News Release Information
24-1908-SAN
Wednesday, September 11, 2024
Area prices were down 0.5 percent over the past two months, up 2.7 percent from a year ago
Prices in the San Francisco area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), declined 0.5 percent for the two months ending in August 2024, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that the August decrease was influenced by lower prices for 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 2.7 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Food prices increased 1.6 percent. Energy prices increased 2.3 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of natural gas service. The index for all items less food and energy rose 2.9 percent over the year. (See table 1.)
Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in CPI-U, San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA, August 2021–August 2024
Month
All items
All items less food and energy
Aug 2021
3.7
2.5
Oct 2021
3.8
2.4
Dec 2021
4.2
2.8
Feb 2022
5.2
3.4
Apr 2022
5.0
2.7
Jun 2022
6.8
4.4
Aug 2022
5.7
4.1
Oct 2022
6.0
4.1
Dec 2022
4.9
4.0
Feb 2023
5.3
4.6
Apr 2023
4.2
4.7
Jun 2023
2.9
3.9
Aug 2023
3.4
3.6
Oct 2023
2.8
3.1
Dec 2023
2.6
2.5
Feb 2024
2.4
2.2
Apr 2024
3.8
3.1
Jun 2024
3.2
2.9
Aug 2024
2.7
2.9
Food
Food prices decreased 0.1 percent for the two months ending in August. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home declined 0.3 percent, with lower prices for other food at home (-3.0 percent) and cereals and bakery products (-0.4 percent). Prices for food away from home increased 0.2 percent for the same period.
Over the year, food prices increased 1.6 percent. Prices for food at home decreased 0.4 percent since a year ago, with lower prices for other food at home (-3.3 percent) and dairy and related products (-2.6 percent). Prices for food away from home rose 4.7 percent.
Energy
The energy index decreased 4.8 percent for the two months ending in August. The decrease was mainly due to lower prices for electricity (-9.0 percent) and gasoline (-5.7 percent). Prices for natural gas service increased 15.0 percent for the same period.
Energy prices increased 2.3 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for natural gas service (31.8 percent). Prices paid for electricity increased 9.2 percent, while prices for gasoline declined 8.5 percent during the past year.
All items less food and energy
The index for all items less food and energy declined 0.3 percent in the latest two-month period. Lower prices for recreation (-1.0 percent) and shelter (-0.8 percent) were partially offset by higher prices for apparel (2.0 percent) and education and communication (0.6 percent).
Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 2.9 percent. Components contributing to the increase included apparel (26.8 percent) and shelter (2.6 percent). Partly offsetting the increases was a price decrease in new and used motor vehicles (-1.5 percent).
Table A. San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA, CPI-U 2-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted
Month
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2-month
12-month
2-month
12-month
2-month
12-month
2-month
12-month
2-month
12-month
February
0.9
2.9
0.5
1.6
1.4
5.2
1.8
5.3
1.5
2.4
April
-0.5
1.1
1.7
3.8
1.5
5.0
0.4
4.2
1.8
3.8
June
0.7
1.6
0.0
3.2
1.7
6.8
0.5
2.9
-0.1
3.2
August
0.0
1.6
0.5
3.7
-0.5
5.7
0.0
3.4
-0.5
2.7
October
0.5
1.1
0.7
3.8
1.0
6.0
0.3
2.8
December
0.4
2.0
0.8
4.2
-0.3
4.9
-0.4
2.6
The October 2024 Consumer Price Index for the San Francisco area is scheduled to be released on November 13, 2024.
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; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.
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-
Historical
data
Jun.
2024
Jul.
2024
Aug.
2024
Aug.
2023
Jun.
2024
Jul.
