Prices in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), increased 0.2 percent in August, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Jason Palmer noted that energy prices fell 1.8 percent while food prices were 0.1 percent lower in August. The all items less food and energy index rose 0.5 percent over the month. Among the indexes within the all items less food and energy index, prices were higher for shelter, public transportation, and education and communication, while prices were lower for household furnishings and operations and new and used motor vehicles. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U rose 3.8 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) The index for all items less food and energy rose 4.3 percent over the year. Food prices increased 1.9 percent. Energy prices declined 0.3 percent, largely the result of a decrease in the price of gasoline. (See table 1.)

  

View Chart Data

Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in CPI-U, Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI, August 2021–August 2024

Month	All items	All items less food and energy
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
Mar 2024	3.1	3.2
Apr 2024	3.0	3.3
May 2024	3.1	3.3
Jun 2024	3.0	3.4
Jul 2024	3.7	3.9
Aug 2024	3.8	4.3

Food prices fell 0.1 percent for the month of August. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home (groceries) declined 0.4 percent, and prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) increased 0.3 percent for the same period. Within the food at home group, categories experiencing declines included other fresh vegetables, chicken, and other meats (includes frankfurters; lunch meats, such as bologna, liverwurst, and salami; lamb and organ meats; and mutton, goat, game). Indexes were higher for candy and chewing gum, other uncooked poultry including turkey, and snacks.

Over the year, food prices increased 1.9 percent. The food at home index rose 1.0 percent as four of the six major grocery store food group indexes advanced over the year. Increasing indexes included other food at home (includes sugar, sweets, fats, and oils, for example) (+2.8 percent); nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials (+6.6 percent); and meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (+1.7 percent). Prices for food away from home rose 3.5 percent.

The energy index decreased 1.8 percent over the month. The decrease was mainly due to lower prices for gasoline (-3.3 percent). Prices for electricity rose 0.1 percent, while prices for utility (piped) gas service declined 0.3 percent for the same period.

Energy prices declined 0.3 percent over the year, largely due to lower prices for gasoline (-7.1 percent). Prices paid for electricity rose 7.3 percent, and prices for utility (piped) gas service increased 6.4 percent during the past year.

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 0.5 percent in August. Higher prices for shelter (+0.7 percent), education and communication (+1.0 percent), and public transportation were partially offset by lower prices for household furnishings and operations (-1.8 percent) and new and used motor vehicles (-1.0 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 4.3 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (+6.6 percent) and other goods and services (+11.6 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were price decreases in new and used motor vehicles (-5.2 percent) and household furnishings and operations (-3.3 percent).

The September 2024 Consumer Price Index for the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area is scheduled to be released on Thursday, October 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 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, 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 includes 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.