Prices in the San Diego area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 1.8 percent for the two months ending in January 2023, 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 and natural gas service. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U advanced 6.4 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Food prices advanced 3.6 percent. Energy prices increased 12.6 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of natural gas service. The index for all items less food and energy rose 6.5 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices increased 2.1 percent for the two months ending in January. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home rose 1.0 percent, led by higher prices for cereals and bakery products (5.4 percent). Prices for food away from home rose 3.7 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices increased 3.6 percent. Prices for food at home rose 9.0 percent since a year ago, with higher prices in five of the six grocery categories. Prices for food away from home fell 2.3 percent.

Energy

The energy index increased 4.7 percent for the two months ending in January. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for natural gas service (146.1 percent). Prices for electricity rose 15.9 percent, but prices for gasoline decreased 14.7 percent for the same period.

Energy prices increased 12.6 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for natural gas service (116.3 percent). Prices paid for electricity advanced 13.4 percent, but prices for gasoline declined 1.6 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 1.6 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for household furnishings and operations (2.6 percent), shelter (2.3 percent), and recreation (1.7 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for used cars and trucks (-3.7 percent) and education and communication (-0.5 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 6.5 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (9.3 percent), recreation (7.4 percent), and medical care (4.4 percent). Partly offsetting the increases was a price decrease in used cars and trucks (-10.0 percent).

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

Month	2019		2020		2021		2022		2023
	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month
January		2.6	0.3	2.3	0.4	1.7	2.0	8.2	1.8	6.4
March	0.5	2.2	0.0	1.8	2.4	4.1	2.1	7.9
May	1.0	3.8	-0.4	0.3	0.7	5.3	1.1	8.3
July	-0.3	1.4	1.4	2.1	2.1	6.0	1.2	7.3
September	0.6	1.7	-0.4	1.1	0.1	6.5	0.9	8.2
November	0.2	2.6	0.6	1.6	0.7	6.6	-0.7	6.7

The March 2023 Consumer Price Index for the San Diego area is scheduled to be released on April 12, 2023.

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 Diego-Carlsbad, CA metropolitan area includes San Diego County 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

San Diego-Carlsbad (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Item and Group	Indexes				Percent change from-
	Historical data	Nov. 2022	Dec. 2022	Jan. 2023	Jan. 2022	Nov. 2022	Dec. 2022
Expenditure category
All items		348.145	-	354.453	6.4	1.8	-
All items (1967=100)		1,177.186	-	1,198.513	-	-	-
Food and beverages		305.094	-	312.294	3.8	2.4	-
Food		304.034	-	310.318	3.6	2.1	-
Food at home		278.354	276.696	281.196	9.0	1.0	1.6
Cereals and bakery products		341.585	-	360.156	18.4	5.4	-
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		280.913	-	279.220	-0.8	-0.6	-
Dairy and related products		228.207	-	232.246	22.0	1.8	-
Fruits and vegetables		283.022	-	291.932	4.8	3.1	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		308.513	-	301.742	2.7	-2.2	-
Other food at home		271.671	-	272.464	14.4	0.3	-
Food away from home		335.072	-	347.597	-2.3	3.7	-
Alcoholic beverages		304.874	-	321.588	6.3	5.5	-
Housing		410.969	-	427.507	10.0	4.0	-
Shelter		466.663	474.437	477.403	9.3	2.3	0.6
Rent of primary residence(2)		462.692	467.998	470.769	9.0	1.7	0.6
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)		496.347	505.549	508.275	10.1	2.4	0.5
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)		496.347	505.549	508.275	10.1	2.4	0.5
Fuels and utilities		442.664	-	555.482	23.6	25.5	-
Household energy		432.944	449.880	596.432	32.1	37.8	32.6
Energy services		426.176	444.132	592.067	32.7	38.9	33.3
Electricity		425.144	425.144	492.686	13.4	15.9	15.9
Utility (piped) gas service		299.945	359.295	738.062	116.3	146.1	105.4
Household furnishings and operations		204.113	-	209.406	4.6	2.6	-
Apparel		173.946	-	178.142	1.1	2.4	-
Transportation		289.404	-	279.733	1.8	-3.3	-
Private transportation		289.134	-	278.104	2.0	-3.8	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)		135.144	-	133.889	0.7	-0.9	-
New vehicles(1)		256.262	-	259.263	5.0	1.2	-
Used cars and trucks(1)		320.262	-	308.255	-10.0	-3.7	-
Motor fuel		424.637	363.937	362.898	-1.2	-14.5	-0.3
Gasoline (all types)		423.218	362.241	360.873	-1.6	-14.7	-0.4
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)		438.571	374.512	373.110	-1.9	-14.9	-0.4
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		368.268	316.971	315.507	-1.3	-14.3	-0.5
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)		431.330	372.743	371.309	-0.6	-13.9	-0.4
Medical care		548.175	-	549.305	4.4	0.2	-
Recreation(3)		179.078	-	182.118	7.4	1.7	-
Education and communication(3)		142.782	-	142.085	1.5	-0.5	-
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)		1,665.355	-	1,665.861	3.6	0.0	-
Other goods and services		481.837	-	484.360	7.1	0.5	-
Commodity and service group
All items		348.145	-	354.453	6.4	1.8	-
Commodities		239.221	-	238.472	1.8	-0.3	-
Commodities less food & beverages		204.440	-	200.512	0.6	-1.9	-
Nondurables less food & beverages		249.158	-	240.138	2.3	-3.6	-
Durables		159.423	-	159.677	-1.4	0.2	-
Services		443.374	-	456.410	9.0	2.9	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care		338.621	-	345.149	6.6	1.9	-
All items less shelter		300.863	-	305.584	4.8	1.6	-
Commodities less food		208.993	-	205.712	0.8	-1.6	-
Nondurables		278.740	-	277.496	3.1	-0.4	-
Nondurables less food		254.906	-	247.668	2.6	-2.8	-
Services less rent of shelter(2)		438.044	-	455.524	8.7	4.0	-
Services less medical care services		429.842	-	443.756	9.4	3.2	-
Energy		422.190	390.045	442.244	12.6	4.7	13.4
All items less energy		347.034	-	352.655	6.0	1.6	-
All items less food and energy		355.909	-	361.540	6.5	1.6	-
Footnotes (1) Indexes on a November 1977=100 base. (2) Indexes on a November 1982=100 base. (3) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base. (4) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (5) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base.
- Data not available NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.