| SAN DIEGO CONSUMER PRICES INCREASE
1.4 PERCENT |
|
IN THE SECOND HALF OF 2004 - 3.7 PERCENT ABOVE A YEAR
AGO
Consumer prices in the San Diego metropolitan area rose
1.4 percent during the second half of 2003 and 3.7 percent
from the same period one year ago according to the Bureau
of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor. Regional
Commissioner Richard J. Holden said shelter costs in the
housing category continued to be the primary component influencing
the all items increase.
During the final six months of 2004, the overall housing
index advanced 1.5 percent. Housing prices increased 3.7
percent since the second half of 2003, equal to the rate
for the all items index. While it remained the primary driver
of the total increase, at 3.7 percent, the increase is the
lowest semi-annual second half to second half change for
the category since 1997. Within housing, the shelter component
rose 1.9 percent for the six month period and 4.8 percent
over the year. The household fuels and utilities category
advanced 0.6 percent in comparison to both the first half
of 2004 and the second half of 2003. Within household fuels,
the natural gas service index increased 6.2 percent during
the last half of 2004, and rose 8.1 percent from the same
semi-annual period the previous year. Prices for electricity
decreased 0.4 percent during the second half of the year
and 3.0 percent over the previous year.
The transportation index advanced 1.8 percent during the
second half of 2004. Contrasted to the previous period ending
December 2003, the index increased 6.0 percent. Gasoline
prices accounted for more than 60 percent of the December-December
increase and 75 percent of the June-December increase.
Education and Communication rose substantially in 2004,
with the average increase for the last six months coming
in at 4.1 percent. For the year, the index rose 8.5 percent.
San Diego's semi-annual increase exceeded the nation's 1.1
percent increase by 3.0 percentage points.
The index for recreation edged down 1.2 percent in the
last six month period, following a 0.2 percent advance during
the first six months of 2004. Over the year, recreation
prices decreased 1.0 percent. A drop in prices for photographic
equipment and supplies contributed the overall decline.
For the nation, the 2004 annual average price descent in
this category equaled 7.4 percent.
The miscellaneous other goods and services Clean drop down menu
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up 1.4 percent during the last six months of 2004. From
the second half of 2003 to the second half of 2004, the
index advanced 3.3 percent.
The area's Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers
advanced to 214.3 (1982-84=100) during the second half of
2004. This means a market basket of goods and services that
cost $100.00 in 1982-84 would have cost $214.30 during the
last six months of 2004. Local area CPI data are not seasonally
adjusted.
|
 |
| SAN DIEGO CONSUMER PRICES INCREASE
1.4 PERCENT |
|
TECHNICAL NOTE
The current Consumer Expenditure Survey (CE) program began
in 1980. Its principal objective is to collect information
on the buying habits of American consumers. The consumer
expenditure data are used in a wide variety of research
by government, business, labor, and academic analysts. The
data are also required for periodic revision of the Consumer
Price Index (CPI).
The survey consists of two components, a Diary or recordkeeping
survey, and an Interview survey. The Diary survey, completed
by participating consumer units for two consecutive 1-week
periods, collects data on frequently purchased, smaller
items. The Interview survey, in which the expenditures of
consumer units are obtained in five interviews conducted
every 3 months, collects data for larger-cost items and
expenditures that occur on a regular basis. The U.S. Census
Bureau collects the survey data.
Each component of the survey queries an independent sample
of consumer units which is representative of the U.S. population.
Over the year, about 7,500 consumer units are sampled for
the Diary survey. The Interview sample is conducted on a
rotating panel basis, with about 7,500 consumer units participating
each quarter. The data are collected on an ongoing basis
in 105 areas of the country.
The integrated data from the BLS Diary and Interview surveys
provide a complete accounting of consumer expenditures and
income, which neither survey component alone is designed
to do. Due to changes in the survey sample frame, metropolitan
area data in this release are not directly comparable to
those prior to 1996.
The expenditure data in this release should be interpreted
with care. The expenditures are averages for consumer units
with the specified characteristics, regardless of whether
or not a specific unit incurred an expense for that specific
item during the recording period. The average expenditure
may be considerably lower than the expenditure by those
consumer units that purchased the item. This study is not
intended as a comparative cost of living survey as neither
the quantity nor the quality of goods and services has been
held constant among areas. Differences may result from variations
in consumer unit preferences or characteristics such as
consumer unit size, age, income levels, etc. Users should
keep in mind that prices for many goods and services have
risen since the survey was conducted.
In addition, sample surveys are subject to two types of
errors. Sampling errors occur because the data are collected
from a representative sample rather than the entire population.
