Prices up 17 Percent in California Since 2020, Inflation Impacting Consumers

People shop at a supermarket in Glendale, Calif., on Jan. 12, 2022. Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images

California has experienced one of the highest levels of inflation in the nation since 2020, with prices jumping 17 percent on average, according to a recent report from the state’s Legislative Analysts’ Office.

“It’s been worse for us than the numbers suggest,” California Bay Area resident Lisa Jackson told The Epoch Times. “Everything I have to buy for my family is more expensive, and the price of gas makes it really difficult to afford simple things like groceries. Vacation is out of the question.”

Volatile energy prices have been the costliest to consumers, spiking more than 28 percent since 2020 but significantly less compared to June 2022 when they were 49 percent higher than their norm.

Gas stations serve customers at peak prices in Irvine, Calif., on Feb. 23, 2022. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

Even though natural gas prices plummeted—hovering near $2 per million BTUs, a measure of heat in energy sources—on May 11 after peaking at $8.81 in August 2022, some consumers in California did not benefit, as savings are not passed on to homes with electric appliances, according to Michael Shires, associate professor of public policy at Pepperdine University.

California is moving to phase out natural gas by 2030, following San Francisco’s lead after the city banned new installations in 2021.

The moves, combined with a push for electric vehicles statewide, are adding to the cost of living, and forcing demand onto an already overburdened electrical grid, according to experts.

“The state’s explicit goal is to eliminate it entirely from the state—driving everyone to more expensive options,” Shires told The Epoch Times. “The grid is increasingly unreliable. These are ‘costs’ of living there that do not get factored into these indexes, but they do represent real costs to California consumers and businesses.”

Costs are up in every category, with energy and food expenses impacting consumers the most, according to the data.

SoCal Edison crews replace power lines on Oct. 25, 2019, in Santa Clarita, Calif. AP Photo/ Christian Monterrosa

While statistics show food inflation starting to level off, prices remain approximately 23 percent higher than in January 2020.

Other services—which include rent and shelter—have gone up nearly 15 percent, while other sectors like food and other goods are showing signs of flattening, according to the report.

“[I]nflation has shifted to services,” as prices for shelter have climbed year over year, according to the report.

Following the May 10 release of Consumer Price Index data for April from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Rep. Michelle Steel (R-Calif.) wrote on Twitter that inflation is costing average California families $967 per month, and approximately six in 10 in the nation are living paycheck to paycheck.

“The numbers are unacceptable,” she wrote. “We must return to fiscal sanity.”

Regionally, the data shows inflation increasing in Southern California, with the area including Los Angeles and Orange County experiencing .7 percent bi-monthly inflation in April and 3.8 percent for the year.

The rise can be attributed to the increase in shelter prices, according to Chris Rosenlund—regional director for the labor statistics bureau—in the agency’s recent analysis.

Rent for a one-bedroom apartment in the City of Orange has jumped five percent to approximately $2,400 over the past year, according to Zumper—an online real estate company based in San Francisco.

Food prices in the area continued to climb, at a rate of 6.5 percent annually, with higher prices noted in five of six grocery categories, according to the bureau’s report.

A customer shops for meat at a Safeway store in San Francisco, Calif., on Oct. 4, 2021. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

San Francisco’s cost of living also continued its ascent, rising 4.2 percent since 2022, with food prices up 6.1 percent.

A drop in gasoline prices pushed energy costs down in California relative to last year, but prices for energy represent the largest inflationary increase overall since 2020, according to the legislative analysts’ data.

While inflationary levels have retreated overall from peaks in 2022, data indicates leveling at vaulted prices across the board, and the impact on the consumer is beginning to take a toll, according to analysts.

“Except for a few small areas, the things that people must buy going forward are more likely to get more expensive for Californians,” Shires said. “The cost of living there is expected to rise higher than in most of the rest of the US—in part because of the choices that California’s progressive leaders have made.”