Prices in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), rose 0.4 percent in February, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Jason Palmer noted that the food index increased 0.7 percent, and the energy index fell 0.4 percent in February. The all items less food and energy index was up 0.4 percent. Within the all items less food and energy category, prices were higher over the month for shelter, recreation, and public transportation but lower for household furnishing and operations 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 5.0 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) The index for all items less food and energy increased by 5.0 percent over the year. Food prices rose 7.4 percent. Energy prices decreased 0.8 percent as a result of declines in the indexes for gasoline and electricity. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices increased 0.7 percent for February. Prices for food at home (groceries) rose 1.1 percent, and prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) were unchanged for the same period.

Over the year, food prices rose 7.4 percent. Prices for food at home increased 8.1 percent over the year. Five of the six major grocery store food group indexes advanced over the year. The index for other food at home (includes sugar, sweets, fats, and oils, for example) rose 12.2 percent, cereals and bakery products advanced 13.9 percent, and nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials increased 11.1 percent. Prices for food away from home were up 6.4 percent.

Energy

The energy index fell 0.4 percent over the month. The decrease was due to lower prices for utility (piped) gas service (-9.3 percent). Electricity prices advanced 3.3 percent, while gasoline prices rose 1.8 percent for the same period.

Energy prices decreased 0.8 percent over the year, largely due to lower prices for gasoline (-2.2 percent) and electricity (-3.0 percent). Prices paid for utility (piped) gas service rose 1.5 percent compared to February 2022.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.4 percent in February. Higher prices for shelter (0.6 percent), recreation (2.7 percent), and public transportation were partially offset by lower prices for household furnishings and operations (-2.3 percent) and medical care (-0.9 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 5.0 percent. Components contributing to the rise included shelter (6.5 percent) and recreation (8.6 percent). Lower prices for used cars and trucks (-13.5 percent) partially offset these increases.

Table A. Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI, CPI-U 1-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted

Month	2019		2020		2021		2022		2023
	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month
January	0.6	0.8	0.9	2.6	0.7	0.7	0.9	6.8	0.9	5.4
February	0.6	1.4	0.0	2.0	0.6	1.2	0.8	7.1	0.4	5.0
March	0.1	1.5	-0.7	1.1	0.6	2.6	1.4	7.8
April	-0.1	0.8	-0.9	0.3	1.0	4.6	0.4	7.2
May	0.8	1.2	1.0	0.4	1.0	4.7	1.8	8.0
June	-0.4	1.0	0.3	1.1	0.4	4.7	1.3(r)	8.9(r)
July	0.3	1.6	0.2	1.0	0.4	4.9	-0.2(r)	8.4(r)
August	0.2	1.6	0.1	1.0	0.1	4.8	0.1(r)	8.3(r)
September	0.2	1.4	0.6	1.4	0.3	4.5	0.2(r)	8.2(r)
October	0.3	1.8	-0.1	1.0	0.7	5.3	0.1(r)	7.7(r)
November	-0.2	2.2	-0.4	0.8	0.2	6.0	-0.6	6.8
December	-0.2	2.2	-0.2	0.9	0.4	6.6	-0.8	5.5
Footnotes: (r) Revised

The March 2023 Consumer Price Index for the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area is scheduled to be released on April 12, 2023.

