 4.2 1.4 -

Education and communication(3)

142.085 - 141.042 1.2 -0.7 -

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

1,665.861 - 1,665.655 3.6 0.0 -

Other goods and services

484.360 - 488.923 7.7 0.9 -

Commodity and service group

All items

354.453 - 358.026 5.3 1.0 -

Commodities

238.472 - 241.799 0.4 1.4 -

Commodities less food & beverages

200.512 - 205.718 -0.6 2.6 -

Nondurables less food & beverages

240.138 - 250.024 -0.6 4.1 -

Durables

159.677 - 161.110 -0.4 0.9 -

Services

456.410 - 460.155 8.1 0.8 -

Special aggregate indexes

All items less medical care

345.149 - 348.776 5.5 1.1 -

All items less shelter

305.584 - 305.841 2.2 0.1 -

Commodities less food

205.712 - 210.581 -0.5 2.4 -

Nondurables

277.496 - 281.962 0.8 1.6 -

Nondurables less food

247.668 - 256.503 -0.4 3.6 -

Services less rent of shelter(2)

455.524 - 448.518 4.4 -1.5 -

Services less medical care services

443.756 - 447.501 8.5 0.8 -

Energy

442.244 419.642 422.785 -4.7 -4.4 0.7

All items less energy

352.655 - 357.535 6.1 1.4 -

All items less food and energy

361.540 - 367.464 6.7 1.6 -

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.

 

Last Modified Date: Wednesday, April 12, 2023