For the 12 months ending January, the California CPI rose 2.7%, down from 3.5% in December. In the same period, the US CPI dipped to 3.1% from 3.4% in December. 

Price increases, however, vary by consumption expenditure.  Using the same formula applied by Department of Finance in calculating the California CPI, Food Away from Home (restaurants and take out) continues to exhibit much higher price increases as business costs continue to rise especially for energy and labor.  In a harbinger of the cost increases yet to come from the state’s new $20 an hour minimum wage beginning in April, Food Away from Home rose 5.2% over the year in January.

The March average price per gallon of regular gasoline in California rose 31 cents from February to $4.99.  The California regulatory and tax premium above the average for the US other than California ($3.37) rose to $1.62, a 48.0% difference.

In March, California had the highest gasoline price among the contiguous states and DC.  Californians paid $1.95 a gallon more than consumers in Mississippi, the state with the lowest price.

The March average price per gallon of diesel in California essentially stayed level with only a 0.5 cent increase from February to $5.39.  As prices eased marginally in the other states, the California regulatory and tax premium above the average for the US other than California ($3.94) edged up to $1.45, a 36.8% difference.

In March, California had the highest diesel price among the contiguous states and DC.

The cost premium above the US (other than California) average price for regular gasoline ranged from $1.51 in the Central Valley Region (average March price of $4.88), to $1.75 in Central Sierra Region (average March price of $5.12).

California average Residential Price for the 12 months ended January 2024 was 29.13 cents/kWh, 91.8% higher than the US average of 15.19 cents/kWh for all states other than California.  California's residential prices rose to the 2nd highest among the contiguous states and DC.

For the 12 months ended January 2024, the average annual Residential electricity bill in California was $1,710, or 72.0% higher ($716) than the comparable bill in 2010 (the year the AB 32 implementation began with the Early Action items).  In this same period, the average US (less CA) electricity bill for all the other states grew only 21.2% ($289).

In 2010, California had the 9th lowest residential electricity bill among the contiguous states and DC.  In the latest data, it had the 17th highest.

Residential bills, however, vary widely by region.  Transforming the 2022 data recently released by the Energy Commission, estimated annual household usage is as much as 82% higher in the interior regions compared to the milder climate coastal areas, and substantially higher when comparing across counties.

For the 12 months ended January 2024, California's higher electricity prices translated into Residential ratepayers paying $11.5 billion more than the average ratepayers elsewhere in the US using the same amount of energy.  Compared to the lowest cost state, California households paid $15.0 billion more.

California average Commercial Price for the 12 months ended January 2024 was 24.02 cents/kWh, 104.3% higher than the US average of 11.76 cents/kWh for all states other than California.  California's commercial prices again were the highest among the contiguous states and DC.

California average Industrial Price for the 12 months ended January 2024 was 19.00 cents/kWh, 148.7% higher than the US average of 7.64 cents/kWh for all states other than California.  California's industrial prices rose to the highest among the contiguous states and DC.

For the 12 months ended January 2024, California's higher electricity prices translated into Commercial & Industrial ratepayers paying $18.6 billion more than ratepayers elsewhere in the US using the same amount of energy.  Compared to the lowest rate states, Commercial & Industrial ratepayers paid $23.9 billion more.