Prices in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 1.0 percent in May, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Jason Palmer noted that the food index increased 0.7 percent and the energy index rose 3.7 percent in May. The all items less food and energy index rose 0.8 percent. Within the all items less food and energy category, prices were higher over the month for new and used motor vehicles and shelter. (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 advanced 4.7 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.)  The index for all items less food and energy rose 3.1 percent over the year. Energy prices rose 29.1 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of gasoline. Food prices rose 3.4 percent. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices advanced 0.7 percent for the month of May. Prices for food at home (groceries) rose 0.7 percent, and prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) rose 0.8 percent for the same period. Within the food at home group, indexes were higher in May for butter and margarine and uncooked ground beef. In contrast the indexes for uncooked beef steaks, carbonated drinks, and eggs were lower.

Over the year, food prices rose 3.4 percent. Prices for food at home were unchanged since a year ago, and prices for food away from home advanced 7.9 percent.

Energy

The energy index rose 3.7 percent over the month. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (4.9 percent). Prices for utility (piped) gas service increased 2.9 percent, and prices for electricity rose 2.1 percent for the same period.

Energy prices increased 29.1 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for gasoline (49.2 percent). Prices paid for utility (piped) gas service rose 41.9 percent, while prices for electricity decreased 2.4 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.8 percent in May. Higher prices for new and used motor vehicles (2.4 percent), shelter (0.4 percent), and household furnishings and operations (1.3 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for education and communication (-0.1 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 3.1 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (2.1 percent); new and used motor vehicles (7.9 percent); and household furnishings and operations (6.5 percent). Partly offsetting the increases was a price decrease in education and communication (-0.4 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	1.0	4.6
May	0.2	1.8	0.4	2.3	0.8	1.2	1.0	0.4	1.0	4.7
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 June 2021 Consumer Price Index for the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, July 13, 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-
	Mar. 2021	Apr. 2021	May 2021	May 2020	Mar. 2021	Apr. 2021
Expenditure category
All items	248.984	251.491	253.934	4.7	2.0	1.0
All items (1967=100)	743.860	751.350	758.649	-	-	-
Food and beverages	269.122	269.948	271.621	3.5	0.9	0.6
Food	269.011	269.946	271.860	3.4	1.1	0.7
Food at home	249.130	249.805	251.459	0.0	0.9	0.7
Cereals and bakery products	280.212	277.875	280.976	1.5	0.3	1.1
Meats, poultry, fish and eggs	270.461	266.578	272.109	-2.2	0.6	2.1
Dairy and related products	224.547	227.370	228.192	-1.0	1.6	0.4
Fruits and vegetables	315.041	325.463	324.171	3.7	2.9	-0.4
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	208.186	210.875	208.845	-1.5	0.3	-1.0
Other food at home	200.363	199.123	200.777	-0.4	0.2	0.8
Food away from home	290.915	292.196	294.432	7.9	1.2	0.8
Alcoholic beverages	269.074	268.487	267.047	5.3	-0.8	-0.5
Housing	262.721	265.555	267.273	3.4	1.7	0.6
Shelter	332.735	334.088	335.387	2.1	0.8	0.4
Rent of primary residence(2)	354.530	355.331	355.663	2.1	0.3	0.1
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)(3)	343.264	344.709	345.517	2.2	0.7	0.2
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)(3)	343.264	344.709	345.517	2.2	0.7	0.2
Fuels and utilities	219.721	228.663	233.218	10.7	6.1	2.0
Household energy	171.438	180.510	184.985	13.5	7.9	2.5
Energy services(2)	174.913	184.223	188.802	13.5	7.9	2.5
Electricity(2)	170.315	164.628	168.112	-2.4	-1.3	2.1
Utility (piped) gas service(2)	167.434	198.335	204.171	41.9	21.9	2.9
Household furnishings and operations	92.382	95.484	96.689	6.5	4.7	1.3
Apparel	83.350	80.630	81.906	5.5	-1.7	1.6
Transportation	189.653	196.186	202.800	17.2	6.9	3.4
Private transportation	192.062	196.350	201.898	16.7	5.1	2.8
New and used motor vehicles(4)	100.995	102.787	105.236	7.9	4.2	2.4
New vehicles(1)	180.384	179.779	180.867	3.0	0.3	0.6
Used cars and trucks(1)	295.243	325.653	345.471	30.0	17.0	6.1
Motor fuel	261.431	271.152	284.351	48.9	8.8	4.9
Gasoline (all types)	258.891	268.634	281.843	49.2	8.9	4.9
Gasoline, unleaded regular(5)	249.810	259.291	272.201	50.4	9.0	5.0
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(5)(6)	283.516	293.742	307.702	43.4	8.5	4.8
Gasoline, unleaded premium(5)	278.755	288.399	300.648	38.6	7.9	4.2
Motor vehicle insurance(1)	504.085	522.145	524.104	11.4	4.0	0.4
Medical care	533.409	532.683	533.658	0.3	0.0	0.2
Recreation(4)	116.734	118.887	119.426	4.6	2.3	0.5
Education and communication(4)	141.645	141.608	141.478	-0.4	-0.1	-0.1
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)	1,221.704	1,221.704	1,225.908	1.5	0.3	0.3
Other goods and services	403.499	409.363	415.284	1.7	2.9	1.4
Commodity and service group
All items	248.984	251.491	253.934	4.7	2.0	1.0
Commodities	174.843	176.451	178.823	7.4	2.3	1.3
Commodities less food and beverages	129.053	130.835	133.302	10.4	3.3	1.9
Nondurables less food and beverages	172.549	173.221	177.084	12.5	2.6	2.2
Durables	88.780	91.060	92.409	7.9	4.1	1.5
Services	319.107	322.490	324.896	3.1	1.8	0.7
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	236.795	239.466	241.990	5.1	2.2	1.1
All items less shelter	220.612	223.492	226.305	6.0	2.6	1.3
Commodities less food	133.865	135.604	137.994	10.1	3.1	1.8
Nondurables	220.682	221.435	224.303	7.2	1.6	1.3
Nondurables less food	178.769	179.366	182.920	11.8	2.3	2.0
Services less rent of shelter(3)	320.796	326.529	330.241	4.2	2.9	1.1
Services less medical care services	302.282	306.013	308.530	3.4	2.1	0.8
Energy	206.370	215.646	223.581	29.1	8.3	3.7
All items less energy	255.190	257.135	259.126	3.2	1.5	0.8
All items less food and energy	253.570	255.705	257.717	3.1	1.6	0.8
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.