Prices in the San Diego area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), increased 0.7 percent for the two months ending in November 2021, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that the November 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 6.6 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Food prices advanced 7.5 percent. Energy prices jumped 37.2 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of gasoline. The index for all items less food and energy increased 4.5 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices increased 0.5 percent for the two months ending in November. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home rose 0.8 percent. Higher prices for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (2.7 percent) were largely offset by lower prices for dairy and related products (-6.9 percent). Prices for food away from home increased 0.3 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices advanced 7.5 percent. Prices for food at home rose 4.9 percent since a year ago, led by a large price increase in cereals and bakery products (11.9 percent). Prices for food away from home escalated 10.4 percent.

Energy

The energy index rose 5.0 percent for the two months ending in November. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (6.0 percent). Prices for electricity advanced 4.3 percent, but prices for natural gas service edged down 0.2 percent for the same period.

Energy prices leapt 37.2 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for gasoline (47.2 percent). Prices paid for electricity jumped 24.7 percent, and prices for natural gas service rose 13.8 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.4 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for used cars and trucks (5.1 percent), medical care (0.8 percent), and shelter (0.7 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for recreation (-1.8 percent) and apparel (-0.7 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 4.5 percent. Components contributing to the increase included new and used motor vehicles (16.0 percent), shelter (5.2 percent), and medical care (2.9 percent). Partly offsetting the increases was a price decrease in recreation (-3.3 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
	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month
January	0.6	2.6	0.3	2.3	0.4	1.7
March	0.5	2.2	0.0	1.8	2.4	4.1
May	1.0	3.8	-0.4	0.3	0.7	5.3
July	-0.3	1.4	1.4	2.1	2.1	6.0
September	0.6	1.7	-0.4	1.1	0.1	6.5
November	0.2	2.6	0.6	1.6	0.7	6.6

The January 2022 Consumer Price Index for the San Diego area is scheduled to be released on February 10, 2022.

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	Sep. 2021	Oct. 2021	Nov. 2021	Nov. 2020	Sep. 2021	Oct. 2021
Expenditure category
All items		324.138	-	326.422	6.6	0.7	-
All items (1967=100)		1,096.011	-	1,103.731	-	-	-
Food and beverages		291.182	-	293.324	7.4	0.7	-
Food		290.442	-	292.039	7.5	0.5	-
Food at home		251.050	253.652	253.044	4.9	0.8	-0.2
Cereals and bakery products		291.545	-	303.192	11.9	4.0	-
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		268.414	-	275.625	1.6	2.7	-
Dairy and related products		188.341	-	175.372	-7.4	-6.9	-
Fruits and vegetables		278.317	-	277.851	3.5	-0.2	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		282.869	-	288.130	4.3	1.9	-
Other food at home		234.629	-	234.906	10.8	0.1	-
Food away from home		343.404	-	344.401	10.4	0.3	-
Alcoholic beverages		288.534	-	295.942	6.9	2.6	-
Housing		379.710	-	382.385	5.7	0.7	-
Shelter		430.066	429.966	432.903	5.2	0.7	0.7
Rent of primary residence(2)		424.496	425.362	427.019	4.2	0.6	0.4
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)		455.192	457.412	458.760	4.5	0.8	0.3
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)		455.192	457.412	458.760	4.5	0.8	0.3
Fuels and utilities		395.294	-	404.285	15.0	2.3	-
Household energy		381.379	384.509	394.037	22.2	3.3	2.5
Energy services		376.516	379.186	388.800	22.2	3.3	2.5
Electricity		362.335	362.335	377.798	24.7	4.3	4.3
Utility (piped) gas service		300.308	309.743	299.747	13.8	-0.2	-3.2
Household furnishings and operations		197.913	-	197.678	2.9	-0.1	-
Apparel		172.313	-	171.108	5.9	-0.7	-
Transportation		259.830	-	265.840	18.5	2.3	-
Private transportation		258.749	-	266.891	21.2	3.1	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)		126.409	-	128.958	16.0	2.0	-
New vehicles(1)		247.450	-	246.949	5.8	-0.2	-
Used cars and trucks(1)		311.298	-	327.223	30.0	5.1	-
Motor fuel		345.256	352.175	365.928	47.2	6.0	3.9
Gasoline (all types)		345.140	351.985	365.760	47.2	6.0	3.9
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)		357.397	364.661	379.155	48.1	6.1	4.0
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		300.967	306.493	318.518	45.4	5.8	3.9
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)		352.651	359.030	372.228	43.8	5.6	3.7
Motor vehicle insurance(1)		572.272	-	587.239	10.1	2.6	-
Medical care		521.611	-	525.700	2.9	0.8	-
Recreation(3)		167.740	-	164.671	-3.3	-1.8	-
Education and communication(3)		138.560	-	139.258	2.5	0.5	-
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)		1,606.250	-	1,606.250	3.1	0.0	-
Other goods and services		441.713	-	441.269	2.7	-0.1	-
Commodity and service group
All items		324.138	-	326.422	6.6	0.7	-
Commodities		226.174	-	228.740	10.3	1.1	-
Commodities less food & beverages		191.849	-	194.671	12.8	1.5	-
Nondurables less food & beverages		226.202	-	230.490	15.7	1.9	-
Durables		155.490	-	156.890	9.1	0.9	-
Services		409.514	-	411.365	4.5	0.5	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care		314.820	-	317.018	6.9	0.7	-
All items less shelter		281.934	-	283.989	7.3	0.7	-
Commodities less food		196.194	-	199.235	12.3	1.5	-
Nondurables		260.179	-	263.315	10.6	1.2	-
Nondurables less food		232.279	-	236.869	14.5	2.0	-
Services less rent of shelter(2)		405.897	-	406.635	3.5	0.2	-
Services less medical care services		396.418	-	398.014	4.6	0.4	-
Energy		353.519	359.096	371.285	37.2	5.0	3.4
All items less energy		325.362	-	326.757	5.0	0.4	-
All items less food and energy		332.730	-	334.078	4.5	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.