Prices in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 0.8 percent in January, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Jason Palmer noted that the indexes for both food and energy were higher in January. The index for all items less food and energy rose as a result of higher prices for apparel, shelter, and recreation. The index for new and used motor vehicles was lower. (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 3.3 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) The index for all items less food and energy increased 3.9 percent over the year. Food prices increased 3.8 percent. Energy prices fell 5.7 percent, largely the result of a decrease in the index for utility (piped) gas service. (See table 1.)

  

View Chart Data

Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in CPI-U, Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI, January 2021–January 2024

Month	All items	All items less food and energy
Jan 2021	0.7	0.2
Feb 2021	1.2	0.5
Mar 2021	2.6	1.2
Apr 2021	4.6	2.9
May 2021	4.7	3.1
Jun 2021	4.7	2.9
Jul 2021	4.9	3.1
Aug 2021	4.8	2.6
Sep 2021	4.5	2.3
Oct 2021	5.3	3.1
Nov 2021	6.0	3.5
Dec 2021	6.6	4.4
Jan 2022	6.8	4.8
Feb 2022	7.1	5.2
Mar 2022	7.8	5.3
Apr 2022	7.2	4.8
May 2022	8.0	4.7
Jun 2022	8.9	5.0
Jul 2022	8.4	5.0
Aug 2022	8.3	6.0
Sep 2022	8.2	6.4
Oct 2022	7.7	6.1
Nov 2022	6.8	5.7
Dec 2022	5.5	5.3
Jan 2023	5.4	5.3
Feb 2023	5.0	5.0
Mar 2023	4.4	5.5
Apr 2023	4.8	5.6
May 2023	3.3	5.2
Jun 2023	2.1	5.1
Jul 2023	2.2	4.7
Aug 2023	2.3	4.0
Sep 2023	2.3	3.6
Oct 2023	2.4	4.1
Nov 2023	2.5	4.1
Dec 2023	3.3	4.1
Jan 2024	3.3	3.9

Food prices advanced 1.1 percent for the month of January. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home (groceries) rose 1.9 percent, and prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) fell 0.1 percent for the same period. Within the food at home group, indexes were higher in January for carbonated drinks; spices, seasonings, condiments, sauces; other fresh vegetables, and candy and chewing gum. In contrast, the indexes for other miscellaneous foods, bread, and citrus fruits were lower.

Over the year, food prices increased 3.8 percent. Prices for food at home advanced 4.2 percent since a year ago. Five of the six major grocery store food group indexes advanced over the year. Categories increasing were other food at home (+6.3 percent), which includes sugar, sweets, fats, and oils; nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials (+7.9 percent); fruits and vegetables (+3.9 percent); meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (+3.1 percent); and cereals and bakery products (+2.2 percent). Prices for food away from home rose 3.3 percent.

The energy index advanced 1.6 percent over the month. The increase was mainly due to a 5.4 percent rise in the electricity index. The index for utility (piped) gas service increased 3.8 percent, while prices for gasoline declined 1.5 percent for the same period.

The energy index fell 5.7 percent over the year, largely due to a decline in the utility (piped) gas service index (-20.6 percent). The electricity index rose 12.7 percent, while prices for gasoline fell 9.6 percent during the past year.

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 0.7 percent in January. Higher prices for apparel (+6.8 percent), shelter (+0.5 percent), and recreation (+1.9 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for new and used motor vehicles (-5.1 percent) and household furnishings and operations (-0.2 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 3.9 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (+5.3 percent) and recreation (+7.2 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were price decreases in household furnishings and operations (-2.6 percent) and apparel (-0.4 percent).

The February 2024 Consumer Price Index for the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area is scheduled to be released on March 12, 2024.

The Consumer Price Index for Chicago is published monthly. 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 population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers 29 percent of the total 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 87 urban areas across the country from about 4,000 housing units and approximately 26,000 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 (1982-84) that equals 100.0. An increase of 16.5 percent, for example, is shown as 116.5. This change can also be expressed in dollars as follows: the price of a base period "market basket" of goods and services in the CPI has risen from $10 in 1982-84 to $11.65. For further details see the CPI home page on the Internet at www.bls.gov/cpi and the BLS Handbook of Methods, Chapter 17, The Consumer Price Index, available on the Internet at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/homch17_a.htm.

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 consists 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.

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