2024
Expenditure category
All items
351.064
–
349.290
2.7
-0.5
–
All items (1967=100)
1,079.270
–
1,073.814
–
–
–
Food and beverages
369.320
–
369.067
1.5
-0.1
–
Food
372.216
–
371.987
1.6
-0.1
–
Food at home
331.134
332.446
330.130
-0.4
-0.3
-0.7
Cereals and bakery products
335.839
337.560
334.595
2.4
-0.4
-0.9
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs
354.032
357.492
358.089
1.1
1.1
0.2
Dairy and related products
328.616
331.737
329.875
-2.6
0.4
-0.6
Fruits and vegetables
419.859
417.416
419.717
0.8
0.0
0.6
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials
237.036
233.900
243.269
1.7
2.6
4.0
Other food at home
297.951
301.663
288.988
-3.3
-3.0
-4.2
Food away from home
424.458
–
425.466
4.7
0.2
–
Alcoholic beverages
335.583
–
334.908
0.3
-0.2
–
Housing
406.145
–
403.097
2.9
-0.8
–
Shelter
451.424
446.974
447.846
2.6
-0.8
0.2
Rent of primary residence
504.841
506.110
508.724
1.5
0.8
0.5
Owners’ equiv. rent of residences
476.496
477.909
480.745
2.9
0.9
0.6
Owners’ equiv. rent of primary residence
476.496
477.909
480.745
2.9
0.9
0.6
Fuels and utilities
641.090
–
633.872
11.5
-1.1
–
Household energy
625.132
593.501
601.957
14.9
-3.7
1.4
Energy services
629.786
597.343
605.937
15.3
-3.8
1.4
Electricity
741.126
674.277
674.277
9.2
-9.0
0.0
Utility (piped) gas service
422.321
459.255
485.722
31.8
15.0
5.8
Household furnishings and operations
171.370
–
171.369
-0.1
0.0
–
Apparel
146.378
–
149.279
26.8
2.0
–
Transportation
260.737
–
257.999
1.6
-1.1
–
Private transportation
263.093
–
259.688
1.6
-1.3
–
New and used motor vehicles
119.706
–
119.696
-1.5
0.0
–
New vehicles
192.608
–
191.864
-2.1
-0.4
–
Used cars and trucks
329.758
–
324.064
-9.8
-1.7
–
Motor fuel
359.602
345.396
339.116
-8.6
-5.7
-1.8
Gasoline (all types)
357.461
343.322
337.074
-8.5
-5.7
-1.8
Gasoline, unleaded regular
357.164
342.795
336.454
-8.8
-5.8
-1.8
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade
334.378
321.595
315.775
-8.1
-5.6
-1.8
Gasoline, unleaded premium
340.096
327.458
321.854
-7.6
-5.4
-1.7
Medical care
591.992
–
591.710
0.1
0.0
–
Recreation
150.338
–
148.836
2.2
-1.0
–
Education and communication
162.511
–
163.493
1.2
0.6
–
Tuition, other school fees, and child care
1,979.336
–
2,016.190
–
1.9
–
Other goods and services
637.939
–
631.069
0.3
-1.1
–
Commodity and service group
All items
351.064
–
349.290
2.7
-0.5
–
Commodities
238.204
–
236.337
0.3
-0.8
–
Commodities less food & beverages
170.685
–
168.271
-0.2
-1.4
–
Nondurables less food & beverages
235.452
–
230.421
2.4
-2.1
–
Durables
112.951
–
112.380
-3.7
-0.5
–
Services
446.320
–
444.633
3.9
-0.4
–
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care
341.070
–
339.233
2.9
-0.5
–
All items less shelter
312.124
–
311.207
2.8
-0.3
–
Commodities less food
178.133
–
175.708
-0.2
-1.4
–
Nondurables
303.772
–
301.130
1.7
-0.9
–
Nondurables less food
243.991
–
239.137
2.3
-2.0
–
Services less rent of shelter
466.142
–
467.496
6.0
0.3
–
Services less medical care services
435.670
–
433.829
4.1
-0.4
–
Energy
465.828
445.022
443.601
2.3
-4.8
-0.3
All items less energy
350.137
–
349.140
2.7
-0.3
–
All items less food and energy
347.672
–
346.549
2.9
-0.3
–
– Data not available
NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.
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