San Francisco inflation calculator: CPI-U since 1914

The CPI-U for San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA, as published by the BLS in even months. Choose an amount and two dates.

U.S. average, a metro area, a region or a city-size class

Value in August 2026

$205.40

$100.00 in 2000 average buys what $205.40 buys in August 2026, San Francisco.

Cumulative price change+105.4 %
Average per year+2.79 %
Index, 2000 average180.2
Index, August 2026370.13
U.S. average over the same dates$194.53 (+94.5 %)
BLS seriesCUURS49BSA0
How this is computed

Prepared by Radif Partners · How the figures are built · BLS series CUURS49BSA0, priced in even months

Over the 12 months to August 2026, the San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward CPI-U rose 3.4 %. The U.S. city average rose 3.4 % and the West region 3.2 % over the same span, so San Francisco sat above its region. The largest gaps with the nation were in recreation, +7.5 % against +2.7 %, and transportation, +9.0 % against +6.2 %; medical care lagged most, at -0.4 %. The index has a 1982-84=100 base, runs from December 1914 and is priced in February, April, June, August, October and December. In the recent price surge, its fastest year was 2022 at 5.6 %, the lowest 2022 rate of any published metro. As an even-month area, San Francisco has no October 2025 index and no two-month change for December 2025. A sum of $100 at the 2000 annual average equals $205.40 at August 2026 prices.

Oakland and Hayward are in it

The BLS area is San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA. It is one metropolitan area and one index: there is no separate Oakland CPI. Los Angeles, Riverside and San Diego each have their own series, and the rest of the state falls under the West region or the Size B/C class.

A milder surge than elsewhere

When prices jumped across the country, San Francisco moved less than most metros. Its annual rate was 3.2 % in 2021, 5.6 % in 2022 and 3.7 % in 2023. In 2022, that was the lowest rate of the 23 metros with an annual average, while the nation posted 8.0 %. The years since read 2.8 % in 2024 and 2.2 % in 2025, against 2.9 % and 2.6 % nationally.

The long record is older. The highest San Francisco annual rate is 18.3 %, in 1918, in the first years of the index.

Groups that part from the national pattern

Look at the spending groups over their latest 12 months and San Francisco stands out in recreation (+7.5 %, against +2.7 % nationally) and in transportation (+9.0 %, against +6.2 %). At the other end, medical care was -0.4 %, while the national index for it was +1.6 %. Shelter was +2.6 %, energy +18.8 %. A single group in a single metro rests on a small sample, so such gaps can close or widen sharply from one release to the next.

Apply a San Francisco group to an amount

Same purchase in August 2026

$333.12

Cumulative price change+33.2 %
Average per year+4.80 %
All items, same dates+23.3 %
Index, 2020 average120.576
Open the full calculator →

Even months: what October means here

October is one of the six San Francisco months, and October 2025 is missing: the BLS collected no prices during the lapse in appropriations. December 2025 came out at 358.568 (August 2025: 357.992), with no two-month change. The 2025 annual average rests on 5 indexes. The October 2026 index, due on November 10, 2026, will be published without a 12-month change. In this calculator, an October 2025 date uses August 2025, with a note.

Twenty-five years of San Francisco prices

From the 2000 annual average to August 2026, prices rose 105 % on the San Francisco index, more than the 103 % of the West and more than the 95 % of the nation. If a payment is tied to this index, the BLS advises naming the series in full in the contract: CPI-U, San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, all items, 1982-84=100, not seasonally adjusted. The salary inflation calculator applies the same index to a pay figure.

San Francisco CPI by spending group

San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA, CPI-U not seasonally adjusted. All items: base 1982-84=100; each group keeps the base period of its own BLS series, so compare the changes, not the levels.
IndexLevelLatest month12-month change
All items370.13August 2026+3.4 %
Housing422.468August 2026+2.5 %
Shelter467.847September 2026+2.6 %
Food and beverages394.001August 2026+3.1 %
Food at home356.147September 2026+4.4 %
Energy529.164September 2026+18.8 %
Transportation292.497August 2026+9.0 %
Medical care609.587August 2026-0.4 %
Apparel135.28August 2026+1.8 %
Recreation160.665August 2026+7.5 %
Education and communication170.497August 2026+0.9 %
Other goods and services674.415August 2026+4.3 %
All items less food and energy365.571August 2026+3.0 %

San Francisco inflation by year

Annual averages published by the BLS. The 2025 average leaves out the missing October.
YearAnnual averageChangeDecember to December
2025356.005+2.2 %+3.0 %
2024348.417+2.8 %+2.4 %
2023339.05+3.7 %+2.6 %
2022327.06+5.6 %+4.9 %
2021309.721+3.2 %+4.2 %
2020300.084+1.7 %+2.0 %
2019295.004+3.3 %+2.5 %
2018285.55+3.9 %+4.5 %
2017274.924+3.2 %+2.9 %
2016266.344+3.0 %+3.5 %
2015258.572+2.6 %+3.2 %
2014251.985+2.8 %+2.7 %
2013245.023+2.2 %+2.6 %
2012239.65+2.7 %+2.2 %
2011233.39+2.6 %+2.9 %
2010227.469+1.4 %+1.5 %

Questions people ask

How high is inflation in San Francisco in 2026?

The San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward CPI-U was up 3.4 % over the 12 months to August 2026, compared with 3.4 % for the U.S. city average. The local index is priced in even months and is not seasonally adjusted. A full 2026 annual rate will exist once the December 2026 index is out.

Does the San Francisco CPI cover Oakland?

Yes. The BLS publishes one index for San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA, and prices from Oakland and Hayward are part of it. No separate Oakland or Hayward CPI exists. For California places outside the four state metros with an index, the West region is the usual choice.

Is the San Francisco CPI published in October?

Normally yes, since it is an even-month area. October 2025 is the exception: no index exists because of the 2025 lapse in appropriations. The October 2026 index is due on November 10, 2026 and will carry an index level but no 12-month change, as the BLS does not publish one where October 2025 is missing.

What is $100 from 2000 worth on the San Francisco index?

$205.40 in August 2026, comparing the 2000 annual average of the San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward CPI-U with the latest index. On the national CPI-U the same $100 needs $194.53. Change the dates in the calculator above for any other pair of months.

Keep going

Los Angeles inflation

+3.7 % over the 12 months to September 2026, from the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA CPI-U.

Seattle inflation

+4.4 % over the 12 months to August 2026, from the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA CPI-U.

West region inflation

+3.4 % over the 12 months to September 2026, from the West region CPI-U.

Why city inflation differs

Housing, energy, the size of the sample and the publication rhythm: why one metro runs hotter than another.

Inflation by category

The 8 major spending groups of the CPI, their weights and their inflation, in the U.S. and each area.

Official sources for this page

Prepared by

Independent publisher of inflation calculators built month by month from the CPI-U indexes of the 23 metro areas, 4 regions and 2 city-size classes

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Results apply the published CPI indexes to the amount you type. An index tracks the average prices paid by urban consumers in an area, not your own budget, and it does not compare price levels between cities. A month the BLS did not publish is never filled in: the calculator names the index it uses instead.

Indexes through September 2026, BLS files read on