Nonsampling errors result from the inability or unwillingness
of respondents to provide correct information, differences
in interviewer ability, mistakes in recording or coding,
or other processing errors. The year-to-year changes are
volatile and should be interpreted carefully. The sample
survey for the nation is much larger than for individual
metropolitan areas, meaning the resulting national estimates
are more reliable than those for the metropolitan areas.
Some expenditure components are subject to large fluctuations
from one year to the next because these components include
expensive items that relatively few consumers purchase each
year. Thus, shifts from year to year in the number of consumers
making such purchases can have a large effect on average
expenditures. Examples of these types of expenses are purchases
of new cars and trucks in the transportation component,
and spending on boats and recreational vehicles in the entertainment
component.
The Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) and Consolidated
Metropolitan Statistical Areas (CMSAs) covered by the Consumer
Expenditure Survey represent areas designated by the U.S.
Office of Management and Budget and are based on definitions
in effect as of December 1992. The general concept of an
MSA is one of a large population nucleus, together with
adjacent communities which have a high degree of economic
and social integration with that nucleus. The following
metropolitan areas are discussed in this release:
San Diego, California MSA which is comprised of San Diego
County;
Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County, California CMSA which
is comprised of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino,
and Ventura Counties;
San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, California CMSA which is
comprised of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, Santa Clara,
Santa Cruz, San Francisco, San Mateo, Solano, and Sonoma
Counties;
Portland-Salem, Oregon-Washington, CMSA which is comprised
of Clackamas, Columbia, Marion, Multnomah, Polk, Washington,
and Yamhill Counties, Oregon, and Clark County, Washington;
Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton, Washington CMSA which is comprised
of Island, King, Kitsap, Pierce, Snohomish, and Thurston
Counties;
Honolulu, Hawaii MSA which is comprised of Honolulu County;
Anchorage, Alaska MSA which is comprised of Anchorage Borough;
Phoenix-Mesa, Arizona MSA which is comprised of Maricopa
and Pinal Counties; and
Denver-Boulder-Greeley, Colorado CMSA which is comprised
of Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Denver, Douglas, Jefferson
and Weld Counties.
The Consumer Expenditure Survey also provides data for
the four regions of the country as defined the U.S. Bureau
of the Census-Northeast, South, Midwest, and West. Data
for metropolitan areas presented in table 2 of this release
are part of the West region which includes the states of
Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana,
Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. |
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The
food and beverages category advanced 0.4 percent since the
first half of 2004 and moved up 1.7 percent over the year.
During the second half of 2004, grocery prices, as measured
by the food at home index, nudged ahead 0.1 percent while
prices for food away from home rose 1.3 percent. The second
half 2004 food at home figure represents the smallest six
month change since 2002. Over the past year, grocery prices
went up 1.0 percent, and prices for eating out rose 2.4 percent.
Alcoholic beverage prices increased 3.0 percent for the year.
During the past six months, apparel prices increased
1.4 percent. From a year ago, the apparel index rose 2.5 percent.
Overall, San Diego apparel prices have increased at a faster
pace than that of the nation.
Medical care prices increased 1.1 percent in the second half
of 2004 and measured 3.1 percent above last year's level.
Prices reflect a constant basket of goods for both medical
services and commodities. |
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| CONSUMER SPENDING PATTERNS |
|
IN SAN DIEGO, 2001-2002
Consumer units1 in the San Diego, California metropolitan
area spent an average of $42,588 per year in 2001-2002, 6.2
percent more than the typical U.S. household, according to
the latest Consumer Expenditure Survey results from the Bureau
of Labor Statistics. Acting Regional Commissioner Nancy Treadwell
noted that San Diego housing expenses, driven by the high
cost for shelter, were 29.7 percent higher than that for the
nation and accounted for a larger than average share of a
household's budget. The average household in San Diego reported
income of $47,722 before taxes, and was comprised of 2.6 persons
and 1.3 wage earners. |
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| SAN DIEGO CONSUMER PRICES |
|
The percentage of the total budget spent by a typical San
Diego household for food, housing, and transportation was
70.2 percent, above the 65.3 percent spent by an average U.S.
household. In comparison to the eight other metropolitan areas
surveyed in the West region, households in San Diego spent
the largest percentage of their budget on these three categories.
Households in Anchorage, on the other hand, had the lowest
combined expenditure share at 62.5 percent. (See table 2.
Geographical boundaries of the region and metropolitan areas
referenced in this release are contained in the Technical
Note.)
