Prices in the Los Angeles area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), increased 0.6 percent in October, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that the October increase was influenced by higher prices for gasoline 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 increased 7.5 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Food prices rose 7.8 percent. Energy prices increased 23.8 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of gasoline. The index for all items less food and energy increased 6.0 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices fell 0.2 percent for the month of October. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home declined 0.9 percent, with lower prices in four of the six grocery categories. Prices for food away from home rose 0.7 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices rose 7.8 percent. Prices for food at home rose 10.8 percent since a year ago. Price increases across food at home expenditure categories ranged from 3.0 percent for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs to 18.9 percent for cereals and bakery products. Prices for food away from home rose 4.5 percent.

Energy

The energy index increased 5.4 percent over the month. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (9.9 percent). Prices for electricity advanced 5.4 percent, but prices for natural gas service decreased 14.5 percent for the same period.

Energy prices increased 23.8 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for gasoline (35.1 percent). Prices paid for electricity rose 7.5 percent, and prices for natural gas service increased 5.9 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.3 percent in October. Higher prices for medical care (1.1 percent) and shelter (0.6 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for apparel (-4.8 percent) and used cars and trucks (-2.2 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 6.0 percent. Components contributing to the increase included new and used motor vehicles (13.4 percent), medical care (7.2 percent), and shelter (5.6 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	0.3	7.4
March	0.4	3.8	0.6	2.7	0.7	1.9	0.5	2.2	1.5	8.5
April	0.4	4.0	1.0	3.3	-0.3	0.7	1.1	3.6	0.5	7.9
May	0.4	4.1	0.2	3.1	0.4	0.9	0.6	3.9	0.8	8.0
June	-0.2	4.0	0.0	3.3	0.5	1.4	0.6	4.0	1.1	8.6
July	0.2	3.9	0.1	3.3	0.6	1.9	0.6	3.9	-0.2	7.7
August	0.2	3.9	0.0	3.0	0.1	2.0	0.2	4.0	0.1	7.6
September	0.5	3.9	0.5	3.0	-0.3	1.2	0.3	4.6	0.5	7.8
October	0.5	4.1	0.7	3.2	0.2	0.7	0.9	5.4	0.6	7.5
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 November 2022 Consumer Price Index for the Los Angeles area is scheduled to be released on December 13, 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; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

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	Aug. 2022	Sep. 2022	Oct. 2022	Oct. 2021	Aug. 2022	Sep. 2022
Expenditure category
All items		313.608	315.033	317.014	7.5	1.1	0.6
All items (1967=100)		926.537	930.748	936.600	-	-	-
Food and beverages		317.736	320.536	320.025	7.6	0.7	-0.2
Food		319.021	322.266	321.612	7.8	0.8	-0.2
Food at home		310.558	315.111	312.279	10.8	0.6	-0.9
Cereals and bakery products		331.841	337.095	343.234	18.9	3.4	1.8
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		337.247	338.514	337.257	3.0	0.0	-0.4
Dairy and related products		304.347	300.335	298.565	12.0	-1.9	-0.6
Fruits and vegetables		417.611	421.582	413.551	7.4	-1.0	-1.9
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		296.194	303.892	304.976	10.3	3.0	0.4
Other food at home		244.159	252.369	245.990	17.6	0.7	-2.5
Food away from home		321.602	323.031	325.274	4.5	1.1	0.7
Alcoholic beverages		279.473	275.849	277.382	4.5	-0.7	0.6
Housing		352.247	353.666	355.306	5.8	0.9	0.5
Shelter		400.693	402.407	404.703	5.6	1.0	0.6
Rent of primary residence(2)		423.239	425.229	427.667	5.6	1.0	0.6
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)(3)		415.107	418.239	420.304	5.8	1.3	0.5
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(1)(2)		415.083	418.215	420.280	5.8	1.3	0.5
Fuels and utilities		450.050	449.727	445.079	6.4	-1.1	-1.0
Household energy		405.977	405.583	400.078	7.5	-1.5	-1.4
Energy services(2)		403.902	403.730	397.756	7.3	-1.5	-1.5
Electricity(2)		424.685	424.685	447.621	7.5	5.4	5.4
Utility (piped) gas service(2)		404.711	404.215	345.765	5.9	-14.6	-14.5
Household furnishings and operations		130.500	131.327	132.504	8.4	1.5	0.9
Apparel		122.620	124.475	118.557	6.1	-3.3	-4.8
Transportation		269.677	272.931	279.793	17.1	3.8	2.5
Private transportation		272.449	275.222	281.868	16.9	3.5	2.4
New and used motor vehicles(4)		116.345	116.884	115.380	13.4	-0.8	-1.3
New vehicles(1)		194.828	194.696	195.817	7.4	0.5	0.6
Used cars and trucks(1)		405.360	387.496	378.884	3.3	-6.5	-2.2
Motor fuel		406.125	415.712	456.213	35.2	12.3	9.7
Gasoline (all types)		395.770	405.371	445.375	35.1	12.5	9.9
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)		396.978	406.580	447.050	35.3	12.6	10.0
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		377.878	387.495	424.768	34.5	12.4	9.6
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)		377.309	386.549	423.341	34.1	12.2	9.5
Medical care		546.372	547.429	553.630	7.2	1.3	1.1
Recreation(6)		120.067	119.993	120.946	5.4	0.7	0.8
Education and communication(6)		157.399	155.189	155.490	1.0	-1.2	0.2
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)		2,216.400	2,193.934	2,183.793	5.0	-1.5	-0.5
Other goods and services		489.187	485.279	490.726	3.5	0.3	1.1
Commodity and service group
All items		313.608	315.033	317.014	7.5	1.1	0.6
Commodities		218.853	219.715	221.871	9.9	1.4	1.0
Commodities less food & beverages		167.480	167.525	170.620	11.8	1.9	1.8
Nondurables less food & beverages		232.395	235.332	243.757	16.8	4.9	3.6
Durables		106.495	104.841	104.390	5.7	-2.0	-0.4
Services		396.914	398.845	400.614	6.2	0.9	0.4
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care		303.339	304.774	306.582	7.5	1.1	0.6
All items less shelter		275.119	276.418	278.261	8.8	1.1	0.7
Commodities less food		172.615	172.565	175.659	11.4	1.8	1.8
Nondurables		276.532	279.420	283.446	11.5	2.5	1.4
Nondurables less food		238.295	240.859	248.961	15.9	4.5	3.4
Services less rent of shelter(3)		402.260	404.555	405.670	7.2	0.8	0.3
Services less medical care services		382.702	384.634	386.008	6.1	0.9	0.4
Energy		408.390	414.015	436.228	23.8	6.8	5.4
All items less energy		309.953	311.134	311.908	6.3	0.6	0.2
All items less food and energy		308.463	309.292	310.310	6.0	0.6	0.3
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.