Prices in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 0.4 percent in April, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Jason Palmer noted that the food index increased 1.4 percent, and the energy index declined 0.2 percent in April. The all items less food and energy index advanced 0.3 percent. Within the all items less food and energy category, prices were higher over the month for public transportation 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 rose 7.2 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) The index for all items less food and energy increased 4.8 percent over the year. Energy prices rose 27.7 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of gasoline. Food prices advanced 10.5 percent. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices rose 1.4 percent for the month of April. Prices for food at home (groceries) advanced 1.5 percent, and prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) were up 1.0 percent for the same period. Within the food at home group, indexes were higher in April for nonfrozen noncarbonated juices and drinks and chicken.

Over the year, food prices increased 10.5 percent. Prices for food at home rose 11.6 percent since a year ago, and prices for food away from home were up 8.4 percent.

Energy

The energy index was down 0.2 percent over the month. The decrease was mainly due to lower prices for electricity (-2.2 percent). Prices for utility (piped) gas service advanced 2.1 percent, while prices for gasoline decreased 0.4 percent for the same period.

Energy prices increased 27.7 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for gasoline (42.5 percent). Prices paid for utility (piped) gas service rose 21.1 percent, and prices for electricity were up 9.4 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.3 percent in April. Higher prices for public transportation and shelter (0.4 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for apparel (-4.2 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 4.8 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (4.3 percent), new and used motor vehicles (15.4 percent), and household furnishings and operations (10.2 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	2018		2019		2020		2021		2022
	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month
January	0.8	1.8	0.6	0.8	0.9	2.6	0.7	0.7	0.9	6.8
February	0.0	1.6	0.6	1.4	0.0	2.0	0.6	1.2	0.8	7.1
March	0.0	1.8	0.1	1.5	-0.7	1.1	0.6	2.6	1.4	7.8
April	0.7	2.1	-0.1	0.8	-0.9	0.3	1.0	4.6	0.4	7.2
May	0.4	2.3	0.8	1.2	1.0	0.4	1.0	4.7
June	-0.2	2.2	-0.4	1.0	0.3	1.1	0.4	4.7
July	-0.3	1.9	0.3	1.6	0.2	1.0	0.4	4.9
August	0.1	1.7	0.2	1.6	0.1	1.0	0.1	4.8
September	0.4	1.6	0.2	1.4	0.6	1.4	0.3	4.5
October	0.0	2.0	0.3	1.8	-0.1	1.0	0.7	5.3
November	-0.6	1.0	-0.2	2.2	-0.4	0.8	0.2	6.0
December	-0.3	1.1	-0.2	2.2	-0.2	0.9	0.4	6.6

The May 2022 Consumer Price Index for the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area is scheduled to be released on Friday, June 10, 2022.

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; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

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-
	Feb. 2022	Mar. 2022	Apr. 2022	Apr. 2021	Feb. 2022	Mar. 2022
Expenditure category
All items	264.828	268.417	269.569	7.2	1.8	0.4
All items (1967=100)	791.195	801.917	805.360	-	-	-
Food and beverages	289.490	293.398	297.030	10.0	2.6	1.2
Food	290.235	294.405	298.418	10.5	2.8	1.4
Food at home	269.406	274.477	278.706	11.6	3.5	1.5
Cereals and bakery products	290.265	301.851	303.393	9.2	4.5	0.5
Meats, poultry, fish and eggs	298.459	305.735	311.622	16.9	4.4	1.9
Dairy and related products	236.896	242.656	244.701	7.6	3.3	0.8
Fruits and vegetables	355.665	354.147	351.955	8.1	-1.0	-0.6
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	222.339	229.551	234.646	11.3	5.5	2.2
Other food at home	213.856	216.705	223.442	12.2	4.5	3.1
Food away from home	311.497	313.501	316.770	8.4	1.7	1.0
Alcoholic beverages	278.482	278.298	275.946	2.8	-0.9	-0.8
Housing	278.544	280.012	280.998	5.8	0.9	0.4
Shelter	346.992	346.940	348.376	4.3	0.4	0.4
Rent of primary residence(2)	367.296	367.338	368.362	3.7	0.3	0.3
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)(3)	356.211	356.830	357.738	3.8	0.4	0.3
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)(3)	356.211	356.830	357.738	3.8	0.4	0.3
Fuels and utilities	248.263	256.232	256.334	12.1	3.3	0.0
Household energy	198.609	206.806	206.803	14.6	4.1	0.0
Energy services(2)	202.627	210.915	210.846	14.5	4.1	0.0
Electricity(2)	184.156	184.156	180.158	9.4	-2.2	-2.2
Utility (piped) gas service(2)	216.496	235.138	240.176	21.1	10.9	2.1
Household furnishings and operations	103.533	104.927	105.217	10.2	1.6	0.3
Apparel	90.265	88.821	85.070	5.5	-5.8	-4.2
Transportation	219.412	232.239	234.686	19.6	7.0	1.1
Private transportation	221.623	234.290	234.513	19.4	5.8	0.1
New and used motor vehicles(4)	117.343	118.006	118.618	15.4	1.1	0.5
New vehicles(1)	198.494	202.583	204.514	13.8	3.0	1.0
Used cars and trucks(1)	409.929	401.031	398.613	22.4	-2.8	-0.6
Motor fuel	322.798	388.256	386.698	42.6	19.8	-0.4
Gasoline (all types)	319.621	384.376	382.743	42.5	19.7	-0.4
Gasoline, unleaded regular(5)	309.268	372.804	370.906	43.0	19.9	-0.5
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(5)(6)	345.363	409.737	411.667	40.1	19.2	0.5
Gasoline, unleaded premium(5)	333.584	390.444	392.324	36.0	17.6	0.5
Medical care	534.124	536.127	536.702	0.8	0.5	0.1
Recreation(4)	119.738	120.292	120.529	1.4	0.7	0.2
Education and communication(4)	139.906	139.443	139.481	-1.5	-0.3	0.0
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)	1,226.800	1,226.800	1,226.800	0.4	0.0	0.0
Other goods and services	422.171	426.749	427.977	4.5	1.4	0.3
Commodity and service group
All items	264.828	268.417	269.569	7.2	1.8	0.4
Commodities	191.922	196.766	197.136	11.7	2.7	0.2
Commodities less food and beverages	143.780	148.608	147.801	13.0	2.8	-0.5
Nondurables less food and beverages	190.794	202.102	200.155	15.5	4.9	-1.0
Durables	100.013	100.611	100.543	10.4	0.5	-0.1
Services	332.739	334.637	336.626	4.4	1.2	0.6
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	253.434	257.122	258.310	7.9	1.9	0.5
All items less shelter	236.909	241.639	242.694	8.6	2.4	0.4
Commodities less food	148.608	153.398	152.547	12.5	2.7	-0.6
Nondurables	240.130	248.007	248.715	12.3	3.6	0.3
Nondurables less food	196.597	207.386	205.405	14.5	4.5	-1.0
Services less rent of shelter(3)	334.114	338.196	340.860	4.4	2.0	0.8
Services less medical care services	316.835	318.734	320.856	4.9	1.3	0.7
Energy	246.491	276.004	275.424	27.7	11.7	-0.2
All items less energy	269.097	270.525	271.836	5.7	1.0	0.5
All items less food and energy	266.196	267.118	267.928	4.8	0.7	0.3
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.