From 2006 to 2007 consumer prices in the San Diego metropolitan area rose 2.3 percent according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor. The U.S. city average for the same period rose 2.8 percent. Regional Commissioner Richard J. Holden said higher costs for housing had the largest impact on the overall increase in the San Diego area. The San Diego energy special aggregate index, which accounts for just over 6 percent of the basket of goods, rose 4.4 percent in 2007. For the same period, the San Diego all items less food and energy index rose 1.7 percent. Local area CPI data are not seasonally adjusted.

Prices associated with housing rose 2.6 percent in 2007. Housing consists of three components: shelter, fuels and utilities, and household furnishings and operations. In 2007, shelter rose 3.1 percent, fuels and utilities rose 0.6 percent, and household furnishings operations rose 0.9 percent.

The overall transportation index rose 1.5 percent from the 2006 annual average. Gasoline prices rose 7.4 percent in 2007, compared to 13.9 percent in 2006. Private transportation, which includes gasoline as well as new and used cars, rose 2.0 percent over the past year.

Prices for food and beverages rose 4.1 percent in 2007. Grocery prices, represented by the food at home index, rose 2.3 percent from 2006 to 2007, and food away from home prices rose 5.9 percent during the same period. Alcoholic beverage prices rose 3.5 percent on an annual basis since 2006.

Annual average prices for education and communication declined 0.6 percent in 2007. From 2006 to 2007, the miscellaneous other goods and services index rose 1.8 percent, and the recreation index rose 0.9 percent.

The San Diego Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) measured 233.321 (1982-84=100) for the 2007 annual average. This means a market basket of goods and services that cost $100.00 in 1982-84 would have cost $233.32 in 2007.

Effective with this release of the first half of 2007 semiannual Consumer Price Index (CPI), the Bureau of Labor Statistics displays CPI index values to three decimal places in all paper and electronic publications. This change applies to the All Items Consume Price Index and all component indexes for the CPI-U, CPI-W, and C-CPI-U, for the U.S. City Average and for all other published areas. In addition, percent changes are computed based upon the three decimal place indexes rather than the current one decimal place indexes. Percent changes continue to be rounded to 1 decimal place.

This change in procedure addresses a rounding issue that has resulted in published percent changes that are 0.1 percentage point higher or lower than the same percent changes based on unrounded index values (i.e., indexes to three or more decimal places). These differences can be particularly important when percent changes are very small. Publishing the index values to three decimal places, and using these values to compute percent changes, essentially eliminates the rounding differences. This change only affects the presentation of the index data. The index values continue to be calculated from underlying price data in the same manner as in the past, and no systematic upward or downward effect on the data has been introduced. The levels of future indexes will be affected only in that they will be published to three decimal places rather than one. Official CPI data previously published will not be revised.