Prices in the San Diego area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 0.4 percent for the two months ending in January 2021, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Richard Holden noted that the January increase was influenced by higher prices for gasoline and 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 1.7 percent. The index for all items less food and energy rose 1.5 percent over the year. Food prices increased 4.5 percent. Energy prices declined 2.9 percent, largely the result of a decrease in the price of gasoline. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices advanced 0.6 percent for the two months ending in January. (See table 1.) Prices for food away from home rose 2.0 percent. Prices for food at home decreased 0.6 percent, for the same period, influenced by lower prices for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (-4.9 percent).

Over the year, food prices increased 4.5 percent. Prices for food away from home increased 5.1 percent. Prices for food at home increased 4.0 percent since a year ago, led by higher prices for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (7.5 percent).

Energy

The energy index rose 3.7 percent for the two months ending in January. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (5.8 percent). Prices for natural gas service rose 3.2 percent, while prices for electricity were unchanged for the same period.

Energy prices declined 2.9 percent over the year, largely due to lower prices for gasoline (-7.3 percent). Prices paid for natural gas service rose 9.1 percent, and prices for electricity advanced 4.3 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy edged up 0.2 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for medical care (1.9 percent) and shelter (0.4 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for recreation (-9.5 percent) and used cars and trucks (-1.7 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 1.5 percent. Components contributing to the increase included other goods and services (8.1 percent), new and used motor vehicles (6.1 percent), and (medical care 4.4 percent) Partly offsetting the increases was a price decrease in recreation (-3.5 percent).

The March 2021 Consumer Price Index for the San Diego area is scheduled to be released on April 13, 2021.

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-
	Nov. 2020	Dec. 2020	Jan. 2021	Jan. 2020	Nov. 2020	Dec. 2020
Expenditure category
All items	306.334	-	307.688	1.7	0.4	-
All items (1967=100)	1,035.810	-	1,040.388	-	-	-
Food and beverages	273.069	-	275.031	4.8	0.7	-
Food	271.740	-	273.381	4.5	0.6	-
Food at home	241.315	242.664	239.881	4.0	-0.6	-1.1
Cereals and bakery products	271.021	-	285.453	9.6	5.3	-
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	271.192	-	257.841	7.5	-4.9	-
Dairy and related products	189.425	-	188.469	-2.6	-0.5	-
Fruits and vegetables	268.504	-	267.308	2.5	-0.4	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	276.253	-	269.416	4.8	-2.5	-
Other food at home	212.039	-	215.949	1.1	1.8	-
Food away from home	311.935	-	318.026	5.1	2.0	-
Alcoholic beverages	276.814	-	281.860	7.0	1.8	-
Housing	361.884	-	364.257	0.7	0.7	-
Shelter	411.467	412.590	413.302	0.2	0.4	0.2
Rent of primary residence(2)	409.768	410.360	411.332	0.7	0.4	0.2
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)	439.096	440.006	439.115	0.6	0.0	-0.2
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)	439.096	440.006	439.115	0.6	0.0	-0.2
Fuels and utilities	351.513	-	356.133	3.9	1.3	-
Household energy	322.467	323.340	324.302	5.2	0.6	0.3
Energy services	318.259	319.024	320.655	5.4	0.8	0.5
Electricity	302.948	302.948	302.948	4.3	0.0	0.0
Utility (piped) gas service	263.298	266.003	271.769	9.1	3.2	2.2
Household furnishings and operations	192.188	-	195.819	3.4	1.9	-
Apparel	161.598	-	165.267	2.6	2.3	-
Transportation	224.415	-	231.390	-0.2	3.1	-
Private transportation	220.231	-	225.362	0.7	2.3	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)	111.202	-	112.328	6.1	1.0	-
New vehicles(1)	233.329	-	238.647	3.5	2.3	-
Used cars and trucks(1)	251.690	-	247.428	9.1	-1.7	-
Motor fuel	248.603	249.967	263.150	-7.3	5.9	5.3
Gasoline (all types)	248.439	249.705	262.919	-7.3	5.8	5.3
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	256.020	257.377	270.544	-7.7	5.7	5.1
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	219.032	219.888	231.881	-6.4	5.9	5.5
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	258.768	259.905	275.582	-5.8	6.5	6.0
Motor vehicle insurance(1)	533.568	-	567.678	2.0	6.4	-
Medical care	510.994	-	520.724	4.4	1.9	-
Recreation(3)	170.331	-	154.144	-3.5	-9.5	-
Education and communication(3)	135.798	-	135.598	4.0	-0.1	-
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)	1,558.362	-	1,554.342	1.0	-0.3	-
Other goods and services	429.614	-	444.874	8.1	3.6	-
Commodity and service group
All items	306.334	-	307.688	1.7	0.4	-
Commodities	207.434	-	209.555	3.1	1.0	-
Commodities less food & beverages	172.613	-	174.838	1.7	1.3	-
Nondurables less food & beverages	199.278	-	204.772	-0.8	2.8	-
Durables	143.815	-	142.970	5.2	-0.6	-
Services	393.732	-	394.193	0.9	0.1	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	296.689	-	297.653	1.5	0.3	-
All items less shelter	264.634	-	265.798	2.6	0.4	-
Commodities less food	177.364	-	179.723	2.1	1.3	-
Nondurables	238.013	-	241.614	2.5	1.5	-
Nondurables less food	206.802	-	212.256	0.2	2.6	-
Services less rent of shelter(2)	392.822	-	391.644	2.0	-0.3	-
Services less medical care services	380.477	-	380.106	0.5	-0.1	-
Energy	270.547	271.731	280.685	-2.9	3.7	3.3
All items less energy	311.222	-	312.072	1.9	0.3	-
All items less food and energy	319.630	-	320.303	1.5	0.2	-
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.