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Wednesday, April 10, 2024
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Consumer Price Index, Riverside Area — March 2024
Area prices were up 1.4 percent over the past two months, up 4.3 percent from a year ago Prices in the Riverside area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 1.4 percent for the two months ending in March 2024, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that the March increase was influenced by higher prices for gasoline and shelter. (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 4.3 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Food prices rose 2.6 percent. Energy prices advanced 3.1 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of electricity. The index for all items less food and energy rose 4.7 percent over the year. (See table 1.)
View Chart Data
Food
Food prices increased 0.4 percent for the two months ending in March. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home decreased 0.7 percent, led by lower prices for fruits and vegetables (-4.7 percent) and cereals and bakery products (-1.2 percent). Prices for food away from home rose 1.7 percent for the same period.
Over the year, food prices rose 2.6 percent. Prices for food at home declined 0.1 percent since a year ago, led by lower prices for fruits and vegetables (-4.4 percent). Prices for food away from home increased 6.6 percent.
Energy
The energy index rose 6.1 percent for the two months ending in March. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (8.8 percent). Prices for electricity rose 3.2 percent, and prices for natural gas service advanced 0.6 percent for the same period.
Energy prices advanced 3.1 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for electricity (10.0 percent). Prices paid for gasoline advanced 1.3 percent, while prices for natural gas service decreased 4.3 percent during the past year.
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All items less food and energy
The index for all items less food and energy increased 1.1 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for new and used motor vehicles (2.3 percent) and shelter (0.9 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for other goods and services (-6.8 percent).
Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 4.7 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (7.4 percent) and medical care (5.5 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were price decreases in household furnishings and operations (-4.4 percent) and new and used motor vehicles (-3.4 percent).
Table A. Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, 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 January 0.5 3.0 0.9 2.2 1.5 8.6 1.3 7.3 0.0 2.9
March 0.0 2.3 1.3 3.6 2.7 10.0 0.0 4.6 1.4 4.3
May -0.2 0.9 2.0 5.9 1.4 9.4 0.8 3.9
July 0.7 1.7 1.3 6.5 1.1 9.2 0.6 3.4
September 0.5 1.7 0.8 6.8 0.0 8.4 1.4 4.9
November 0.4 1.9 1.4 7.9 0.6 7.5 0.0 4.3
The May 2024 Consumer Price Index for the Riverside area is scheduled to be released on June 12, 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 Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA metropolitan area includes Riverside and San Bernardino 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 Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario (December 2017=100 unless otherwise noted) Item and Group
Indexes Percent change from-
Historical
data
Jan.
2024
Feb.
2024
Mar.
2024
Mar.
2023
Jan.
2024
Feb.
2024
Expenditure category
All items
131.358 - 133.144 4.3 1.4 -
Food and beverages
134.015 - 134.572 2.5 0.4 -
Food
135.262 - 135.797 2.6 0.4 -
Food at home
131.852 131.947 130.972 -0.1 -0.7 -0.7
Cereals and bakery products
153.524 150.044 151.710 1.8 -1.2 1.1
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs
132.855 134.170 133.675 -0.2 0.6 -0.4
Dairy and related products
112.795 114.857 110.810 -1.8 -1.8 -3.5
Fruits and vegetables
132.556 130.198 126.355 -4.4 -4.7 -3.0
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials
130.411 133.867 135.187 4.1 3.7 1.0
Other food at home
126.411 126.647 125.873 -0.1 -0.4 -0.6
Food away from home
140.638 - 143.003 6.6 1.7 -
Alcoholic beverages
110.907 - 111.830 0.3 0.8 -
Footnotes
(1) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. - Data not available
NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.
Item and Group
Indexes Percent change from-
Historical
data
Jan.
2024
Feb.
2024
Mar.
2024
Mar.
2023
Jan.
2024
Feb.
2024
Housing
138.264 - 139.682 5.9 1.0 -
Shelter
137.790 138.712 139.058 7.4 0.9 0.2
Rent of primary residence
142.915 143.368 143.807 5.9 0.6 0.3
Owners' equiv. rent of residences
137.195 137.954 138.189 8.1 0.7 0.2
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence
137.195 137.954 138.189 8.1 0.7 0.2
Fuels and utilities
161.457 - 165.092 6.5 2.3 -
Household energy
173.440 174.438 178.023 6.5 2.6 2.1
Energy services
174.859 175.970 179.606 6.8 2.7 2.1
Electricity
183.343 183.679 189.156 10.0 3.2 3.0
Utility (piped) gas service
149.174 153.301 150.015 -4.3 0.6 -2.1
Household furnishings and operations
117.771 - 118.505 -4.4 0.6 -
Apparel
112.057 - 113.242 -0.4 1.1 -
Transportation
132.350 - 139.741 4.6 5.6 -
Private transportation
133.887 - 142.395 4.7 6.4 -
New and used motor vehicles
113.428 - 115.982 -3.4 2.3 -
New vehicles
114.021 - 114.308 -2.5 0.3 -
Used cars and trucks
130.458 - 131.768 -2.6 1.0 -
Motor fuel
147.254 153.203 159.812 1.0 8.5 4.3
Gasoline (all types)
147.146 153.039 160.072 1.3 8.8 4.6
Gasoline, unleaded regular(1)
147.450 153.515 160.667 1.3 9.0 4.7
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(1)
147.899 153.591 160.426 1.2 8.5 4.5
Gasoline, unleaded premium(1)
145.207 150.463 157.043 1.3 8.2 4.4
Medical care
- - 127.704 5.5 - -
Recreation
112.709 - 113.724 3.3 0.9 -
Education and communication
110.436 - 110.562 0.5 0.1 -
Tuition, other school fees, and child care
129.012 - 129.119 2.8 0.1 -
Other goods and services
134.621 - 125.499 3.5 -6.8 -
Commodity and service group
All items
131.358 - 133.144 4.3 1.4 -
Commodities
124.772 - 126.329 0.1 1.2 -
Commodities less food & beverages
119.884 - 122.070 -1.1 1.8 -
Nondurables less food & beverages
127.475 - 131.823 1.8 3.4 -
Durables
112.000 - 111.816 -4.4 -0.2 -
Services
136.084 - 138.023 7.1 1.4 -
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care
131.753 - 133.537 4.2 1.4 -
All items less shelter
128.044 - 130.101 2.5 1.6 -
Commodities less food
119.568 - 121.711 -1.1 1.8 -
Nondurables
130.860 - 133.150 2.1 1.7 -
Nondurables less food
126.544 - 130.679 1.7 3.3 -
Services less rent of shelter
133.350 - 136.099 6.4 2.1 -
Services less medical care services
136.896 - 138.922 7.4 1.5 -
Energy
157.673 161.772 167.262 3.1 6.1 3.4
All items less energy
128.988 - 130.228 4.3 1.0 -
All items less food and energy
128.003 - 129.366 4.7 1.1 -
Footnotes
(1) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. - Data not available
NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.
Last Modified Date: Wednesday, April 10, 2024
U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS Western Information Office Attn: EA & I, 90 Seventh Street Suite 14-100 San Francisco, CA 94103-6715 Telephone:1-415-625-2270 www.bls.gov/regions/west Contact Western Region