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Bureau of Labor Statistics > Geographic Information > Midwest > News Release
News Release Information

26-610-CHI
Friday, April 10, 2026

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (312) 353-1138

Consumer Price Index, Chicago-Naperville-Elgin — March 2026

Area prices were up 0.7 percent over the past month, up 2.3 percent from a year ago

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area advanced 0.7 percent in March, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Michael Hirniak noted that the energy index rose 8.5 percent due to higher gasoline prices. The food index increased 1.0 percent. The index for all items less food and energy was up 0.1 percent in March. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, monthly changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

The Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area all items CPI-U increased 2.3 percent for the 12 months ending in March. The energy index rose 8.1 percent and food prices were up 3.6 percent over the year. The index for all items less food and energy advanced 1.6 percent on an annual basis.

  Line chart of over-the-year percent changes in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI, CPI-U all items and all items less food and energy indexes, from March 2023 through March 2026. An accessible version is available in the View Chart Data link below the chart.
View Chart Data

Food

Food prices advanced 1.0 percent for the month of March. Prices for food at home (grocery store purchases) were up 0.8 percent, with higher prices in two of the six major grocery store food groups. The food away from home index (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) increased 1.1 percent for the same period.

Food prices increased 3.6 percent over the year. Prices for food at home increased 1.4 percent as five of the six major grocery store food group indexes rose over the year. Grocery store index increases ranged from 3.9 percent for cereals and bakery products to 0.5 percent for dairy and related products. The index for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs declined 0.2 percent over the year. Prices for food away from home rose 7.2 percent.

Energy

The energy index advanced 8.5 percent over the month. Gasoline prices increased 26.4 percent from February to March.

Energy prices rose 8.1 percent over the year. From March 2025 to March 2026 gasoline prices were up 15.3 percent.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 0.1 percent in March. Among the index’s components, prices were higher for shelter (+0.5 percent), but lower for medical care (-1.5 percent) and apparel (-2.4 percent).

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 1.6 percent over the year. Components contributing to the increase included owners’ equivalent rent of residences (+4.1 percent), rent of primary residence (+4.7 percent), public transportation, and recreation (+3.0 percent). In contrast, prices were lower for education and communication (-3.8 percent) and medical care (-1.2 percent).

The April 2026 Consumer Price Index for the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, May 12, 2026.


Technical Note

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.

If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.

Table 1. Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI, CPI-U by expenditure category for March 2026, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)
Expenditure category

 Indexes Percent change from:
Historical
data		 Jan.
2026		 Feb.
2026		 Mar.
2026		 Mar.
2025		 Jan.
2026		 Feb.
2026

All items

 302.224 304.489 306.592 2.3 1.4 0.7

All items (1967=100)

 902.919 909.685 915.969 - - -

Food and beverages

 332.761 335.931 338.889 3.3 1.8 0.9

Food

 333.423 336.796 340.000 3.6 2.0 1.0

Food at home

 301.681 305.741 308.272 1.4 2.2 0.8

Cereals and bakery products

 349.333 349.975 349.756 3.9 0.1 -0.1

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs

 334.754 341.940 340.773 -0.2 1.8 -0.3

Dairy and related products

 261.514 263.034 262.743 0.5 0.5 -0.1

Fruits and vegetables

 348.387 352.083 355.834 2.1 2.1 1.1

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)

 267.248 279.291 276.543 2.2 3.5 -1.0

Other food at home

 244.218 244.599 253.040 0.6 3.6 3.5

Food away from home

 372.758 374.724 378.963 7.2 1.7 1.1

Alcoholic beverages

 320.285 320.777 320.524 -0.9 0.1 -0.1

Housing

 331.214 333.769 333.601 3.4 0.7 -0.1

Shelter

 425.251 426.458 428.799 4.0 0.8 0.5

Rent of primary residence

 458.680 459.197 460.749 4.7 0.5 0.3

Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)

 442.504 443.806 445.246 4.1 0.6 0.3

Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)

 442.504 443.806 445.246 4.1 0.6 0.3

Household furnishings and operations

 105.547 106.703 107.099 2.5 1.5 0.4

Apparel

 96.479 99.626 97.199 0.7 0.7 -2.4

Transportation

 233.772 235.658 248.438 1.8 6.3 5.4

Private transportation

 232.981 232.996 248.356 0.5 6.6 6.6

New and used motor vehicles(3)

 116.646 116.595 116.937 -0.5 0.2 0.3

New vehicles(1)

 215.023 215.570 215.346 0.5 0.2 -0.1

Used cars and trucks(1)

 348.102 344.684 345.687 -2.5 -0.7 0.3

Motor fuel

 260.536 268.398 339.158 15.5 30.2 26.4

Gasoline (all types)

 258.614 266.414 336.711 15.3 30.2 26.4

Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)

 247.179 254.910 324.378 15.7 31.2 27.3

Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)

 303.504 310.393 377.578 13.1 24.4 21.6

Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)

 304.902 311.232 370.973 12.4 21.7 19.2

Medical care

 577.658 574.846 566.017 -1.2 -2.0 -1.5

Recreation(3)

 141.670 143.781 143.734 3.0 1.5 0.0

Education and communication(3)

 139.418 138.674 139.124 -3.8 -0.2 0.3

Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)

 1,274.680 1,274.680 1,273.071 -4.6 -0.1 -0.1

Other goods and services

 530.342 534.319 527.891 1.7 -0.5 -1.2

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 2026, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)
Special aggregate index

 Indexes Percent change from:
Historical
data		 Jan.
2026		 Feb.
2026		 Mar.
2026		 Mar.
2025		 Jan.
2026		 Feb.
2026

All items

 302.224 304.489 306.592 2.3 1.4 0.7

Food

 333.423 336.796 340.000 3.6 2.0 1.0

Energy

 235.523 246.979 267.863 8.1 13.7 8.5

All items less food and energy

 307.455 308.779 309.120 1.6 0.5 0.1

All items less energy

 310.723 312.348 313.113 1.9 0.8 0.2

All items less medical care

 290.781 293.258 295.816 2.6 1.7 0.9

All items less shelter

 260.586 263.159 265.166 1.4 1.8 0.8

Commodities

 202.088 204.016 208.036 3.0 2.9 2.0

Commodities less food

 147.746 149.096 153.098 2.6 3.6 2.7

Commodities less food & beverages

 141.914 143.270 147.330 2.7 3.8 2.8

Durables

 93.510 93.500 93.967 0.7 0.5 0.5

Nondurables

 262.430 265.811 272.387 3.8 3.8 2.5

Nondurables less food

 202.413 205.716 214.676 4.0 6.1 4.4

Nondurables less food & beverages

 194.503 197.968 207.467 4.6 6.7 4.8

Services

 397.285 399.792 399.586 1.8 0.6 -0.1

Services less rent of shelter(1)

 387.840 391.798 388.944 -0.4 0.3 -0.7

Services less medical care services

 382.371 385.201 385.553 2.1 0.8 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.

 

Last Modified Date: Friday, April 10, 2026