"In response to a survey asking, "Which of the following do you think have increased the most in cost for you over the past year?" groceries and food topped the list at 64%, followed by housing at 50%, utilities at 33%, restaurants and entertainment at 28%, taxes at 25%, health care at 23% and home insurance at 22%. Joint Venture conducted its poll in August, surveying 1,750 residents from Alameda, Contra Costa, Santa Clara, San Francisco and San Mateo counties."
"Consumers are accurately diagnosing their pain with groceries in the Bay Area posting the biggest annual jump of any category at 4.3%, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data cited by the Joint Venture report. It's far ahead of housing at 2.3% and the overall regional inflation rate of 2.5%. In another unfortunate example of the Bay Area leading the United States in cost of living, grocery prices jumped 26.8% in the past five years compared to 24.7% nationally."
"Russell Hancock, Joint Venture President and CEO, said he isn't surprised by the results from the annual opinion poll because consumers confront higher grocery prices every time they go to the supermarket, unlike a monthly mortgage or rent payments. "Housing is an affordability issue but in one sense it's also a one-time issue, while food prices have been rising precipitously," Hancock told San José Spotlight."
Bay Area residents report groceries as the largest cost increase, with 64% saying food costs rose most over the past year. Housing ranked second at 50%, utilities at 33%, and restaurants and entertainment at 28%. Bureau of Labor Statistics data show groceries led annual category increases in the Bay Area at 4.3%, compared with 2.3% for housing and a 2.5% regional inflation rate. Grocery prices climbed 26.8% over five years in the Bay Area versus 24.7% nationally. High housing-cost burdens mean modest food-price upticks hit low-income households hardest. Specific flagged increases include coffee up 19%.
Read at San Jose Spotlight
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