The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the San Diego-Carlsbad area increased by 0.1 percent during the two months ending in November 2025, according to a report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund stated, “The index for all items less food and energy advanced 0.1 percent during the two-month period.” During this same time, the food index dropped by 1.2 percent while the energy index rose by 2.3 percent.
BLS noted that survey data was not collected for October 2025 due to a lapse in appropriations and is unable to retroactively collect these data. However, nonsurvey data sources were used where possible, allowing BLS to retroactively acquire most of the needed information for October.
Over the past year ending in November, the San Diego area’s all-items CPI-U increased by 4.0 percent. The index excluding food and energy climbed by 4.2 percent over twelve months, with the food index rising by 1.1 percent and energy increasing by 8.7 percent.
Within recent months, grocery store prices declined by 2.4 percent while restaurant and similar purchases went up by 0.5 percent. Over twelve months, grocery prices slightly decreased (down 0.1 percent), but eating out became more expensive with a rise of 2.9 percent.
Energy costs rose both recently and over the year: gasoline prices went up by 2.2 percent in two months and saw a yearly increase of 7.0 percent.
For items other than food and energy, household furnishings and operations were up by 1.8 percent and shelter increased by 0.6 percent over two months; meanwhile apparel fell sharply (down 3.9 percent) as did medical care costs (down 1.4 percent). Year-over-year figures show shelter costs up significantly at +5.6% and medical care at +3.7%, while apparel dropped -6.3% and recreation slipped -0.5%.
The next release of Consumer Price Index data for San Diego is scheduled for February 11, 2026.
The CPI measures average price changes over time for a fixed basket of goods and services specific to each metropolitan area like San Diego-Carlsbad—an area which includes all of San Diego County in California—and is published every two months locally as part of broader national reporting efforts from BLS.
Local indexes are subject to greater sampling error than national or regional ones because they rely on smaller sample sizes; they also do not account for seasonal influences or compare price levels between cities—they only track how prices change within an area since its base period.
