(NOTE: Index and average price data for electricity in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI for January 2024 through March 2024 were incorrectly published in the database and this news release. Data in this news release will not be corrected. The incorrect values were removed from the database on 5/15/2024. Corrected values were made available in the database on 6/12/2024.)

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.)

Food

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.

Energy

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.

All items less food and energy

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).

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

Month	2020		2021		2022		2023		2024
	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month
January	0.9	2.6	0.7	0.7	0.9	6.8	0.9	5.4	0.8	3.3
February	0.0	2.0	0.6	1.2	0.8	7.1	0.4	5.0
March	-0.7	1.1	0.6	2.6	1.4	7.8	0.8	4.4
April	-0.9	0.3	1.0	4.6	0.4	7.2	0.8	4.8
May	1.0	0.4	1.0	4.7	1.8	8.0	0.4	3.3
June	0.3	1.1	0.4	4.7	1.3(r)	8.9(r)	0.1	2.1
July	0.2	1.0	0.4	4.9	-0.2(r)	8.4(r)	0.0	2.2
August	0.1	1.0	0.1	4.8	0.1(r)	8.3(r)	0.2	2.3
September	0.6	1.4	0.3	4.5	0.2(r)	8.2(r)	0.1	2.3
October	-0.1	1.0	0.7	5.3	0.1(r)	7.7(r)	0.3	2.4
November	-0.4	0.8	0.2	6.0	-0.6	6.8	-0.5	2.5
December	-0.2	0.9	0.4	6.6	-0.8	5.5	0.0	3.3
Footnotes: (r) Revised

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

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-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.

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-
	Nov. 2023	Dec. 2023	Jan. 2024	Jan. 2023	Nov. 2023	Dec. 2023
Expenditure category
All items	283.859	283.760	286.022	3.3	0.8	0.8
All items (1967=100)	848.053	847.756	854.515	-	-	-
Food and beverages	316.537	317.910	321.118	3.8	1.4	1.0
Food	316.640	318.008	321.466	3.8	1.5	1.1
Food at home	294.046	294.469	299.933	4.2	2.0	1.9
Cereals and bakery products	336.998	339.611	338.101	2.2	0.3	-0.4
Meats, poultry, fish and eggs	312.080	313.425	318.773	3.1	2.1	1.7
Dairy and related products	261.772	260.768	261.941	-1.1	0.1	0.4
Fruits and vegetables	359.488	353.280	363.558	3.9	1.1	2.9
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	250.275	242.996	259.359	7.9	3.6	6.7
Other food at home	241.736	247.291	249.544	6.3	3.2	0.9
Food away from home	339.732	342.815	342.531	3.3	0.8	-0.1
Alcoholic beverages	313.753	315.179	315.025	2.8	0.4	0.0
Housing	302.005	302.101	304.518	3.7	0.8	0.8
Shelter	384.193	384.745	386.837	5.3	0.7	0.5
Rent of primary residence(2)	411.605	413.664	415.630	6.5	1.0	0.5
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)(3)	396.842	398.156	400.305	5.7	0.9	0.5
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)(3)	396.842	398.156	400.305	5.7	0.9	0.5
Fuels and utilities	248.121	244.685	255.003	-0.7	2.8	4.2
Household energy	194.591	191.335	200.477	-1.9	3.0	4.8
Energy services(2)	198.565	195.145	204.585	-2.0	3.0	4.8
Electricity(2)	188.157	184.973	194.905	12.7	3.6	5.4
Utility (piped) gas service(2)	188.505	185.156	192.222	-20.6	2.0	3.8
Household furnishings and operations	104.901	105.313	105.082	-2.6	0.2	-0.2
Apparel	86.274	85.179	90.931	-0.4	5.4	6.8
Transportation	234.693	231.945	230.179	2.0	-1.9	-0.8
Private transportation	237.762	236.031	231.773	1.8	-2.5	-1.8
New and used motor vehicles(4)	121.596	120.969	114.824	-2.6	-5.6	-5.1
New vehicles(1)	216.226	215.247	215.864	0.8	-0.2	0.3
Used cars and trucks(1)	360.457	360.719	347.253	-3.5	-3.7	-3.7
Motor fuel	309.869	284.704	280.200	-9.7	-9.6	-1.6
Gasoline (all types)	307.257	282.094	277.782	-9.6	-9.6	-1.5
Gasoline, unleaded regular(5)	295.772	271.026	266.928	-9.8	-9.8	-1.5
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(5)(6)	346.329	321.991	315.903	-7.2	-8.8	-1.9
Gasoline, unleaded premium(5)	339.658	318.023	312.803	-6.6	-7.9	-1.6
Medical care	552.750	551.748	551.879	1.8	-0.2	0.0
Recreation(4)	131.547	133.242	135.734	7.2	3.2	1.9
Education and communication(4)	140.318	141.369	141.383	-0.1	0.8	0.0
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)	1,271.270	1,271.862	1,273.633	1.8	0.2	0.1
Other goods and services	473.487	471.270	479.572	7.8	1.3	1.8
Commodity and service group
All items	283.859	283.760	286.022	3.3	0.8	0.8
Commodities	198.720	197.685	199.420	0.5	0.4	0.9
Commodities less food and beverages	143.107	141.391	142.485	-1.7	-0.4	0.8
Nondurables less food and beverages	194.124	190.120	192.919	-0.8	-0.6	1.5
Durables	96.753	96.659	96.181	-3.2	-0.6	-0.5
Services	364.534	365.459	368.221	5.0	1.0	0.8
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	272.541	272.480	274.854	3.4	0.8	0.9
All items less shelter	249.870	249.548	251.884	2.2	0.8	0.9
Commodities less food	148.743	147.094	148.170	-1.5	-0.4	0.7
Nondurables	254.900	253.198	256.279	1.7	0.5	1.2
Nondurables less food	201.632	197.948	200.628	-0.5	-0.5	1.4
Services less rent of shelter(3)	361.347	362.733	366.407	4.5	1.4	1.0
Services less medical care services	349.742	350.704	353.562	5.4	1.1	0.8
Energy	239.114	227.714	231.437	-5.7	-3.2	1.6
All items less energy	290.459	291.225	293.388	3.9	1.0	0.7
All items less food and energy	286.646	287.317	289.278	3.9	0.9	0.7
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.