Technical Note

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-Gary-Kenosha, Ill.-Ind.-Wis. consolidated area covered in this release is comprised of Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, and Will Counties in Illinois; Lake 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-
	Dec. 2022	Jan. 2023	Feb. 2023	Feb. 2022	Dec. 2022	Jan. 2023
Expenditure category
All items	274.577	276.982	277.978	5.0	1.2	0.4
All items (1967=100)	820.322	827.506	830.484	-	-	-
Food and beverages	306.670	309.456	311.499	7.6	1.6	0.7
Food	307.177	309.578	311.791	7.4	1.5	0.7
Food at home	284.258	287.840	291.142	8.1	2.4	1.1
Cereals and bakery products	324.301	330.703	330.576	13.9	1.9	0.0
Meats, poultry, fish and eggs	305.976	309.076	311.086	4.2	1.7	0.7
Dairy and related products	264.019	264.850	260.253	9.9	-1.4	-1.7
Fruits and vegetables	353.422	349.816	353.925	-0.5	0.1	1.2
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	228.766	240.337	247.001	11.1	8.0	2.8
Other food at home	231.853	234.725	240.023	12.2	3.5	2.3
Food away from home	331.484	331.484	331.484	6.4	0.0	0.0
Alcoholic beverages	299.430	306.495	306.641	10.1	2.4	0.0
Housing	292.255	293.590	293.660	5.4	0.5	0.0
Shelter	365.482	367.385	369.630	6.5	1.1	0.6
Rent of primary residence(2)	388.585	390.122	393.765	7.2	1.3	0.9
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)(3)	377.596	378.824	380.396	6.8	0.7	0.4
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)(3)	377.596	378.824	380.396	6.8	0.7	0.4
Fuels and utilities	259.194	256.695	252.486	1.7	-2.6	-1.6
Household energy	207.393	204.428	200.106	0.8	-3.5	-2.1
Energy services(2)	211.463	208.692	204.038	0.7	-3.5	-2.2
Electricity(2)	169.807	172.951	178.717	-3.0	5.2	3.3
Utility (piped) gas service(2)	255.013	242.141	219.659	1.5	-13.9	-9.3
Household furnishings and operations	106.655	107.930	105.456	1.9	-1.1	-2.3
Apparel	84.808	91.307	91.669	1.6	8.1	0.4
Transportation	222.900	225.631	228.110	4.0	2.3	1.1
Private transportation	225.076	227.656	228.679	3.2	1.6	0.4
New and used motor vehicles(4)	118.129	117.941	117.430	0.1	-0.6	-0.4
New vehicles(1)	213.469	214.150	214.688	8.2	0.6	0.3
Used cars and trucks(1)	365.191	359.802	354.406	-13.5	-3.0	-1.5
Motor fuel	300.391	310.160	315.220	-2.3	4.9	1.6
Gasoline (all types)	296.891	307.122	312.531	-2.2	5.3	1.8
Gasoline, unleaded regular(5)	285.755	296.068	301.311	-2.6	5.4	1.8
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(5)(6)	334.067	340.324	347.283	0.6	4.0	2.0
Gasoline, unleaded premium(5)	328.788	334.955	340.359	2.0	3.5	1.6
Medical care	544.045	542.230	537.090	0.6	-1.3	-0.9
Recreation(4)	125.777	126.628	129.991	8.6	3.4	2.7
Education and communication(4)	140.106	141.514	141.196	0.9	0.8	-0.2
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)	1,250.647	1,250.880	1,250.880	2.0	0.0	0.0
Other goods and services	442.860	444.674	446.052	5.7	0.7	0.3
Commodity and service group
All items	274.577	276.982	277.978	5.0	1.2	0.4
Commodities	195.550	198.372	198.595	3.5	1.6	0.1
Commodities less food and beverages	142.369	144.951	144.569	0.5	1.5	-0.3
Nondurables less food and beverages	187.466	194.530	195.539	2.5	4.3	0.5
Durables	99.852	99.332	98.103	-1.9	-1.8	-1.2
Services	348.990	350.837	352.635	6.0	1.0	0.5
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	263.236	265.817	267.072	5.4	1.5	0.5
All items less shelter	243.804	246.383	246.954	4.2	1.3	0.2
Commodities less food	147.647	150.367	149.995	0.9	1.6	-0.2
Nondurables	246.604	251.950	253.454	5.5	2.8	0.6
Nondurables less food	194.504	201.579	202.537	3.0	4.1	0.5
Services less rent of shelter(3)	348.647	350.544	351.909	5.3	0.9	0.4
Services less medical care services	333.337	335.343	337.777	6.6	1.3	0.7
Energy	243.786	245.508	244.620	-0.8	0.3	-0.4
All items less energy	280.002	282.485	283.638	5.4	1.3	0.4
All items less food and energy	276.015	278.515	279.499	5.0	1.3	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.