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 July, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Jason Palmer noted that food prices were unchanged over the month and energy costs were up 1.3 percent. The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.4 percent in July. Increases in the indexes for shelter, new and used motor vehicles, and apparel contributed to the gain in the all items less food and energy category. (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 4.9 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.)  The index for all items less food and energy increased 3.1 percent over the year. Energy prices jumped 29.6 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of gasoline. Food prices increased 4.9 percent. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices were unchanged for the month of July.  Prices for food at home (groceries) increased 0.3 percent, and prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) decreased 0.4 percent for the same period. Within the food at home group, indexes were higher in July for fresh fish and seafood, uncooked beef roasts, and cheese and related products. In contrast, the indexes for other fresh fruits; uncooked beef steaks; and other pork including roasts, steaks, and ribs were lower.

Over the year, food prices increased 4.9 percent. Prices for food away from home jumped 10.8 percent and costs for food at home increased 0.4 percent since a year ago.

Energy

The energy index rose 1.3 percent over the month. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (1.6 percent). Prices for electricity rose 2.9 percent, while prices for utility (piped) gas service decreased 0.9 percent for the same period.

Energy prices jumped 29.6 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for gasoline (43.6 percent). Prices paid for utility (piped) gas service jumped 44.5 percent, and prices for electricity advanced 1.5 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.4 percent in July. Higher prices for shelter (0.7 percent), new and used motor vehicles (1.1 percent), and apparel (2.3 percent) were partially offset by a decline in the medical care index (-0.6 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 3.1 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (2.9 percent) and new and used motor vehicles (10.5 percent). Partly offsetting the increases was a decrease in the medical care index (-1.4 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	0.4	4.7
July	0.0	2.2	-0.3	1.9	0.3	1.6	0.2	1.0	0.4	4.9
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 August 2021 Consumer Price Index for the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, September 14, 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-
	May 2021	Jun. 2021	Jul. 2021	Jul. 2020	May 2021	Jun. 2021
Expenditure category
All items	253.934	254.974	255.929	4.9	0.8	0.4
All items (1967=100)	758.649	761.756	764.608	-	-	-
Food and beverages	271.621	273.992	274.345	4.8	1.0	0.1
Food	271.860	274.439	274.437	4.9	0.9	0.0
Food at home	251.459	251.539	252.314	0.4	0.3	0.3
Cereals and bakery products	280.976	280.096	284.106	2.2	1.1	1.4
Meats, poultry, fish and eggs	272.109	276.451	281.029	0.4	3.3	1.7
Dairy and related products	228.192	226.946	226.935	-0.5	-0.6	0.0
Fruits and vegetables	324.171	318.730	311.374	-0.4	-3.9	-2.3
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	208.845	210.524	212.208	2.5	1.6	0.8
Other food at home	200.777	200.580	201.129	-0.4	0.2	0.3
Food away from home	294.432	300.483	299.383	10.8	1.7	-0.4
Alcoholic beverages	267.047	266.701	271.657	2.8	1.7	1.9
Housing	267.273	268.334	270.272	4.4	1.1	0.7
Shelter	335.387	337.136	339.328	2.9	1.2	0.7
Rent of primary residence(2)	355.663	357.057	358.024	2.3	0.7	0.3
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)(3)	345.517	346.814	348.254	2.7	0.8	0.4
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)(3)	345.517	346.814	348.254	2.7	0.8	0.4
Fuels and utilities	233.218	234.597	236.913	13.8	1.6	1.0
Household energy	184.985	185.719	187.802	17.4	1.5	1.1
Energy services(2)	188.802	189.545	191.661	17.4	1.5	1.1
Electricity(2)	168.112	163.739	168.414	1.5	0.2	2.9
Utility (piped) gas service(2)	204.171	212.479	210.607	44.5	3.2	-0.9
Household furnishings and operations	96.689	95.973	96.935	7.2	0.3	1.0
Apparel	81.906	81.435	83.308	4.8	1.7	2.3
Transportation	202.800	207.171	207.066	16.0	2.1	-0.1
Private transportation	201.898	206.448	208.500	16.0	3.3	1.0
New and used motor vehicles(4)	105.236	107.722	108.859	10.5	3.4	1.1
New vehicles(1)	180.867	179.175	181.514	3.8	0.4	1.3
Used cars and trucks(1)	345.471	383.377	386.794	42.1	12.0	0.9
Motor fuel	284.351	295.598	300.216	43.5	5.6	1.6
Gasoline (all types)	281.843	292.987	297.569	43.6	5.6	1.6
Gasoline, unleaded regular(5)	272.201	283.147	287.550	44.6	5.6	1.6
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(5)(6)	307.702	318.980	324.246	39.5	5.4	1.7
Gasoline, unleaded premium(5)	300.648	310.365	315.484	34.3	4.9	1.6
Motor vehicle insurance(1)	524.104	523.915	523.915	-3.1	0.0	0.0
Medical care	533.658	532.015	529.040	-1.4	-0.9	-0.6
Recreation(4)	119.426	116.658	117.210	2.4	-1.9	0.5
Education and communication(4)	141.478	141.478	141.562	0.0	0.1	0.1
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)	1,225.908	1,228.788	1,231.457	1.2	0.5	0.2
Other goods and services	415.284	409.666	412.393	0.6	-0.7	0.7
Commodity and service group
All items	253.934	254.974	255.929	4.9	0.8	0.4
Commodities	178.823	180.538	181.857	8.3	1.7	0.7
Commodities less food and beverages	133.302	134.666	136.246	11.0	2.2	1.2
Nondurables less food and beverages	177.084	178.210	180.934	11.5	2.2	1.5
Durables	92.409	93.778	94.488	10.4	2.2	0.8
Services	324.896	325.139	325.646	2.9	0.2	0.2
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	241.990	243.161	244.304	5.6	1.0	0.5
All items less shelter	226.305	227.108	227.652	5.9	0.6	0.2
Commodities less food	137.994	139.328	141.009	10.5	2.2	1.2
Nondurables	224.303	226.036	227.665	7.5	1.5	0.7
Nondurables less food	182.920	183.960	186.825	10.7	2.1	1.6
Services less rent of shelter(3)	330.241	328.855	327.544	2.8	-0.8	-0.4
Services less medical care services	308.530	309.020	309.827	3.5	0.4	0.3
Energy	223.581	228.513	231.596	29.6	3.6	1.3
All items less energy	259.126	259.839	260.619	3.3	0.6	0.3
All items less food and energy	257.717	258.095	259.018	3.1	0.5	0.4
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.