The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area advanced 0.5 percent in March, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Acting Regional Commissioner Julie Wilson noted that the all items less food and energy index increased 0.3 percent. The index for energy rose 2.8 percent in March and the index for food was up 0.5 percent for the month. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

The Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area all items CPI-U increased 3.7 percent for the 12 months ending in March. The index for all items less food and energy increased 4.6 percent over the year. Food prices rose 2.3 percent. Energy prices decreased 3.2 percent.

  

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Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in CPI-U, Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI, March 2022–March 2025

Month	All items	All items less food and energy
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
Sep 2024	4.1	5.0
Oct 2024	3.5	4.1
Nov 2024	3.8	4.5
Dec 2024	3.9	4.4
Jan 2025	4.3	4.8
Feb 2025	3.8	4.6
Mar 2025	3.7	4.6

Food prices advanced 0.5 percent for the month of March. Prices for food at home (grocery store purchases) increased 0.5 percent. Within the food at home group, categories experiencing increases included snacks, other beverage materials including tea, and other fresh fruits. Prices were lower for other fresh vegetables; other dairy and related products; and bacon, breakfast sausage, and related products. Prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) increased 0.5 percent for the same period.

Food prices rose 2.3 percent over the year. Prices for food at home advanced 1.5 percent as 2 of the 6 major grocery store food group indexes rose over the year. The index for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs rose 8.6 percent, and the index for nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials increased 7.8 percent. The index for fruits and vegetables declined 3.1 percent. Prices for food away from home rose 3.6 percent.

The energy index advanced 2.8 percent over the month. Gasoline prices rose 2.4 percent.

Energy prices decreased 3.2 percent over the year. The gasoline index was down 13.0 percent compared to March 2024.

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 0.3 percent in March. Among the index’s components, prices were higher for shelter (+0.6 percent) and apparel (+1.6 percent). In contrast, prices were lower for household furnishings and operations (-1.0 percent).

The index for all items less food and energy increased 4.6 percent over the year. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (+5.9 percent), medical care services, and other goods and services (+8.0 percent).

The April 2025 Consumer Price Index for the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, May 13, 2025.

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 Consumer Price Index for Chicago is published monthly. The set of components and sub-aggregates published for regional and metropolitan indexes is more limited than at the U.S. city average level; these indexes are byproducts of the national CPI program. Each local index has a much smaller sample size than the national or regional indexes and is, therefore, subject to substantially more sampling and other measurement error. As a result, local-area indexes are more volatile than the national or regional indexes. In addition, local indexes are not adjusted for seasonal influences. 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.

Percent changes for all-items data previously found in Table A of this release can be accessed in Chart 1 for this release and its attendant data table. A full all-items data series history for the original index value and for 1-month, 2-month, 3-month, 6-month, and 12-month percent changes can be accessed via BLS data query tools. A direct link to the all-items series is provided in Table 1 of this release under historical data.

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.

Refer to the national CPI news release technical note or the Handbook of Methods for more information.

