Consumer Price Index, San Francisco Area — August 2026

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward increased 0.1 percent for the two months ending in August 2026, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today. Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that prices for all items less food and energy increased 0.5 percent. The food index decreased 1.4 percent, and the energy index decreased 2.5 percent. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

The San Francisco area all items CPI-U advanced 3.4 percent for the 12 months ending in August. The index for all items less food and energy advanced 3.0 percent over the year. Food prices rose 3.1 percent. Energy prices rose 12.3 percent.

Food

Food prices declined 1.4 percent for the two months ending in August. Prices for food at home (grocery store purchases) declined 3.1 percent, with lower prices in 4 of the 6 major grocery store food groups. Prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) rose 0.6 percent for the same period.

Food prices rose 3.1 percent over the year. Prices for food at home advanced 2.2 percent, with higher prices in 4 of the 6 major grocery store food groups. Prices for food away from home rose 4.1 percent.

Energy

The energy index declined 2.5 percent for the two months ending in August. Gasoline prices decreased 2.7 percent.

Energy prices rose 12.3 percent over the year. Gasoline prices increased 22.2 percent.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.5 percent during the two-month period. Among the index's components, prices were higher for apparel (+7.0 percent) and education and communication (+1.8 percent). In contrast, prices were lower for shelter (-0.5 percent) and other goods and services (-0.5 percent).

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 3.0 percent over the year. Components contributing to the increase included recreation (+7.5 percent) and shelter (+2.6 percent). In contrast, prices were lower for used cars and trucks (-3.9 percent) and medical care (-0.4 percent).

Table A. San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, 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
February	1.4	5.2	1.8	5.3	1.5	2.4	1.8	2.7	1.3	2.5
April	1.5	5.0	0.4	4.2	1.8	3.8	0.4	1.3	1.7	3.8
June	1.7	6.8	0.5	2.9	-0.1	3.2	0.2	1.5	0.2	3.8
August	-0.5	5.7	0.0	3.4	-0.5	2.7	0.4	2.5	0.1	3.4
October	1.0	6.0	0.3	2.8	0.0	2.4	-	-
December	-0.3	4.9	-0.4	2.6	-0.4	2.4	-	3.0
Note: The October 2025 data values are not available due to the 2025 lapse in appropriations

The October 2026 Consumer Price Index for the San Francisco area is scheduled to be released on November 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 Francisco 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.

A full all-items data series history for the original index value and for 1-month, 2-month, 3-month, 6-month, and 12-month percent changes can be accessed via BLS data query tools. A direct link to the all-items series is provided in Table 1 of this release under historical data.

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.

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 Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA, CPI-U by expenditure category for August 2026, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Expenditure category	Indexes				Percent change from -
	Historical data	Jun. 2026	Jul. 2026	Aug. 2026	Aug. 2025	Jun. 2026	Jul. 2026
All Items		369.913	-	370.130	3.4	0.1	-
All items (1967=100)		1,137.217	-	1,137.882
Food and beverages		399.142	-	394.001	3.1	-1.3	-
Food		402.341	-	396.850	3.1	-1.4	-
Food at home		363.266	361.858	352.027	2.2	-3.1	-2.7
Cereals and bakery products		341.643	349.572	340.077	0.2	-0.5	-2.7
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		388.473	376.447	362.282	-4.0	-6.7	-3.8
Dairy and related products		308.841	332.278	328.424	-3.8	6.3	-1.2
Fruits and vegetables		478.017	462.639	461.489	2.0	-3.5	-0.2
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		243.530	248.004	244.814	2.5	0.5	-1.3
Other food at home		348.741	346.286	331.406	8.8	-5.0	-4.3
Food away from home		452.081	-	455.004	4.1	0.6	-
Alcoholic beverages		361.666	-	360.488	1.9	-0.3	-
Housing		423.359	-	422.468	2.5	-0.2	-
Shelter		470.049	469.378	467.656	2.6	-0.5	-0.4
Rent of primary residence		532.233	534.331	533.851	2.6	0.3	-0.1
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)		503.717	504.807	503.799	2.5	0.0	-0.2
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)		503.717	504.807	503.799	2.5	0.0	-0.2
Household furnishings and operations		178.692	-	181.885	0.8	1.8	-
Apparel		126.398	-	135.280	1.8	7.0	-
Transportation		291.788	-	292.497	9.0	0.2	-
Private transportation		285.052	-	287.166	7.6	0.7	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)		120.491	-	120.851	0.1	0.3	-
New vehicles(1)		193.655	-	194.146	0.7	0.3	-
Used cars and trucks(1)		330.178	-	332.456	-3.9	0.7	-
Motor fuel		419.800	403.018	408.570	22.6	-2.7	1.4
Gasoline (all types)		415.450	398.966	404.361	22.2	-2.7	1.4
Unleaded regular(4)		415.456	398.778	404.218	22.5	-2.7	1.4
Unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		387.419	372.321	377.209	21.8	-2.6	1.3
Unleaded premium(4)		394.130	379.145	384.118	21.2	-2.5	1.3
Medical Care		607.482	-	609.587	-0.4	0.3	-
Recreation(3)		160.720	-	160.665	7.5	0.0	-
Education and communication(3)		167.486	-	170.497	0.9	1.8	-
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)		2,129.379	-	2,196.791	4.2	3.2	-
Other goods and services		677.675	-	674.415	4.3	-0.5	-
Footnotes (1) Index is on a December 1977=100 base. (2) Index is on a December 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 Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA, CPI-U by special aggregate index for August 2026, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Special aggregate index	Indexes				Percent change from -
	Historical data	Jun. 2026	Jul. 2026	Aug. 2026	Aug. 2025	Jun. 2026	Jul. 2026
All items		369.913	-	370.130	3.4	0.1	-
Food		402.341	-	396.850	3.1	-1.4	-
Energy		514.245	502.722	501.370	12.3	-2.5	-0.3
All items less food and energy		363.927	-	365.571	3.0	0.5	-
All items less energy		368.214	-	368.904	3.0	0.2	-
All items less medical care		360.019	-	360.160	3.7	0.0	-
All items less shelter		331.400	-	332.794	3.9	0.4	-
Commodities		247.945	-	246.422	2.6	-0.6	-
Commodities less food		179.843	-	179.774	2.3	0.0	-
Commodities less food & beverages		171.874	-	171.840	2.4	0.0	-
Durables		114.255	-	114.115	-2.1	-0.1	-
Nondurables		319.963	-	317.447	4.3	-0.8	-
Nondurables less food & beverages		238.281	-	238.466	7.0	0.1	-
Nondurables less food		247.381	-	247.461	6.1	0.0	-
Services		472.810	-	474.578	3.8	0.4	-
Services less rent of shelter(1)		506.320	-	513.596	5.2	1.4	-
Services less medical care services		462.087	-	463.721	4.1	0.4	-
Footnotes (1) Indexes on a December 1982=100 base.
- Data not available. NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.