Prices in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 0.7 percent in January, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Jason Palmer noted that the food index increased 0.9 percent, and the energy index rose 3.7 percent in January. The all items less food and energy index rose 0.5 percent in January. Among the indexes within the all items less food and energy category, prices were higher for apparel, shelter, and medical care. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U rose 0.7 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Food prices increased 5.3 percent. The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.2 percent over the year. Energy prices declined 3.8 percent, largely the result of a decrease in the price of gasoline. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices advanced 0.9 percent for the month of January.  Prices for food at home (groceries) increased 0.9 percent, and prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) rose 1.0 percent for the same period. Within the food at home group, indexes were higher in January for other fresh fruits, cheese and related products, and fresh fish and seafood. In contrast, the index for milk was lower.

Over the year, food prices increased 5.3 percent. Prices for food at home increased 4.9 percent since a year ago, and prices for food away from home increased 5.7 percent.

Energy

The energy index rose 3.7 percent over the month. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (8.0 percent). Prices for utility (piped) gas service rose 1.7 percent, while prices for electricity decreased 1.0 percent for the same period.

Energy prices declined 3.8 percent over the year, largely due to lower prices for gasoline (-7.9 percent). Prices paid for utility (piped) gas service rose 6.5 percent, while prices for electricity declined 3.2 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.5 percent in January. Higher prices for apparel (4.7 percent), shelter (0.2 percent), and medical care (0.7 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for household furnishings and operations (-0.5 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 0.2 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (1.8 percent) and new and used motor vehicles (3.4 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were price decreases in apparel (-9.4 percent) and education and communication (-1.3 percent).

Table A. Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI, CPI-U 1-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted

Month	2017		2018		2019		2020		2021
	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month
January	0.7	1.8	0.8	1.8	0.6	0.8	0.9	2.6	0.7	0.7
February	0.1	2.2	0.0	1.6	0.6	1.4	0.0	2.0
March	-0.1	2.0	0.0	1.8	0.1	1.5	-0.7	1.1
April	0.4	1.7	0.7	2.1	-0.1	0.8	-0.9	0.3
May	0.2	1.8	0.4	2.3	0.8	1.2	1.0	0.4
June	0.0	1.3	-0.2	2.2	-0.4	1.0	0.3	1.1
July	0.0	2.2	-0.3	1.9	0.3	1.6	0.2	1.0
August	0.3	2.3	0.1	1.7	0.2	1.6	0.1	1.0
September	0.4	2.1	0.4	1.6	0.2	1.4	0.6	1.4
October	-0.4	1.6	0.0	2.0	0.3	1.8	-0.1	1.0
November	0.4	1.8	-0.6	1.0	-0.2	2.2	-0.4	0.8
December	-0.4	1.7	-0.3	1.1	-0.2	2.2	-0.2	0.9

The February 2021 Consumer Price Index for the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, March 10, 2021.

Technical Note

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measures of the average change in prices over time in a fixed market basket of goods and services. The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes CPIs for two population groups: (1) a CPI for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) which covers approximately 93 percent of the total U.S. population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers approximately 29 percent of the total U.S. population. The CPI-U includes, in addition to wage earners and clerical workers, groups such as professional, managerial, and technical workers, the self-employed, short-term workers, the unemployed, and retirees and others not in the labor force.

The CPI is based on prices of food, clothing, shelter, and fuels, transportation fares, charges for doctors' and dentists' services, drugs, and the other goods and services that people buy for day-to-day living. Each month, prices are collected in 75 urban areas across the country from about 6,000 housing units and approximately 22,000 retail establishments—department stores, supermarkets, hospitals, filling stations, and other types of stores and service establishments. All taxes directly associated with the purchase and use of items are included in the index.

The index measures price changes from a designated reference date; for most of the CPI-U the reference base is 1982-84 equals 100. An increase of 7 percent from the reference base, for example, is shown as 107.000.  Alternatively, that relationship can also be expressed as the price of a base period market basket of goods and services rising from $100 to $107. For further details see the CPI home page on the Internet at www.bls.gov/cpi and the CPI section of the BLS Handbook of Methods available on the internet at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/cpi/.

In calculating the index, price changes for the various items in each location are averaged together with weights that represent their importance in the spending of the appropriate population group. Local data are then combined to obtain a U.S. city average. Because the sample size of a local area is smaller, the local area index is subject to substantially more sampling and other measurement error than the national index. In addition, local indexes are not adjusted for seasonal influences. As a result, local area indexes show greater volatility than the national index, although their long-term trends are quite similar. NOTE: Area indexes do not measure differences in the level of prices between cities; they only measure the average change in prices for each area since the base period.

The Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI, Core Based Statistical Area covered in this release is comprised of Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, and Will Counties in Illinois; Jasper, Lake, Newton, and Porter Counties in Indiana; and Kenosha County in Wisconsin.

Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.

