Consumer Price Index, San Diego Area — March 2026

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for San Diego-Carlsbad advanced 1.4 percent for the two months ending in March 2026, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today. Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that the energy index increased 13.2 percent during the two-month period. The food index increased 1.3 percent, and the index for all items less food and energy increased 0.6 percent. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

The San Diego area all items CPI-U rose 3.2 percent for the 12 months ending in March. The index for all items less food and energy advanced 2.6 percent over the year. Food prices increased 2.2 percent. Energy prices rose 15.9 percent.

Food

Food prices advanced 1.3 percent for the two months ending in March. Prices for food at home (grocery store purchases) rose 1.1 percent, with higher prices in 5 of the 6 major grocery store food groups. Prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) advanced 1.5 percent for the same period.

Food prices advanced 2.2 percent over the year. Prices for food at home rose 1.5 percent, with higher prices in 5 of the 6 major grocery store food groups. Prices for food away from home advanced 3.2 percent.

Energy

The energy index advanced 13.2 percent for the two months ending in March. Gasoline prices rose 24.3 percent.

Energy prices rose 15.9 percent over the year. Gasoline prices increased 17.5 percent.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 0.6 percent during the two-month period. Among the index's components, prices were higher for recreation (+2.1 percent) and shelter (+0.9 percent). In contrast, prices were lower for household furnishings and operations (-1.1 percent).

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 2.6 percent over the year. Components contributing to the increase included medical care (+5.3 percent) and shelter (+2.5 percent). In contrast, prices were lower for new and used motor vehicles (-1.1 percent) and recreation (-0.2 percent).

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

Month	2022		2023		2024		2025		2026
	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month
January	2.0	8.2	1.8	6.4	0.4	3.8	1.6	3.8	0.2	2.6
March	2.1	7.9	1.0	5.3	0.8	3.6	0.8	3.8	1.4	3.2
May	1.1	8.3	0.9	5.2	0.5	3.2	0.6	3.8
July	1.2	7.3	0.3	4.3	0.6	3.5	0.8	4.0
September	0.9	8.2	1.3	4.7	0.3	2.5	0.1	3.9
November	-0.7	6.7	-0.2	5.2	-0.1	2.6	0.1	4.0

The May 2026 Consumer Price Index for the San Diego area is scheduled to be released on June 10, 2026.

Technical Note

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measure of the average change in prices over time in a fixed market basket of goods and services. The Consumer Price Index for San Diego is published bi-monthly. The set of components and sub-aggregates published for regional and metropolitan indexes is more limited than at the U.S. city average level; these indexes are byproducts of the national CPI program. Each local index has a much smaller sample size than the national or regional indexes and is, therefore, subject to substantially more sampling and other measurement error. As a result, local-area indexes are more volatile than the national or regional indexes. In addition, local indexes are not adjusted for seasonal influences. 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 Core Based Statistical Area includes San Diego County in California.

Refer to the national CPI news release technical note or the Handbook of Methods for more information.

If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.

Table 1. San Diego-Carlsbad, CA, CPI-U by expenditure category for March 2026, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Expenditure category	Indexes				Percent change from -
	Historical data	Jan. 2026	Feb. 2026	Mar. 2026	Mar. 2025	Jan. 2026	Feb. 2026
All Items		391.981	-	397.284	3.2	1.4	-
All items (1967=100)		1,325.408	-	1,343.340
Food and beverages		343.473	-	348.781	2.5	1.5	-
Food		342.247	-	346.532	2.2	1.3	-
Food at home		299.003	299.912	302.329	1.5	1.1	0.8
Cereals and bakery products		403.236	403.175	399.787	2.3	-0.9	-0.8
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		300.052	294.237	300.519	1.0	0.2	2.1
Dairy and related products		245.073	241.292	248.667	5.3	1.5	3.1
Fruits and vegetables		285.028	293.694	292.834	-1.1	2.7	-0.3
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		336.173	351.403	341.874	3.5	1.7	-2.7
Other food at home		290.149	289.329	294.423	0.9	1.5	1.8
Food away from home		402.000	-	408.045	3.2	1.5	-
Alcoholic beverages		340.473	-	359.861	6.5	5.7	-
Housing		483.800	-	486.799	3.3	0.6	-
Shelter		549.938	556.046	554.908	2.5	0.9	-0.2
Rent of primary residence		552.141	554.072	552.948	2.2	0.1	-0.2
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)		583.444	588.288	586.974	2.4	0.6	-0.2
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)		583.444	588.288	586.974	2.4	0.6	-0.2
Household furnishings and operations		229.729	-	227.200	5.7	-1.1	-
Apparel		171.735	-	172.785	2.8	0.6	-
Transportation		307.876	-	320.179	5.4	4.0	-
Private transportation		305.871	-	320.117	5.1	4.7	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)		130.519	-	130.647	-1.1	0.1	-
New vehicles(1)		260.073	-	260.069	-0.1	0.0	-
Used cars and trucks(1)		294.857	-	292.265	-4.1	-0.9	-
Motor fuel		354.479	366.356	439.998	17.4	24.1	20.1
Gasoline (all types)		354.043	366.002	440.134	17.5	24.3	20.3
Unleaded regular(4)		365.325	377.896	455.814	17.7	24.8	20.6
Unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		310.413	321.032	383.984	17.3	23.7	19.6
Unleaded premium(4)		366.766	378.298	450.075	16.8	22.7	19.0
Medical Care		608.661	-	607.779	5.3	-0.1	-
Recreation(3)		191.021	-	195.095	-0.2	2.1	-
Education and communication(3)		-	-	-	-	-	-
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)		-	-	-	-	-	-
Other goods and services		542.377	-	547.439	0.6	0.9	-
Footnotes (1) Index is on a November 1977=100 base. (2) Index is 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. Data not seasonally adjusted.

Table 2. San Diego-Carlsbad, CA, CPI-U by special aggregate index for March 2026, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Special aggregate index	Indexes				Percent change from -
	Historical data	Jan. 2026	Feb. 2026	Mar. 2026	Mar. 2025	Jan. 2026	Feb. 2026
All items		391.981	-	397.284	3.2	1.4	-
Food		342.247	-	346.532	2.2	1.3	-
Energy		413.128	421.583	467.794	15.9	13.2	11.0
All items less food and energy		404.818	-	407.266	2.6	0.6	-
All items less energy		394.173	-	396.813	2.5	0.7	-
All items less medical care		381.561	-	387.167	3.1	1.5	-
All items less shelter		327.894	-	333.297	3.7	1.6	-
Commodities		246.428	-	252.746	2.6	2.6	-
Commodities less food		204.231	-	210.571	2.5	3.1	-
Commodities less food & beverages		198.607	-	204.619	2.4	3.0	-
Durables		156.123	-	155.781	-0.5	-0.2	-
Nondurables		293.168	-	307.000	4.9	4.7	-
Nondurables less food & beverages		240.640	-	261.498	7.7	8.7	-
Nondurables less food		249.000	-	270.020	7.6	8.4	-
Services		520.671	-	524.658	3.4	0.8	-
Services less rent of shelter(1)		511.597	-	514.478	5.0	0.6	-
Services less medical care services		506.995	-	511.262	3.2	0.8	-
Footnotes (1) Indexes on a November 1982=100 base.
- Data not available. NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.