Serving the nine-county San Francisco Bay Region

Explanatory Text: The Bay Area Consumer Price Index

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) measures the change in the price of goods over time. The change in the index is referred to as the rate of inflation. The numbers presented here are distributed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) for the Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area (CMSA) covering San Francisco - Oakland - San Jose. This series is generally used as representative of the CPI for the nine-county bay region. Higher inflation rates were common during the 1974-1982 period as skyrocketing gasoline prices and extraordinarily high interest rates prevailed. More controlled inflation characterized the post-1985 era, with a notable downward trend beginning in 1990.

Raw BLS CPI numbers are provided below. Annual averages are provided, followed by bimonthly values. The base year is an average of 1982, 1983, & 1984 (hence 1982-84=100).

Annual Bay Area Index

YEAR RAW BLS INDEX
1982-84=100.0		 Dec - Dec
Percentage
Change		 Annual Avg
Percentage
Change
December Annual Avg
1970 38.5 37.7 ----- -----
1971 39.6 39.1 2.9% 3.7%
1972 41.1 40.4 3.8% 3.3%
1973 44.0 42.8 7.1% 5.9%
1974 49.5 47.0 12.5% 9.8%
1975 53.4 51.8 7.9% 10.2%
1976 56.0 54.6 4.9% 5.4%
1977 60.9 58.8 8.7% 7.7%
1978 65.3 64.3 7.2% 9.4%
1979 74.9 69.8 14.7% 8.6%
1980 82.9 80.4 10.7% 15.2%
1981 95.6 90.8 15.3% 12.9%
1982 95.6 97.6 0.0% 7.5%
1983 100.0 98.4 4.6% 0.8%
1984 106.0 104.0 6.0% 5.7%
1985 109.4 108.4 3.2% 4.2%
1986 111.8 111.6 2.2% 3.0%
1987 117.4 115.4 5.0% 3.4%
1988 122.6 120.5 4.4% 4.4%
1989 127.4 126.4 3.9% 4.9%
1990 135.1 132.1 6.0% 4.5%
1991 139.8 137.9 3.5% 4.4%
1992 144.3 142.5 3.2% 3.3%
1993 147.0 146.3 1.9% 2.7%
1994 149.4 148.7 1.6% 1.6%
1995 152.1 151.6 1.8% 2.0%
1996 156.0 155.1 2.6% 2.3%
1997 162.6 160.4 4.2% 3.4%
1998 167.4 165.5 3.0% 3.2%
1999 174.5 172.5 4.2% 4.2%
2000 184.1 180.2 5.5% 4.5%
2001 190.6 189.9 3.5% 5.4%
2002 193.2 193.0 1.4% 1.6%
2003 195.3 196.4 1.1% 1.8%
2004 199.5 198.8 2.2% 1.2%
2005 203.4 202.7 1.95% 1.96%

