Prices in the Los Angeles area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 1.1 percent in January, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that the January increase was influenced by higher prices for shelter as well as 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 rose 7.5 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) This was the largest over-the-year increase in the CPI-U for Los Angeles since June 1982. Food prices rose 7.3 percent. Energy prices jumped 33.3 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of gasoline. The index for all items less food and energy rose 5.5 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices advanced 0.7 percent for the month of January. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home increased 0.5 percent, with four of the six grocery categories recording increases. Prices for food away from home increased 0.9 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices rose 7.3 percent. Prices for food at home advanced 8.5 percent. Increases across food at home expenditure categories ranged from 4.4 percent for dairy and related products to 11.6 percent for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs. Prices for food away from home increased 6.4 percent since a year ago.

Energy

The energy index advanced 2.7 percent over the month. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for natural gas service (15.5 percent). Prices for electricity advanced 3.5 percent, but prices for gasoline inched down 0.1 percent for the same period.

Energy prices jumped 33.3 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for gasoline (39.2 percent). Prices paid for natural gas service surged 33.3 percent, and prices for electricity moved up 19.7 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 1.0 percent in January. Higher prices for new and used motor vehicles (2.8 percent) and shelter (0.5 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for other goods and services (-1.2 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 5.5 percent. Components contributing to the increase included new and used motor vehicles (17.3 percent), recreation (13.3 percent), and shelter (3.8 percent).

Table A. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA, CPI-U 1-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted

Month	2018		2019		2020		2021		2022
	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month
January	0.8	3.5	0.7	3.2	0.8	3.1	0.2	0.9	1.1	7.5
February	0.7	3.6	0.1	2.5	0.3	3.4	0.4	1.0
March	0.4	3.8	0.6	2.7	0.7	1.9	0.5	2.2
April	0.4	4.0	1.0	3.3	-0.3	0.7	1.1	3.6
May	0.4	4.1	0.2	3.1	0.4	0.9	0.6	3.9
June	-0.2	4.0	0.0	3.3	0.5	1.4	0.6	4.0
July	0.2	3.9	0.1	3.3	0.6	1.9	0.6	3.9
August	0.2	3.9	0.0	3.0	0.1	2.0	0.2	4.0
September	0.5	3.9	0.5	3.0	-0.3	1.2	0.3	4.6
October	0.5	4.1	0.7	3.2	0.2	0.7	0.9	5.4
November	-0.3	3.6	-0.3	3.2	0.1	1.0	0.6	6.0
December	-0.3	3.2	-0.6	3.0	-0.2	1.5	0.4	6.6

The February 2022 Consumer Price Index for the Los Angeles area is scheduled to be released on March 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 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA metropolitan area includes Los Angeles and Orange Counties 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

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Item and Group	Indexes				Percent change from-
	Historical data	Nov. 2021	Dec. 2021	Jan. 2022	Jan. 2021	Nov. 2021	Dec. 2021
Expenditure category
All items		296.790	297.925	301.209	7.5	1.5	1.1
All items (1967=100)		876.850	880.203	889.906	-	-	-
Food and beverages		298.977	300.134	302.536	7.1	1.2	0.8
Food		300.120	301.208	303.185	7.3	1.0	0.7
Food at home		284.755	286.611	288.015	8.5	1.1	0.5
Cereals and bakery products		291.195	290.078	296.314	8.1	1.8	2.1
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		324.692	325.629	324.129	11.6	-0.2	-0.5
Dairy and related products		267.862	271.117	275.517	4.4	2.9	1.6
Fruits and vegetables		388.020	394.158	402.157	10.4	3.6	2.0
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		270.473	279.831	283.566	5.0	4.8	1.3
Other food at home		220.157	218.448	215.473	8.0	-2.1	-1.4
Food away from home		312.056	312.385	315.065	6.4	1.0	0.9
Alcoholic beverages		264.053	265.933	274.133	4.8	3.8	3.1
Housing		337.098	339.010	342.609	5.4	1.6	1.1
Shelter		385.570	386.939	389.034	3.8	0.9	0.5
Rent of primary residence(2)		408.175	410.109	412.811	3.4	1.1	0.7
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)(3)		399.307	400.507	402.343	2.7	0.8	0.5
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(1)(2)		399.284	400.484	402.320	2.7	0.8	0.5
Fuels and utilities		414.671	410.184	431.190	18.7	4.0	5.1
Household energy		367.610	362.899	388.036	23.5	5.6	6.9
Energy services(2)		366.119	361.304	386.330	23.5	5.5	6.9
Electricity(2)		417.018	417.018	431.726	19.7	3.5	3.5
Utility (piped) gas service(2)		310.704	295.370	341.285	33.3	9.8	15.5
Household furnishings and operations		122.333	128.061	131.153	10.8	7.2	2.4
Apparel		111.799	111.021	114.876	7.1	2.8	3.5
Transportation		244.320	245.065	248.434	19.0	1.7	1.4
Private transportation		246.856	248.342	251.853	21.0	2.0	1.4
New and used motor vehicles(4)		104.080	104.756	107.658	17.3	3.4	2.8
New vehicles(1)		187.171	187.780	192.298	14.0	2.7	2.4
Used cars and trucks(1)		376.814	389.596	394.543	38.5	4.7	1.3
Motor fuel		350.330	352.368	351.849	39.2	0.4	-0.1
Gasoline (all types)		342.229	344.224	343.793	39.2	0.5	-0.1
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)		343.100	345.072	344.611	40.0	0.4	-0.1
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		327.223	329.435	328.910	37.7	0.5	-0.2
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)		326.968	328.944	328.661	36.6	0.5	-0.1
Medical care		518.378	519.176	528.168	3.7	1.9	1.7
Recreation(6)		114.333	113.477	115.722	13.3	1.2	2.0
Education and communication(6)		154.044	154.360	154.764	3.5	0.5	0.3
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)		2,080.520	2,080.565	2,080.565	8.9	0.0	0.0
Other goods and services		474.449	480.834	475.003	2.6	0.1	-1.2
Commodity and service group
All items		296.790	297.925	301.209	7.5	1.5	1.1
Commodities		204.050	205.130	207.749	11.7	1.8	1.3
Commodities less food & beverages		155.044	156.057	158.618	15.9	2.3	1.6
Nondurables less food & beverages		211.655	212.342	214.620	16.5	1.4	1.1
Durables		100.492	101.692	104.066	14.6	3.6	2.3
Services		378.563	379.713	383.558	5.4	1.3	1.0
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care		287.026	288.165	291.214	7.8	1.5	1.1
All items less shelter		257.498	258.528	262.356	10.0	1.9	1.5
Commodities less food		159.936	160.987	163.729	15.2	2.4	1.7
Nondurables		256.638	257.565	259.920	10.8	1.3	0.9
Nondurables less food		217.612	218.394	221.071	15.3	1.6	1.2
Services less rent of shelter(3)		378.575	379.432	386.007	7.8	2.0	1.7
Services less medical care services		365.350	366.499	369.899	5.6	1.2	0.9
Energy		358.976	358.625	368.430	33.3	2.6	2.7
All items less energy		294.979	296.222	299.135	5.8	1.4	1.0
All items less food and energy		294.154	295.428	298.501	5.5	1.5	1.0
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.