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News Release Information

22-51-SAN
Wednesday, January 12, 2022

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

Consumer Price Index, San Francisco Area — December 2021

Area prices were up 0.8 percent over the past two months, up 4.2 percent from a year ago

Prices in the San Francisco area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), increased 0.8 percent for the two months ending in December 2021, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that the December increase was influenced by higher prices for new and used motor vehicles. (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 4.2 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Food prices increased 5.2 percent. Energy prices jumped 28.2 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of gasoline. The index for all items less food and energy increased 2.8 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in CPI-U, San Francisco, December 2018-December 2021
Food

Food prices rose 0.6 percent for the two months ending in December. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home increased 0.6 percent, led by higher prices for fruits and vegetables (3.6 percent). Prices for food away from home advanced 0.6 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices increased 5.2 percent. Prices for food at home advanced 6.6 percent, influenced by higher prices for cereals and bakery products (10.3 percent) and meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (9.4 percent). Prices for food away from home increased 3.6 percent.

Energy

The energy index rose 1.6 percent for the two months ending in December. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (3.7 percent). Prices for electricity increased 0.4 percent, but prices for natural gas service declined 5.5 percent for the same period.

Energy prices surged 28.2 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for gasoline (44.2 percent). Prices paid for natural gas service jumped 27.8 percent, and prices for electricity advanced 9.6 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 0.8 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for new and used motor vehicles (10.3 percent), household furnishings and operations (2.0 percent), and shelter (0.2 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for recreation (-0.8 percent), motor vehicle insurance (-0.7 percent), and education and communication (-0.2 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 2.8 percent. Components contributing to the increase included new and used motor vehicles (16.8 percent), recreation (8.4 percent), education and communication (3.2 percent), and shelter (0.8 percent). Partly offsetting the increases was a price decrease in alcoholic beverages (-5.9 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

0.23.00.64.30.12.70.01.60.53.7

October

0.62.70.74.41.03.00.51.10.73.8

December

-0.12.90.14.5-0.52.50.42.00.84.2

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

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

Data collection by personal visit for the Consumer Price Index (CPI) program has been suspended almost entirely since March 16, 2020. When possible, data normally collected by personal visit were collected either online or by phone. Additionally, data collection in December 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.

For each month from March 2020 to December 2021, BLS has published a summary of the impact of the pandemic on the Consumer Price Index news release and data. The impact summary for December is available at www.bls.gov/covid19/consumer-price-index-covid19-impacts-december-2021.htm. Beginning with publication of January 2022 data in February 2022, this month-specific impact summary will be discontinued. However, information related to the impact of the pandemic will continue to be available at 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-
Historical
data
Oct.
2021
Nov.
2021
Dec.
2021
Dec.
2020
Oct.
2021
Nov.
2021

Expenditure category

All items

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49BSA0
313.265-315.8054.20.8-

All items (1967=100)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49BAA0
963.065-970.872---

Food and beverages

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49BSAF
322.908-324.5754.30.5-

Food

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49BSAF1
323.908-325.8665.20.6-

Food at home

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49BSAF11
293.297293.207294.9866.60.60.6

Cereals and bakery products

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49BSAF111
293.958-302.27610.32.8-

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49BSAF112
331.227-331.4929.40.1-

Dairy and related products

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49BSEFJ
292.905-294.2160.50.4-

Fruits and vegetables

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49BSAF113
375.572-389.2012.23.6-

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49BSAF114
217.188-218.2519.00.5-

Other food at home

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49BSAF115
246.222-240.5457.0-2.3-

Food away from home

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49BSEFV
357.869-360.1463.60.6-

Alcoholic beverages

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49BSAF116
314.172-312.260-5.9-0.6-

Housing

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49BSAH
365.291-366.3641.60.3-

Shelter

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49BSAH1
411.127411.193411.9720.80.20.2

Rent of primary residence(2)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49BSEHA
467.014466.906467.588-0.30.10.1

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

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49BSEHC
442.741442.915443.0520.90.10.0

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

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49BSEHC01
442.741442.915443.0520.90.10.0

Fuels and utilities

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49BSAH2
494.755-492.1679.7-0.5-

Household energy

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49BSAH21
442.615437.335439.00813.3-0.80.4

Energy services(2)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49BSEHF
444.291438.960440.05713.1-1.00.2

Electricity(2)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49BSEHF01
456.616456.616458.3899.60.40.4

Utility (piped) gas service(2)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49BSEHF02
427.980405.585404.60927.8-5.5-0.2

Household furnishings and operations

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49BSAH3
155.157-158.1862.72.0-

Apparel

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49BSAA
107.568-107.8288.30.2-

Transportation

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49BSAT
225.415-236.45717.44.9-

Private transportation

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49BSAT1
227.477-240.56619.35.8-

New and used motor vehicles(4)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49BSETA
105.032-115.88816.810.3-

New vehicles(1)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49BSETA01
164.666-187.99914.214.2-

Used cars and trucks(1)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49BSETA02
346.626-368.27036.46.2-

Motor fuel

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49BSETB
330.112343.726342.26044.13.7-0.4

Gasoline (all types)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49BSETB01
329.013342.490341.04844.23.7-0.4

Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49BSS47014
329.538343.075341.41145.03.6-0.5

Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49BSS47015
306.323318.793317.98441.33.8-0.3

Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49BSS47016
309.976322.541321.92441.43.9-0.2

Motor vehicle insurance(1)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49BSETE
544.878-541.2773.8-0.7-

Medical care

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49BSAM
556.119-561.3523.00.9-

Recreation(6)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49BSAR
137.519-136.3868.4-0.8-

Education and communication(6)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49BSAE
156.095-155.8173.2-0.2-

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

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49BSEEB
1,912.969-----

Other goods and services

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49BSAG
528.550-533.0011.90.8-

Commodity and service group

All items

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49BSA0
313.265-315.8054.20.8-

Commodities

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49BSAC
212.354-217.8089.62.6-

Commodities less food & beverages

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49BSACL11
153.549-160.58215.24.6-

Nondurables less food & beverages

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49BSANL11
204.795-208.75416.81.9-

Durables

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49BSAD
104.655-113.29213.28.3-

Services

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49BSAS
397.910-398.3062.20.1-

Special aggregate indexes

All items less medical care

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49BSA0L5
303.234-305.6674.30.8-

All items less shelter

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49BSA0L2
274.141-277.6667.11.3-

Commodities less food

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49BSACL1
160.635-167.43613.64.2-

Nondurables

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49BSAN
265.273-268.0418.61.0-

Nondurables less food

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49BSANL1
213.438-216.96913.81.7-

Services less rent of shelter(3)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49BSASL2RS
400.518-400.2314.3-0.1-

Services less medical care services

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49BSASL5
386.781-387.0322.10.1-

Energy

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49BSA0E
376.880383.047382.82228.21.6-0.1

All items less energy

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49BSA0LE
314.059-316.4693.10.8-

All items less food and energy

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49BSA0L1E
313.376-315.8642.80.8-

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: Wednesday, January 12, 2022