Monthly Bay Area Index

Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Annual
Avg
1970 --- --- 37.2 --- --- 37.6 --- --- 38.0 --- --- 38.5 37.7
1971 --- --- 38.7 --- --- 39.0 --- --- 39.3 --- --- 39.6 39.1
1972 --- --- 39.9 --- --- 40.4 --- --- 40.9 --- --- 41.1 40.4
1973 --- --- 41.9 --- --- 42.5 --- --- 43.8 --- --- 44.0 42.8
1974 --- --- 45.3 --- --- 46.8 --- --- 48.2 --- --- 49.5 47.0
1975 --- --- 50.7 --- --- 51.6 --- --- 52.5 --- --- 53.4 51.8
1976 --- --- 53.8 --- --- 54.3 --- --- 55.3 --- --- 56.0 54.6
1977 --- --- 57.2 --- --- 58.8 --- --- 59.9 --- --- 60.9 58.8
1978 --- 61.5 --- 62.7 --- 64.8 --- 66.6 --- 66.1 --- 65.3 64.3
1979 --- 66.3 --- 67.9 --- 69.1 --- 71.0 --- 72.0 --- 74.9 69.8
1980 --- 78.3 --- 79.2 --- 80.7 --- 81.6 --- 81.9 --- 82.9 80.4
1981 --- 84.7 --- 87.9 --- 89.1 --- 93.6 --- 96.6 --- 95.6 90.8
1982 --- 96.2 --- 97.2 --- 99.1 --- 99.0 --- 98.4 --- 95.6 97.6
1983 --- 96.7 --- 97.4 --- 98.6 --- 99.5 --- 99.4 --- 100.0 98.4
1984 --- 101.4 --- 102.9 --- 103.7 --- 105.2 --- 106.5 --- 106.0 104.0
1985 --- 106.9 --- 107.5 --- 108.4 --- 109.2 --- 109.5 --- 109.4 108.4
1986 --- 111.0 113.7 110.4 --- 111.9 --- 112.4 --- 113.1 --- 111.8 111.6
1987 112.5 113.4 119.1 114.8 115.0 115.0 115.8 116.1 116.6 117.0 117.1 117.4 115.4
1988 118.4 117.9 124.0 118.7 119.7 120.1 120.9 122.0 122.1 122.3 122.2 122.6 120.5
1989 124.0 124.0 125.9 125.4 126.3 126.2 127.4 128.1 126.8 127.5 127.2 127.4 126.4
1990 128.5 129.2 130.0 130.7 130.8 131.6 132.3 133.1 134.0 134.6 134.7 135.1 132.1
1991 136.7 136.1 136.3 135.8 136.2 137.6 138.2 139.1 139.7 139.6 139.8 139.8 137.9
1992 140.3 141.0 141.9 141.6 141.9 141.9 142.2 142.7 143.7 144.3 144.2 144.3 142.5
1993 145.1 145.5 145.7 146.8 146.9 146.1 146.1 146.2 146.5 147.0 147.2 147.0 146.3
1994 147.5 147.4 148.2 148.0 148.3 148.1 148.9 149.4 149.4 149.4 149.8 149.4 148.7
1995 150.3 150.5 151.1 151.5 151.3 151.7 151.5 151.5 152.3 152.6 152.4 152.1 151.6
1996 152.9 153.2 152.9 153.9 155.1 155.2 155.6 155.6 156.3 156.9 156.9 156.0 155.1
1997 157.0 157.9 159.2 159.6 159.8 160.0 160.6 161.2 161.6 162.5 162.6 162.6 160.4
1998 --- 163.2 --- 164.6 --- 165.5 --- 166.6 --- 167.2 --- 167.4 165.5
1999 --- 169.4 --- 172.2 --- 171.8 --- 173.5 --- 175.2 --- 174.5 172.5
2000 --- 176.5 --- 178.7(*) --- 179.1(*) --- 181.7 --- 183.4 --- 184.1 180.2
2001 --- 187.9 --- 189.1 --- 190.9 --- 191.0 --- 191.7 --- 190.6 189.9
2002 --- 191.3 --- 193.0 --- 193.2 --- 193.5 --- 194.3 --- 193.2 193.0
2003 --- 197.7 --- 197.3 --- 196.3 --- 196.3 --- 196.3 --- 195.3 196.4
2004 --- 198.1 --- 198.3 --- 199.0 --- 198.7 --- 200.3 --- 199.5 198.8
2005 --- 201.2 --- 202.5 --- 201.2 --- 203.0 --- 205.9 --- 203.4 202.7
Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Annual
Avg
(*) April and June 2000 are revised values, issued by the Census Bureau on 9/28/00.

For further information, the Bureau of Labor Statistics San Francisco Office provides a narrative describing the latest index and additional data.
CPI values for other regions and for the US as a whole, along with detailed descriptions, can be found at the BLS Consumer Price Indexes page.

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bsk 11/10/05

RD 11/18/05