Prices in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 0.6 percent in March, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Jason Palmer noted that the food index decreased 0.1 percent, and the energy index rose 8.1 percent in March. The all items less food and energy index increased 0.2 percent in March. Among the indexes within the all items less food and energy category, prices were higher for new and used motor vehicles and household furnishings and operations. (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 increased 2.6 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Energy prices increased 16.3 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of gasoline. The index for all items less food and energy rose 1.2 percent over the year. Food prices advanced 4.9 percent. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices were down 0.1 percent for March.  Prices for food at home (groceries) were up 0.8 percent, and prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) declined 1.3 percent for the same period. Within the food at home group, indexes were lower in March for processed fish and seafood along with candy and chewing gum. In contrast, the indexes for fresh fish and seafood, and chicken were higher.

Over the year, food prices increased 4.9 percent. Prices for food at home rose 3.6 percent since a year ago, and prices for food away from home were up 6.6 percent.

Energy

The energy index rose 8.1 percent over the month. The increase was mainly due to higher gasoline prices (11.3 percent). Prices for utility (piped) gas service advanced 5.2 percent, and electricity prices increased 4.8 percent for the same period.

Energy prices jumped 16.3 percent over the year, largely due to higher gasoline prices (25.4 percent). Prices paid for utility (piped) gas service increased 15.7 percent, and electricity prices increased 4.1 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy was up 0.2 percent in March. Higher prices for new and used motor vehicles (1.8 percent) and household furnishings and operations (1.9 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for recreation (-0.7 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 1.2 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (1.5 percent) and new and used motor vehicles (5.1 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	0.6	1.2
March	-0.1	2.0	0.0	1.8	0.1	1.5	-0.7	1.1	0.6	2.6
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 April 2021 Consumer Price Index for the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, May 12, 2021.

Technical Note

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measure 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-
	Jan. 2021	Feb. 2021	Mar. 2021	Mar. 2020	Jan. 2021	Feb. 2021
Expenditure category
All items	246.008	247.387	248.984	2.6	1.2	0.6
All items (1967=100)	734.970	739.089	743.860	-	-	-
Food and beverages	268.085	269.599	269.122	4.9	0.4	-0.2
Food	267.960	269.334	269.011	4.9	0.4	-0.1
Food at home	249.411	247.034	249.130	3.6	-0.1	0.8
Cereals and bakery products	280.160	283.585	280.212	4.4	0.0	-1.2
Meats, poultry, fish and eggs	264.775	262.222	270.461	6.3	2.1	3.1
Dairy and related products	229.751	228.352	224.547	2.8	-2.3	-1.7
Fruits and vegetables	322.852	307.816	315.041	1.8	-2.4	2.3
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	208.695	212.581	208.186	1.6	-0.2	-2.1
Other food at home	199.599	198.055	200.363	3.6	0.4	1.2
Food away from home	288.005	294.649	290.915	6.6	1.0	-1.3
Alcoholic beverages	268.235	271.539	269.074	4.2	0.3	-0.9
Housing	260.496	261.111	262.721	2.3	0.9	0.6
Shelter	332.383	332.520	332.735	1.5	0.1	0.1
Rent of primary residence(2)	354.330	355.015	354.530	2.0	0.1	-0.1
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)(3)	343.037	343.187	343.264	2.0	0.1	0.0
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)(3)	343.037	343.187	343.264	2.0	0.1	0.0
Fuels and utilities	209.982	211.752	219.721	6.5	4.6	3.8
Household energy	161.535	163.304	171.438	8.4	6.1	5.0
Energy services(2)	164.791	166.578	174.913	8.4	6.1	5.0
Electricity(2)	160.875	162.441	170.315	4.1	5.9	4.8
Utility (piped) gas service(2)	157.124	159.093	167.434	15.7	6.6	5.2
Household furnishings and operations	89.537	90.626	92.382	4.1	3.2	1.9
Apparel	81.311	82.551	83.350	-1.5	2.5	1.0
Transportation	180.646	183.848	189.653	6.5	5.0	3.2
Private transportation	181.898	185.258	192.062	7.6	5.6	3.7
New and used motor vehicles(4)	98.780	99.255	100.995	5.1	2.2	1.8
New vehicles(1)	178.438	178.926	180.384	4.7	1.1	0.8
Used cars and trucks(1)	287.743	288.278	295.243	9.3	2.6	2.4
Motor fuel	218.179	234.916	261.431	25.2	19.8	11.3
Gasoline (all types)	215.937	232.627	258.891	25.4	19.9	11.3
Gasoline, unleaded regular(5)	207.432	223.654	249.810	26.1	20.4	11.7
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(5)(6)	240.008	260.261	283.516	22.8	18.1	8.9
Gasoline, unleaded premium(5)	243.622	258.655	278.755	18.4	14.4	7.8
Motor vehicle insurance(1)	508.159	502.996	504.085	-7.6	-0.8	0.2
Medical care	536.511	533.523	533.409	0.2	-0.6	0.0
Recreation(4)	114.161	117.597	116.734	3.3	2.3	-0.7
Education and communication(4)	141.344	141.553	141.645	-0.8	0.2	0.1
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)	1,220.439	1,221.704	1,221.704	1.0	0.1	0.0
Other goods and services	405.674	403.580	403.499	-1.7	-0.5	0.0
Commodity and service group
All items	246.008	247.387	248.984	2.6	1.2	0.6
Commodities	170.924	172.650	174.843	4.9	2.3	1.3
Commodities less food and beverages	124.351	126.039	129.053	4.8	3.8	2.4
Nondurables less food and beverages	163.620	167.029	172.549	5.2	5.5	3.3
Durables	87.173	87.625	88.780	4.4	1.8	1.3
Services	317.316	318.245	319.107	1.3	0.6	0.3
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	233.519	235.110	236.795	2.9	1.4	0.7
All items less shelter	216.779	218.563	220.612	3.2	1.8	0.9
Commodities less food	129.218	130.963	133.865	4.8	3.6	2.2
Nondurables	215.401	217.950	220.682	5.0	2.5	1.3
Nondurables less food	170.304	173.715	178.769	5.1	5.0	2.9
Services less rent of shelter(3)	317.361	319.193	320.796	1.1	1.1	0.5
Services less medical care services	300.080	301.338	302.282	1.3	0.7	0.3
Energy	183.197	190.938	206.370	16.3	12.6	8.1
All items less energy	253.936	254.777	255.190	1.8	0.5	0.2
All items less food and energy	252.275	253.022	253.570	1.2	0.5	0.2
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.