Prices in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), increased 0.4 percent in December, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Jason Palmer noted that the food index increased 0.4 percent, and the energy index decreased 1.1 percent in December. The all items less food and energy index advanced 0.6 percent. Within the all items less food and energy category, prices were higher over the month for new and used motor vehicles, shelter, recreation, and medical care. (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 6.6 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) The index for all items less food and energy increased 4.4 percent over the year. Energy prices rose 34.6 percent, due to an increase in the price of gasoline. Food prices increased 7.4 percent. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices rose 0.4 percent for the month of December. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home (groceries) increased 0.4 percent, and prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) advanced 0.4 percent for the same period. Within the food at home group, indexes were higher in December for chicken, eggs, and ice cream and related products. In contrast, the indexes for nonfrozen noncarbonated juices and drinks; tomatoes; and bacon, breakfast sausage, and related products were lower.

Over the year, food prices increased 7.4 percent. Prices for food at home rose 6.2 percent since a year ago, and prices for food away from home increased 9.0 percent.

Energy

The energy index decreased 1.1 percent over the month. The decrease was due to lower prices for gasoline (-3.9 percent). Prices for utility (piped) gas service advanced 3.9 percent, and prices for electricity increased 0.3 percent for the same period.

Energy prices advanced 34.6 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for gasoline (49.3 percent). Prices paid for utility (piped) gas service increased 52.0 percent, and prices for electricity rose 3.2 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 0.6 percent in December. Higher prices for new and used motor vehicles (4.1 percent), shelter (0.2 percent), recreation (1.5 percent), and medical care (0.7 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for education and communication (-0.4 percent) and other goods and services (-0.1 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 4.4 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (3.5 percent), new and used motor vehicles (17.0 percent), and household furnishings and operations (10.8 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	0.1	4.8
September	0.4	2.1	0.4	1.6	0.2	1.4	0.6	1.4	0.3	4.5
October	-0.4	1.6	0.0	2.0	0.3	1.8	-0.1	1.0	0.7	5.3
November	0.4	1.8	-0.6	1.0	-0.2	2.2	-0.4	0.8	0.2	6.0
December	-0.4	1.7	-0.3	1.1	-0.2	2.2	-0.2	0.9	0.4	6.6

The January 2021 Consumer Price Index for the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area is scheduled to be released on February 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; 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-
	Oct. 2021	Nov. 2021	Dec. 2021	Dec. 2020	Oct. 2021	Nov. 2021
Expenditure category
All items	258.621	259.254	260.368	6.6	0.7	0.4
All items (1967=100)	772.652	774.542	777.870	-	-	-
Food and beverages	281.203	283.501	284.364	7.1	1.1	0.3
Food	281.868	284.159	285.170	7.4	1.2	0.4
Food at home	259.514	261.520	262.444	6.2	1.1	0.4
Cereals and bakery products	285.258	284.393	293.176	5.7	2.8	3.1
Meats, poultry, fish and eggs	286.246	289.872	293.553	9.8	2.6	1.3
Dairy and related products	229.348	225.262	227.815	1.3	-0.7	1.1
Fruits and vegetables	328.057	335.309	332.666	5.9	1.4	-0.8
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	219.194	218.162	217.539	5.0	-0.8	-0.3
Other food at home	208.615	211.391	209.396	5.6	0.4	-0.9
Food away from home	306.969	309.611	310.721	9.0	1.2	0.4
Alcoholic beverages	271.061	273.445	272.387	2.5	0.5	-0.4
Housing	273.214	273.651	274.812	5.7	0.6	0.4
Shelter	341.667	342.540	343.329	3.5	0.5	0.2
Rent of primary residence(2)	361.733	363.766	364.376	2.9	0.7	0.2
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)(3)	350.430	352.725	353.712	3.4	0.9	0.3
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)(3)	350.430	352.725	353.712	3.4	0.9	0.3
Fuels and utilities	241.751	242.674	247.096	17.7	2.2	1.8
Household energy	192.421	193.364	197.254	22.2	2.5	2.0
Energy services(2)	196.360	197.269	201.250	22.2	2.5	2.0
Electricity(2)	164.331	167.073	167.641	3.2	2.0	0.3
Utility (piped) gas service(2)	228.012	226.113	234.856	52.0	3.0	3.9
Household furnishings and operations	99.989	99.215	99.657	10.8	-0.3	0.4
Apparel	85.005	82.241	82.422	6.1	-3.0	0.2
Transportation	210.302	211.869	213.160	20.5	1.4	0.6
Private transportation	212.075	213.691	216.244	21.0	2.0	1.2
New and used motor vehicles(4)	110.259	111.104	115.680	17.0	4.9	4.1
New vehicles(1)	188.008	188.008	198.091	13.5	5.4	5.4
Used cars and trucks(1)	375.810	385.629	399.698	37.9	6.4	3.6
Motor fuel	308.848	313.647	301.508	49.2	-2.4	-3.9
Gasoline (all types)	305.958	310.637	298.513	49.3	-2.4	-3.9
Gasoline, unleaded regular(5)	295.853	300.378	288.291	50.2	-2.6	-4.0
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(5)(6)	331.948	337.327	327.250	45.8	-1.4	-3.0
Gasoline, unleaded premium(5)	322.162	327.014	318.309	40.2	-1.2	-2.7
Motor vehicle insurance(1)	524.117	524.117	525.778	5.2	0.3	0.3
Medical care	528.682	528.021	531.801	-0.2	0.6	0.7
Recreation(4)	114.428	114.917	116.636	2.8	1.9	1.5
Education and communication(4)	141.669	142.210	141.682	0.2	0.0	-0.4
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)	1,232.924	1,232.924	1,224.551	0.5	-0.7	-0.7
Other goods and services	415.842	414.608	414.181	2.4	-0.4	-0.1
Commodity and service group
All items	258.621	259.254	260.368	6.6	0.7	0.4
Commodities	185.881	186.077	187.103	11.2	0.7	0.6
Commodities less food and beverages	138.976	138.398	139.415	14.5	0.3	0.7
Nondurables less food and beverages	184.691	183.467	181.079	14.5	-2.0	-1.3
Durables	96.300	96.180	99.187	14.5	3.0	3.1
Services	326.738	327.824	328.982	3.9	0.7	0.4
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	247.153	247.850	248.844	7.3	0.7	0.4
All items less shelter	230.453	231.005	232.222	8.2	0.8	0.5
Commodities less food	143.680	143.173	144.146	13.9	0.3	0.7
Nondurables	232.945	233.384	232.514	10.1	-0.2	-0.4
Nondurables less food	190.329	189.319	187.005	13.4	-1.7	-1.2
Services less rent of shelter(3)	327.147	328.509	330.116	4.2	0.9	0.5
Services less medical care services	311.031	312.114	313.034	4.5	0.6	0.3
Energy	237.791	240.269	237.730	34.6	0.0	-1.1
All items less energy	263.034	263.514	264.956	4.9	0.7	0.5
All items less food and energy	260.534	260.687	262.212	4.4	0.6	0.6
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.