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News Release Information

21-1325-SAN
Tuesday, July 13, 2021

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

Consumer Price Index, San Francisco Area — June 2021

Area prices were unchanged over the past two months, up 3.2 percent from a year ago

Prices in the San Francisco area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), were unchanged for the two months ending in June 2021, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that a decrease in shelter prices helped offset higher prices for recreation, food, and gasoline. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U advanced 3.2 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Food prices increased 2.2 percent. Energy prices jumped 23.1 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of gasoline. The index for all items less food and energy rose 2.3 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices increased 1.5 percent for the two months ending in June. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home advanced 2.2 percent, mainly due to a price rise in meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (6.1 percent) and cereals and bakery products (4.0 percent). Prices for food away from home increased 0.8 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices advanced 2.2 percent. Prices for food away from home moved up 4.2 percent since a year ago, and prices for food at from home rose 0.3 percent.

Energy

The energy index rose 4.5 percent for the two months ending in June. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (7.4 percent). Prices for electricity advanced 1.8 percent, but prices for natural gas service declined 0.2 percent for the same period.

Energy prices jumped 23.1 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for gasoline (41.0 percent). Prices paid for electricity moved up 8.7 percent, and prices for natural gas service increased 3.8 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy declined 0.5 percent in the latest two-month period. Lower prices for household furnishings and operations (-3.8 percent), shelter (-1.7 percent), and medical care (-0.7) were partially offset by higher prices for used cars and trucks (17.6 percent), recreation (6.0 percent), and apparel (1.7 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 2.3 percent. Components contributing to the increase included used cars and trucks (44.2 percent), recreation (12.4 percent), and apparel (10.1 percent). Partly offsetting the increases was a price decrease in alcoholic beverages (-1.4 percent).

Table A. San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA, CPI-U 2-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted
Month20172018201920202021
2-month12-month2-month12-month2-month12-month2-month12-month2-month12-month

February

0.83.41.43.60.53.50.92.90.51.6

April

1.13.80.83.21.24.0-0.51.11.73.8

June

0.33.50.93.90.23.20.71.60.03.2

August

0.23.00.64.30.12.70.01.6

October

0.62.70.74.41.03.00.51.1

December

-0.12.90.14.5-0.52.50.42.0

The August 2021 Consumer Price Index for the San Francisco area is scheduled to be released on September 14, 2021.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic Impact on June 2021 Consumer Price Index Data

Data collection by personal visit for the Consumer Price Index (CPI) program has been suspended since March 16, 2020. When possible, data normally collected by personal visit were collected either online or by phone. Additionally, data collection in June was affected by the temporary closing or limited operations of certain types of establishments. These factors resulted in an increase in the number of prices considered temporarily unavailable and imputed.

While the CPI program attempted to collect as much data as possible, many indexes are based on smaller amounts of collected prices than usual, and a small number of indexes that are normally published were not published this month. Additional information is available at https://www.bls.gov/covid19/effects-of-covid-19-pandemic-on-consumer-price-index.htm.


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 Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA. metropolitan area covered in this release is comprised of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo Counties in the State of California.

Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments 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 Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)
Item and Group

IndexesPercent change from-
Apr.
2021
May
2021
Jun.
2021
Jun.
2020
Apr.
2021
May
2021

Expenditure category

All items

309.419-309.4973.20.0-

All items (1967=100)

951.239-951.481---

Food and beverages

308.790-313.1301.91.4-

Food

308.788-313.4992.21.5-

Food at home

272.702277.710278.7200.32.20.4

Cereals and bakery products

268.268-279.054-0.64.0-

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs

300.295-318.6923.26.1-

Dairy and related products

286.643-285.0383.0-0.6-

Fruits and vegetables

368.829-367.5230.7-0.4-

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)

202.257-204.502-5.31.1-

Other food at home

222.654-224.203-1.20.7-

Food away from home

350.276-353.1694.20.8-

Alcoholic beverages

312.228-312.050-1.4-0.1-

Housing

368.394-362.2490.9-1.7-

Shelter

416.798410.584409.7260.4-1.7-0.2

Rent of primary residence(2)

467.758467.261466.6510.6-0.2-0.1

Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)(3)

438.336438.262438.1230.80.00.0

Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(1)(2)

438.336438.262438.1230.80.00.0

Fuels and utilities

469.885-475.2606.61.1-

Household energy

419.376418.816425.4117.91.41.6

Energy services(2)

420.836420.262426.8757.81.41.6

Electricity(2)

454.073454.073462.3368.71.81.8

Utility (piped) gas service(2)

337.454335.046336.7913.8-0.20.5

Household furnishings and operations

156.336-150.3991.4-3.8-

Apparel

107.007-108.84710.11.7-

Transportation

216.498-226.86715.14.8-

Private transportation

213.824-223.79517.24.7-

New and used motor vehicles(4)

------

New vehicles(1)

------

Used cars and trucks(1)

301.321-354.50044.217.6-

Motor fuel

289.079301.702310.27840.87.32.8

Gasoline (all types)

288.146300.833309.37641.07.42.8

Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)

287.968300.861309.46541.67.52.9

Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)

268.466280.899288.70239.67.52.8

Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)

273.887284.988292.87738.86.92.8

Motor vehicle insurance(1)

521.662-526.2773.30.9-

Medical care

555.675-551.5180.4-0.7-

Recreation(6)

124.335-131.79112.46.0-

Education and communication(6)

152.099-152.2711.00.1-

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

1,819.305-1,833.615-0.50.8-

Other goods and services

535.942-525.2832.1-2.0-

Commodity and service group

All items

309.419-309.4973.20.0-

Commodities

202.736-207.2456.42.2-

Commodities less food & beverages

146.358-150.79111.13.0-

Nondurables less food & beverages

194.869-199.49814.62.4-

Durables

--103.9236.8--

Services

398.340-395.0611.9-0.8-

Special aggregate indexes

All items less medical care

299.283-299.5133.30.1-

All items less shelter

265.166-268.9895.51.4-

Commodities less food

153.548-157.87010.22.8-

Nondurables

253.206-257.6766.31.8-

Nondurables less food

204.083-208.36512.52.1-

Services less rent of shelter(3)

392.789-395.2664.40.6-

Services less medical care services

387.364-384.0141.9-0.9-

Energy

342.694350.139357.97723.14.52.2

All items less energy

311.595-310.9592.3-0.2-

All items less food and energy

312.894-311.4152.3-0.5-

Footnotes
(1) Indexes on a December 1977=100 base.
(2) This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator. All other item stratum index series were calculated using a geometric means estimator.
(3) Indexes on a December 1982=100 base.
(4) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample.
(5) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base.
(6) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base.

- Data not available
NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.

 

Last Modified Date: Tuesday, July 13, 2021