The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area declined 0.2 percent in December, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Michael Hirniak noted that the energy index increased 0.7 percent and the index for food fell 0.8 percent. The all items less food and energy index decreased 0.2 percent. (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 advanced 2.2 percent for the 12 months ending in December. The index for all items less food and energy advanced 1.9 percent over the year. Food prices increased 1.9 percent. Energy prices increased 6.5 percent.

  

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

Month	All items	All items less food and energy
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
Apr 2025	3.1	3.7
May 2025	3.3	3.9
Jun 2025	3.5	3.8
Jul 2025	2.7	3.0
Aug 2025	3.1	3.2
Sep 2025	2.9	2.7
Oct 2025	-	-
Nov 2025	2.5	2.3
Dec 2025	2.2	1.9
Note: The October 2025 data values are not available due to the 2025 lapse in appropriations.

Food prices fell 0.8 percent for the month of December. Prices for food at home (grocery store purchases) declined 1.3 percent, and prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) decreased 0.1 percent for the same period.

Food prices increased 1.9 percent over the year. Prices for food at home increased 0.1 percent, and prices for food away from home increased 5.0 percent. Grocery food categories increasing over the year included meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (+4.9 percent) and cereals and bakery products (+3.8 percent). The index for fruits and vegetables was down 5.0 percent compared to a year ago.

The energy index advanced 0.7 percent over the month. Gasoline prices were 6.9 percent lower.

Energy prices increased 6.5 percent over the year. Over the year, gasoline prices were down 6.1 percent.

The index for all items less food and energy decreased 0.2 percent in December. Components contributing to the decline included communication and household furnishings and operations (-2.1 percent). The categories for shelter (+0.7 percent), public transportation, recreation (+0.7 percent), and apparel (+1.5 percent) were higher.

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 1.9 percent over the year. Components contributing to the increase included owners’ equivalent rent of residences (+4.6 percent) and recreation (+4.3 percent). The index for education and communication was down 6.1 percent over the year.

The Chicago-Naperville-Elgin Consumer Price Index for January 2026 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, February 11, 2026, at 7:30 a.m. (CT).

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.

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 December 2025, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Expenditure category	Indexes				Percent change from:
	Historical data	Oct. 2025	Nov. 2025	Dec. 2025	Dec. 2024	Oct. 2025	Nov. 2025
All items		-	301.839	301.159	2.2	-	-0.2
All items (1967=100)		-	901.768	899.737	-	-	-
Food and beverages		-	331.682	329.063	1.8	-	-0.8
Food		-	332.489	329.825	1.9	-	-0.8
Food at home		-	302.169	298.345	0.1	-	-1.3
Cereals and bakery products		-	342.624	352.915	3.8	-	3.0
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		-	343.457	332.264	4.9	-	-3.3
Dairy and related products		-	255.327	248.128	-6.1	-	-2.8
Fruits and vegetables		-	342.297	344.125	-5.0	-	0.5
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		-	272.567	263.099	1.0	-	-3.5
Other food at home		-	246.655	242.540	-0.4	-	-1.7
Food away from home		-	369.149	368.880	5.0	-	-0.1
Alcoholic beverages		-	317.096	315.329	-0.3	-	-0.6
Housing		-	330.065	332.697	5.1	-	0.8
Shelter		-	423.002	425.780	4.5	-	0.7
Rent of primary residence		-	455.203	456.573	5.1	-	0.3
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)		-	440.057	441.797	4.6	-	0.4
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)		-	440.057	441.797	4.6	-	0.4
Household furnishings and operations		-	107.519	105.264	1.9	-	-2.1
Apparel		-	90.156	91.494	0.9	-	1.5
Transportation		-	242.972	235.247	-2.4	-	-3.2
Private transportation		-	245.899	236.168	-3.5	-	-4.0
New and used motor vehicles(3)		-	117.321	117.254	0.4	-	-0.1
New vehicles(1)		215.057	214.783	214.428	0.6	-0.3	-0.2
Used cars and trucks(1)		365.831	365.162	358.993	2.0	-1.9	-1.7
Motor fuel		-	291.260	271.177	-6.0	-	-6.9
Gasoline (all types)		287.727	289.243	269.185	-6.1	-6.4	-6.9
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)		275.915	277.469	257.623	-6.3	-6.6	-7.2
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		332.224	333.119	314.157	-4.8	-5.4	-5.7
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)		329.654	330.388	313.725	-3.9	-4.8	-5.0
Medical care		-	572.149	573.230	0.2	-	0.2
Recreation(3)		-	140.331	141.355	4.3	-	0.7
Education and communication(3)		-	137.580	135.002	-6.1	-	-1.9
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)		-	1,245.588	1,245.588	-6.7	-	0.0
Other goods and services		-	537.275	537.810	5.7	-	0.1
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. NOTE: The October 2025 data values are not available due to the 2025 lapse in appropriations.

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

Special aggregate index	Indexes				Percent change from:
	Historical data	Oct. 2025	Nov. 2025	Dec. 2025	Dec. 2024	Oct. 2025	Nov. 2025
All items		-	301.839	301.159	2.2	-	-0.2
Food		-	332.489	329.825	1.9	-	-0.8
Energy		-	245.600	247.225	6.5	-	0.7
All items less food and energy		-	306.290	305.724	1.9	-	-0.2
All items less energy		-	309.577	308.718	1.9	-	-0.3
All items less medical care		-	290.641	289.856	2.4	-	-0.3
All items less shelter		-	260.794	259.033	1.0	-	-0.7
Commodities		-	202.128	200.240	0.9	-	-0.9
Commodities less food		-	148.082	146.565	0.2	-	-1.0
Commodities less food & beverages		-	142.320	140.838	0.2	-	-1.0
Durables		-	93.986	93.229	1.0	-	-0.8
Nondurables		-	262.035	259.472	0.9	-	-1.0
Nondurables less food		-	202.419	200.010	-0.4	-	-1.2
Nondurables less food & beverages		-	194.660	192.265	-0.4	-	-1.2
Services		-	396.567	397.175	2.9	-	0.2
Services less rent of shelter(1)		-	388.660	387.074	1.3	-	-0.4
Services less medical care services		-	382.231	382.643	3.2	-	0.1
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. NOTE: The October 2025 data values are not available due to the 2025 lapse in appropriations.