 

Table 1. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): Indexes and percent changes for selected periods
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Item and Group	Indexes			Percent change from-
	Nov. 2020	Dec. 2020	Jan. 2021	Jan. 2020	Nov. 2020	Dec. 2020
Expenditure category
All items	244.610	244.235	246.008	0.7	0.6	0.7
All items (1967=100)	730.793	729.673	734.970	-	-	-
Food and beverages	266.030	265.590	268.085	5.1	0.8	0.9
Food	265.872	265.459	267.960	5.3	0.8	0.9
Food at home	247.872	247.226	249.411	4.9	0.6	0.9
Cereals and bakery products	282.144	277.367	280.160	4.8	-0.7	1.0
Meats, poultry, fish and eggs	264.009	267.326	264.775	3.5	0.3	-1.0
Dairy and related products	223.495	224.876	229.751	9.4	2.8	2.2
Fruits and vegetables	311.481	314.042	322.852	2.2	3.7	2.8
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	207.389	207.245	208.695	7.4	0.6	0.7
Other food at home	202.243	198.202	199.599	5.6	-1.3	0.7
Food away from home	285.191	285.114	288.005	5.7	1.0	1.0
Alcoholic beverages	266.612	265.835	268.235	3.3	0.6	0.9
Housing	259.836	260.098	260.496	1.5	0.3	0.2
Shelter	331.084	331.560	332.383	1.8	0.4	0.2
Rent of primary residence(2)	353.426	354.001	354.330	2.3	0.3	0.1
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)(3)	341.471	342.176	343.037	2.5	0.5	0.3
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)(3)	341.471	342.176	343.037	2.5	0.5	0.3
Fuels and utilities	209.973	209.972	209.982	0.6	0.0	0.0
Household energy	161.385	161.384	161.535	0.4	0.1	0.1
Energy services(2)	164.667	164.653	164.791	0.4	0.1	0.1
Electricity(2)	162.456	162.431	160.875	-3.2	-1.0	-1.0
Utility (piped) gas service(2)	154.469	154.471	157.124	6.5	1.7	1.7
Household furnishings and operations	90.085	89.955	89.537	-0.3	-0.6	-0.5
Apparel	81.136	77.675	81.311	-9.4	0.2	4.7
Transportation	176.361	176.894	180.646	-2.8	2.4	2.1
Private transportation	176.225	178.651	181.898	-0.7	3.2	1.8
New and used motor vehicles(4)	98.505	98.913	98.780	3.4	0.3	-0.1
New vehicles(1)	170.772	174.468	178.438	3.4	4.5	2.3
Used cars and trucks(1)	293.494	289.813	287.743	10.3	-2.0	-0.7
Motor fuel	192.102	202.109	218.179	-8.0	13.6	8.0
Gasoline (all types)	190.070	200.005	215.937	-7.9	13.6	8.0
Gasoline, unleaded regular(5)	181.966	191.939	207.432	-8.1	14.0	8.1
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(5)(6)	216.161	224.519	240.008	-7.7	11.0	6.9
Gasoline, unleaded premium(5)	220.566	227.023	243.622	-6.0	10.5	7.3
Motor vehicle insurance(1)	500.055	500.010	508.159	-6.3	1.6	1.6
Medical care	534.148	533.028	536.511	-	0.4	0.7
Recreation(4)	114.720	113.473	114.161	-2.0	-0.5	0.6
Education and communication(4)	141.352	141.366	141.344	-1.3	0.0	0.0
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)	1,218.961	1,218.595	1,220.439	1.2	0.1	0.2
Other goods and services	406.016	404.635	405.674	1.2	-0.1	0.3
Commodity and service group
All items	244.610	244.235	246.008	0.7	0.6	0.7
Commodities	168.108	168.208	170.924	1.3	1.7	1.6
Commodities less food and beverages	121.448	121.736	124.351	-1.5	2.4	2.1
Nondurables less food and beverages	158.862	158.107	163.620	-4.9	3.0	3.5
Durables	85.715	86.615	87.173	2.7	1.7	0.6
Services	317.552	316.670	317.316	0.3	-0.1	0.2
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	232.160	231.818	233.519	0.6	0.6	0.7
All items less shelter	215.352	214.698	216.779	0.1	0.7	1.0
Commodities less food	126.320	126.584	129.218	-1.3	2.3	2.1
Nondurables	211.872	211.258	215.401	0.8	1.7	2.0
Nondurables less food	165.724	164.966	170.304	-4.2	2.8	3.2
Services less rent of shelter(3)	319.280	316.882	317.361	-1.3	-0.6	0.2
Services less medical care services	300.534	299.653	300.080	0.1	-0.2	0.1
Energy	172.686	176.684	183.197	-3.8	6.1	3.7
All items less energy	253.314	252.556	253.936	1.0	0.2	0.5
All items less food and energy	251.917	251.094	252.275	0.2	0.1	0.5
Footnotes (1) Index on a December 1977=100 base. (2) This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator. All other item stratum index series were calculated using a geometric means estimator. (3) Index on a December 1982=100 base. (4) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base. (5) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (6) Index on a December 1993=100 base.
- Data not available. Note: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date. Data not seasonally adjusted.