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. Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI, CPI-U by expenditure category for March 2025, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Expenditure category	Indexes				Percent change from:
	Historical data	Jan. 2025	Feb. 2025	Mar. 2025	Mar. 2024	Jan. 2025	Feb. 2025
All items		298.213	298.457	299.831	3.7	0.5	0.5
All items (1967=100)		890.936	891.667	895.771	-	-	-
Food and beverages		326.737	326.163	327.974	2.4	0.4	0.6
Food		327.091	326.484	328.261	2.3	0.4	0.5
Food at home		303.419	302.432	304.082	1.5	0.2	0.5
Cereals and bakery products		337.898	341.072	336.747	-1.7	-0.3	-1.3
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		325.509	336.198	341.453	8.6	4.9	1.6
Dairy and related products		270.726	265.424	261.525	-0.8	-3.4	-1.5
Fruits and vegetables		361.892	354.313	348.598	-3.1	-3.7	-1.6
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		272.688	262.228	270.575	7.8	-0.8	3.2
Other food at home		248.974	247.694	251.537	-1.1	1.0	1.6
Food away from home		351.352	351.515	353.422	3.6	0.6	0.5
Alcoholic beverages		320.845	320.906	323.353	2.9	0.8	0.8
Housing		320.229	320.734	322.684	5.4	0.8	0.6
Shelter		410.474	410.121	412.501	5.9	0.5	0.6
Rent of primary residence		436.540	438.594	440.096	5.5	0.8	0.3
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)		424.840	425.950	427.744	6.3	0.7	0.4
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)		424.840	425.950	427.744	6.3	0.7	0.4
Household furnishings and operations		105.608	105.589	104.520	0.2	-1.0	-1.0
Apparel		95.272	94.995	96.548	5.2	1.3	1.6
Transportation		244.749	243.826	244.141	-0.4	-0.2	0.1
Private transportation		246.859	246.954	247.176	-0.9	0.1	0.1
New and used motor vehicles(3)		117.699	117.713	117.515	-0.7	-0.2	-0.2
New vehicles(1)		213.847	214.059	214.294	-0.4	0.2	0.1
Used cars and trucks(1)		353.121	353.434	354.629	0.8	0.4	0.3
Motor fuel		288.933	286.996	293.765	-13.0	1.7	2.4
Gasoline (all types)		287.127	285.124	292.005	-13.0	1.7	2.4
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)		275.618	273.646	280.475	-13.5	1.8	2.5
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		329.641	327.637	333.942	-10.2	1.3	1.9
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)		326.128	324.354	329.909	-8.9	1.2	1.7
Medical care		573.568	570.981	572.963	2.9	-0.1	0.3
Recreation(3)		137.148	139.238	139.486	3.8	1.7	0.2
Education and communication(3)		144.350	145.004	144.677	2.2	0.2	-0.2
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)		1,333.955	1,333.955	1,333.955	4.0	0.0	0.0
Other goods and services		511.853	515.392	519.012	8.0	1.4	0.7
Footnotes (1) Indexes on a December 1977=100 base. (2) Indexes on a December 1982=100 base. (3) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base. (4) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (5) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base.
- Data not available. NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.

Table 2. Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI, CPI-U by special aggregate index for March 2025, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Special aggregate index	Indexes				Percent change from:
	Historical data	Jan. 2025	Feb. 2025	Mar. 2025	Mar. 2024	Jan. 2025	Feb. 2025
All items		298.213	298.457	299.831	3.7	0.5	0.5
Food		327.091	326.484	328.261	2.3	0.4	0.5
Energy		237.722	241.152	247.837	-3.2	4.3	2.8
All items less food and energy		303.262	303.375	304.248	4.6	0.3	0.3
All items less energy		306.221	306.234	307.232	4.3	0.3	0.3
All items less medical care		286.694	287.097	288.454	3.8	0.6	0.5
All items less shelter		260.005	260.435	261.479	2.5	0.6	0.4
Commodities		201.217	200.963	202.041	-0.4	0.4	0.5
Commodities less food		148.603	148.475	149.263	-2.2	0.4	0.5
Commodities less food & beverages		142.779	142.650	143.396	-2.5	0.4	0.5
Durables		93.322	93.472	93.319	-2.7	0.0	-0.2
Nondurables		261.085	260.499	262.522	0.3	0.6	0.8
Nondurables less food		204.743	204.191	206.328	-1.8	0.8	1.0
Nondurables less food & beverages		196.890	196.324	198.414	-2.2	0.8	1.1
Services		390.212	390.971	392.610	5.8	0.6	0.4
Services less rent of shelter(1)		387.595	389.468	390.438	5.7	0.7	0.2
Services less medical care services		374.995	376.096	377.597	6.1	0.7	0.4
Footnotes (1) Indexes on a December 1982=100 base.
- Data not available. NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.