This report contains annual data averaged over a two-year
period, 2001 and 2002. The data are from the Consumer Expenditure
Survey (CE), which is conducted on an ongoing basis by the
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The Bureau of the Census
collects the survey data for BLS. The CE is the only national
survey that provides both complete data on household expenditures
and the demographic characteristics of those households. Survey
data cannot be used to make cost of living comparisons between
areas. Expenditure levels vary among areas not only because
of economic factors such as the prices of goods and services
and family income, but also because of differences such as
the age of the population, climate, consumer tastes, family
size, etc. However, expenditure shares (or the percentage
of a consumer unit's budget spent on a particular item) can
be used to compare spending patterns across areas. Data shown
are annual averages per consumer unit. An individual consumer
unit may spend more or less than the average, depending on
its particular characteristics.
Housing expenses accounted for 40.0 percent of total household
expenditures in the San Diego area, well above the national
average of 32.8 percent. San Diego also had a larger expenditure
share for housing than the eight other metropolitan areas
in the West. Within the region, Anchorage had the smallest
expenditure share for housing at 30.8 percent. The majority
(67.2 percent) of a consumer unit's housing costs in San Diego
went for shelter, which includes mortgage interest, property
taxes, repairs, and rent, among other items. Only 14.4 percent
of housing expenses went towards utilities, fuels, and services.
In comparison, a typical household in the United States spent
58.7 percent of the housing budget on shelter, but 20.7 percent
for utilities, fuels, and services. The rate of homeownership
in San Diego, at 55 percent, was considerably below the nationwide
average of 66 percent. Honolulu was the only published area
in the West that had a lower proportion of homeowners, 53
percent. However, no metropolitan area in the West exceeded
the national average.
Transportation was the second largest expenditure category
in the San Diego area accounting for 18.3 percent of a household's
budget. In the West, Denver had the highest share at 20.6
percent, while Portland had the lowest, 16.1 percent. Nationally,
transportation made up 19.2 percent of all expenditures. Households
in San Diego allocated a smaller portion of their transportation
dollars for vehicle purchases than did consumer units nationwide
(43.9 versus 47.1 percent), but spent a larger percentage
on gasoline and motor oil for their vehicles (17.1 percent)
than did those nationally (16.3 percent). Overall, San Diego
area residents averaged 1.8 vehicles per household, slightly
below the U.S. average of 2.0 vehicles.
Food accounted for 11.8 percent of total expenditures in
the San Diego area, lower than the national average of 13.3
percent and among the lowest in the West. Regionally, expenditure
shares for food ranged from 11.7 percent in San Francisco
to 14.8 percent in Honolulu. Consumer units in San Diego spent
45.7 percent of their total food budget on food prepared away
from home, such as restaurant meals, carry-outs, board at
school, and catered affairs; this was well above the nationwide
average of 42.2 percent.
Among the other expenditure categories, payments for personal
insurance and pensions accounted for 9.2 percent of San Diego
budgets, not too different from the 9.5 percent spent nationally.
San Diego households allocated 4.6 percent of their budget
for entertainment; this was below the national share of 5.0
percent and second lowest in the West behind San Francisco's
4.3 percent allocation. More of a differential was evident
in the expenditure shares for both apparel and services, and
out-of-pocket health care costs in San Diego, which at 3.4
and 4.4 percent, respectively, were at least 1 percentage
point lower than their respective U.S. averages.
San Diego is one of nine metropolitan areas in the West region
for which CE data are available. Data tables are also available
for the four Census regions and the nation. Additional CE
tables are offered on the BLS Internet site http://www.bls.gov/cex/home.htm
in both text and PDF formats. For personal assistance or further
information on the Consumer Expenditure Survey, as well as
other Bureau programs, contact the San Francisco Information
Office at 415-975-4350.
1 See Technical Note for definition of a consumer unit. The
terms consumer unit and household are used interchangeably
throughout the text for convenience. |
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| Definitions |
|
Consumer unit - members of a household related by blood,
marriage, adoption, or other legal arrangement; a single person
living alone or sharing a household with others but who is
financially independent; or two or more persons living together
who share responsibility for at least 2 out of 3 major types
of expenses - food, housing, and other expenses. The terms
household or consumer unit are used interchangeably for convenience.
Complete income reporter - in general, a consumer unit that
provides values for at least one of the major sources of its
income such as wages and salaries, self-employment income,
or Social Security income. Even complete income reporters
may not have provided a full accounting of all income from
all sources.
Expenditures - consist of the transaction costs, including
excise and sales taxes, of goods and services acquired during
the interview or recordkeeping period. Expenditure estimates
include expenditures for gifts, but exclude purchases or portions
of purchases directly assignable to business purposes. Also
excluded are periodic credit or installment payments on goods
or services already acquired. The full cost of each purchase
is recorded even though full payment may not have been made
at the date of purchase.
Income before taxes - the total money earnings and selected
money receipts during the 12 months prior to the interview
date. |
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