Prices in the San Francisco area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), increased 0.5 percent for the two months ending in August 2021, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that the August increase was influenced by higher prices for food and shelter. (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 rose 3.7 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Food prices rose 5.1 percent. Energy prices jumped 21.5 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of gasoline. The index for all items less food and energy increased 2.5 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices rose 2.0 percent for the two months ending in August. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home rose 3.0 percent mainly due to an increase in the prices for other food at home (7.1 percent). Prices for food away from home advanced 0.9 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices rose 5.1 percent. Prices for food at home rose 5.7 percent, strongly influenced by higher prices for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (10.3 percent). Prices for food away from home advanced 4.5 percent over the past year.

Energy

The energy index rose 2.4 percent for the two months ending in August. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (4.0 percent). Prices for electricity moved up 0.5 percent over the past two months, and prices for natural gas service increased 0.4 percent for the same period.

Energy prices jumped 21.5 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for gasoline (36.4 percent). Prices paid for electricity rose 9.3 percent, and prices for natural gas service increased 1.9 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 0.2 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for household furnishings and operations (1.4 percent), recreation (1.0 percent), and shelter (0.4 percent) were partially offset by a lower price for medical care (-0.2 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 2.5 percent. Components contributing to the increase included recreation (12.9 percent), new and used motor vehicles (12.8 percent, and shelter (0.7 percent).

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

Month	2017		2018		2019		2020		2021
	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month
February	0.8	3.4	1.4	3.6	0.5	3.5	0.9	2.9	0.5	1.6
April	1.1	3.8	0.8	3.2	1.2	4.0	-0.5	1.1	1.7	3.8
June	0.3	3.5	0.9	3.9	0.2	3.2	0.7	1.6	0.0	3.2
August	0.2	3.0	0.6	4.3	0.1	2.7	0.0	1.6	0.5	3.7
October	0.6	2.7	0.7	4.4	1.0	3.0	0.5	1.1
December	-0.1	2.9	0.1	4.5	-0.5	2.5	0.4	2.0

The October 2021 Consumer Price Index for the San Francisco area is scheduled to be released on November 10, 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 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	Indexes			Percent change from-
	Jun. 2021	Jul. 2021	Aug. 2021	Aug. 2020	Jun. 2021	Jul. 2021
Expenditure category
All items	309.497	-	311.167	3.7	0.5	-
All items (1967=100)	951.481	-	956.615	-	-	-
Food and beverages	313.130	-	319.093	4.7	1.9	-
Food	313.499	-	319.699	5.1	2.0	-
Food at home	278.720	284.078	286.986	5.7	3.0	1.0
Cereals and bakery products	279.054	-	275.379	1.5	-1.3	-
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	318.692	-	324.573	10.3	1.8	-
Dairy and related products	285.038	-	289.841	2.5	1.7	-
Fruits and vegetables	367.523	-	373.556	3.8	1.6	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	204.502	-	215.651	1.2	5.5	-
Other food at home	224.203	-	240.167	7.7	7.1	-
Food away from home	353.169	-	356.519	4.5	0.9	-
Alcoholic beverages	312.050	-	315.160	0.1	1.0	-
Housing	362.249	-	364.269	1.3	0.6	-
Shelter	409.726	411.572	411.229	0.7	0.4	-0.1
Rent of primary residence(2)	466.651	467.712	467.584	0.4	0.2	0.0
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)(3)	438.123	439.954	440.015	1.0	0.4	0.0
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(1)(2)	438.123	439.954	440.015	1.0	0.4	0.0
Fuels and utilities	475.260	-	484.021	6.7	1.8	-
Household energy	425.411	423.890	427.663	8.0	0.5	0.9
Energy services(2)	426.875	425.640	429.132	7.9	0.5	0.8
Electricity(2)	462.336	462.336	464.868	9.3	0.5	0.5
Utility (piped) gas service(2)	336.791	331.603	338.295	1.9	0.4	2.0
Household furnishings and operations	150.399	-	152.528	3.6	1.4	-
Apparel	108.847	-	110.459	12.3	1.5	-
Transportation	226.867	-	225.014	12.7	-0.8	-
Private transportation	223.795	-	225.547	14.7	0.8	-
New and used motor vehicles(4)	-	-	105.621	12.8	-	-
New vehicles(1)	-	-	164.666	4.1	-	-
Used cars and trucks(1)	354.500	-	353.291	31.6	-0.3	-
Motor fuel	310.278	315.657	322.785	36.3	4.0	2.3
Gasoline (all types)	309.376	314.728	321.737	36.4	4.0	2.2
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	309.465	314.904	322.036	36.9	4.1	2.3
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	288.702	293.669	300.098	34.9	3.9	2.2
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	292.877	297.633	303.841	34.1	3.7	2.1
Motor vehicle insurance(1)	526.277	-	525.120	-3.4	-0.2	-
Medical care	551.518	-	550.215	0.3	-0.2	-
Recreation(6)	131.791	-	133.152	12.9	1.0	-
Education and communication(6)	152.271	-	152.321	1.3	0.0	-
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)	1,833.615	-	1,843.423	0.6	0.5	-
Other goods and services	525.283	-	527.506	3.7	0.4	-
Commodity and service group
All items	309.497	-	311.167	3.7	0.5	-
Commodities	207.245	-	210.955	8.3	1.8	-
Commodities less food & beverages	150.791	-	153.324	12.0	1.7	-
Nondurables less food & beverages	199.498	-	204.213	15.5	2.4	-
Durables	103.923	-	104.702	7.4	0.7	-
Services	395.061	-	395.227	1.9	0.0	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	299.513	-	301.281	3.9	0.6	-
All items less shelter	268.989	-	270.811	6.2	0.7	-
Commodities less food	157.870	-	160.449	11.1	1.6	-
Nondurables	257.676	-	263.024	8.5	2.1	-
Nondurables less food	208.365	-	212.972	13.6	2.2	-
Services less rent of shelter(3)	395.266	-	393.355	4.0	-0.5	-
Services less medical care services	384.014	-	384.361	2.0	0.1	-
Energy	357.977	360.638	366.471	21.5	2.4	1.6
All items less energy	310.959	-	312.327	2.8	0.4	-
All items less food and energy	311.415	-	312.029	2.5	0.2	-
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.