Jun 3, 2024 - News
San Diego inflation is officially tapering off
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Inflation in San Diego is slowing, but years of increases have taken a toll.
Why it matters: The official measure of inflation compares prices to their level a year ago, but as Axios' Felix Salmon writes that might not feel as relevant as a rough sense of how much something's cost in the recent past.
State of play: The Bureau of Labor Statistics' official measure of inflation in San Diego peaked at 8.3% in May 2022 and gradually declined to 3.4% in March of this year.
Yes, but: Comparing prices today against the start of 2021 shows a persistent run-up.
- At the time of that May 2022 peak, cumulative prices around San Diego had increased by 10.5% since the start of 2021.
- By this March, prices had increased by 20.5% since January 2021 — even though inflation had been officially retreating for nearly two years.
The bottom line: The way economists understand inflation doesn't exactly match the term's common usage.