Food, shelter and medical care continue to squeeze San Diegans’ pocketbooks. In fact, they still pay some of the highest costs in the country for basic necessities. As a result, more people are going hungry. And a local economist says there are signs of a weakening local labor market. KPBS report Katie Anastas spoke to Public Matters reporter Amita Sharma about the rising cost of living. Their conversation is below.
Amita, let’s start with inflation. What kind of toll are high prices taking on San Diegans?
Sharma: Well, Katie, let me give you the backdrop of what people in the San Diego region are facing. At 4%, we have the second highest inflation in the country. Broken down, that means that we’re paying 5.6% more on housing than in November 2024, 7% more at the gas pump and around 1% more on food, and this is all according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
You mentioned the toll on people. I spoke with 65-year-old Carol Peter who lives in a trailer in an RV park in El Cajon. Her rent on the tiny spit of land where her RV sits just went up recently from $750 a month to $1,045 a month. So she now spends 80% of what she receives monthly from Supplemental Security Income on housing, leaving her very little for food. She clips coupons, depends on Meals on Wheels and CalFresh. But she still does not have enough to eat.
"I think I'm just sticking to the basics, you know? I'll eat oatmeal for dinner, and I guess I eat maybe twice a day. Now it's considered trendy to do intermittent fasting, but that's basically what I've decided to do."Carol Peter, El Cajon resident
And, Amita, given what we just heard about housing taking up an overwhelming share of household budgets, how is hunger and food insecurity in the region?
Sharma: It's not good, Katie. And it's expected to get worse. In fact, the numbers haven’t been this high since the pandemic. And since the pandemic, nationally, the cost of food has risen 25%. Joseph Kendrick of the San Diego Hunger Coalition says food insecurity in the area has risen in recent years in lockstep with inflation and with stagnant pay. Today, there are 850,000 people who don’t have enough to eat in a county of just over 3 million people. So around 26% of San Diegans. He says it’s higher — 32% — for children and 39% for people with disabilities.
"I think it says that we're struggling as a county. I think a lot of this is wages. It means that workers just simply aren't being paid enough, especially with the exorbitant cost of living and the exorbitant cost of raising children in this county with how expensive home prices are, rent is, gas, food. All of these things make it so hard for people to just be able to afford basic needs and put food on the table."Joseph Kendrick, research manager at the San Diego Hunger Coalition
And speaking of wages, Amita, how are we doing on the job front in 2026?
Sharma: Well, at 4.6%, unemployment in San Diego County is a smidge higher than the national average, basically mirroring it. And local economist Alan Gin characterizes the local labor market as a little weak right now. He blames uncertainty.
"The tariff situation keeps changing, and so if you're a business, it's difficult for you to make plans, particularly about hiring people and making a commitment to hire somebody for the long term, if you don't know when or what your input prices are going to be or whether or not then you're going to have to pay the tariff somewhere along the line."Alan Gin, associate professor of economics, University of San Diego
Sharma: And Katie, I do want to add, the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases inflation figures for local metropolitan areas every two months, nationally every month. And inflation ticked up just 0.3% across the country in December, 2.7% over the last year. Nationally, inflation spiked for energy, medical services and housing. We’ve seen those same spikes right here in San Diego.
Amita, thank you.
Sharma: Thank you, Katie.
