Prices in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 0.5 percent in February, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Jason Palmer noted that the increase was attributed to higher energy costs. The all items less food and energy index rose 0.3 percent in February. Within the all items less food and energy category, prices were higher over the month for shelter and apparel. The indexes for public transportation and recreation were 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 rose 3.4 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) The index for all items less food and energy advanced 3.8 percent over the year. Food prices increased 2.8 percent. Energy prices fell 0.7 percent, largely the result of a decrease in the price of 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, February 2021–February 2024

Month	All items	All items less food and energy
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
Feb 2024	3.4	3.8

Food prices fell 0.3 percent for the month of February. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home (groceries) decreased 0.6 percent, and prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) were unchanged for the same period. Within the food at home group, indexes were higher in February for snacks, other miscellaneous foods, and eggs. In contrast, the indexes for processed fish and seafood, candy and chewing gum, and other fresh vegetables were lower.

Over the year, food prices advanced 2.8 percent. Prices for food at home increased 2.4 percent since a year ago. All six major grocery store food group indexes rose over the year. The index for other food at home (includes sugar, sweets, fats, and oils, for example) rose 2.9 percent, nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials was up 6.3 percent, and the index for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs increased 1.7 percent. Prices for food away from home rose 3.3 percent.

The energy index increased 5.0 percent over the month. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (+7.9 percent). Prices for utility (piped) gas service rose 3.4 percent, and prices for electricity increased 1.8 percent for the same period.

Energy prices fell 0.7 percent over the year, largely due to lower prices for utility (piped) gas service (-9.5 percent). Prices paid for electricity increased 11.1 percent, while prices for gasoline fell 4.1 percent during the past year.

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 0.3 percent in February. Higher prices for shelter (+0.3 percent) and apparel (+2.0 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for recreation (-0.5 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 3.8 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (+4.9 percent) and other goods and services (+7.9 percent). Partly offsetting the increases was a price decrease in public transportation.

The March 2024 Consumer Price Index for the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area is scheduled to be released on April 10, 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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