The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area increased 0.8 percent in September, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Michael Hirniak noted that the all items less food and energy index advanced 0.8 percent. The energy index was up 2.0 percent, while the food index rose 0.6 percent in September. (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 2.9 percent for the 12 months ending in September. The index for all items less food and energy rose 2.2 percent over the year. The energy index advanced 15.1 percent, and the index for food was up 2.4 percent.

Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in CPI-U, Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI, September 2023–September 2026

Month	All items	All items less food and energy
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
Jan 2026	1.3	1.4
Feb 2026	2.0	1.8
Mar 2026	2.3	1.6
Apr 2026	3.1	2.2
May 2026	3.7	2.4
Jun 2026	2.5	1.7
Jul 2026	2.5	2.1
Aug 2026	2.4	1.8
Sep 2026	2.9	2.2
Note: The October 2025 data values are not available due to the 2025 lapse in appropriations.

View Chart Data

Food

The index for food increased 0.6 percent for the month of September. The food at home index (grocery store purchases) was up 0.7 percent, with higher prices seen in 4 of the 6 major grocery store food groups. The cereals and bakery products index led these increases, up 3.5 percent over the month. The food away from home index (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) rose 0.5 percent for the same period.

The index for food advanced 2.4 percent over the year. The food away from home index rose 4.1 percent while the food at home index was up 1.4 percent. Grocery food categories increasing over the year included cereals and bakery products (+6.6 percent), nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials (+3.9 percent), and meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (+0.7 percent). The index for fruits and vegetables was down 1.2 percent over the year.

Energy

The energy index increased 2.0 percent over the month. Gasoline prices rose 6.3 percent from August to September.

From September 2025 to September 2026, the energy index advanced 15.1 percent. The gasoline index was up 28.9 percent over the year. 

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 0.8 percent in September. Among the index’s components, prices were higher for apparel (+4.6 percent) and medical care (+2.2 percent).

The index for all items less food and energy increased 2.2 percent over the year. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (+3.5 percent) and education and communication (+6.8 percent). 

The October 2026 Consumer Price Index for the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, November 10, 2026.

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 September 2026, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Expenditure category	Indexes				Percent change from:
	Historical data	Jul. 2026	Aug. 2026	Sep. 2026	Sep. 2025	Jul. 2026	Aug. 2026
All items		309.462	310.890	313.415	2.9	1.3	0.8
All items (1967=100)		924.543	928.809	936.353	-	-	-
Food and beverages		338.799	339.760	341.567	2.3	0.8	0.5
Food		339.960	340.966	343.063	2.4	0.9	0.6
Food at home		308.929	309.741	311.833	1.4	0.9	0.7
Cereals and bakery products		349.121	351.689	364.116	6.6	4.3	3.5
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		340.883	342.199	346.195	0.7	1.6	1.2
Dairy and related products		260.054	273.063	263.751	-2.0	1.4	-3.4
Fruits and vegetables		357.342	351.850	357.799	-1.2	0.1	1.7
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		278.502	276.381	278.946	3.9	0.2	0.9
Other food at home		254.720	254.115	253.458	0.9	-0.5	-0.3
Food away from home		377.678	378.979	380.974	4.1	0.9	0.5
Alcoholic beverages		319.777	320.144	318.173	0.5	-0.5	-0.6
Housing		340.447	341.138	341.330	2.8	0.3	0.1
Shelter		438.674	438.194	439.210	3.5	0.1	0.2
Rent of primary residence		469.310	471.853	473.536	4.5	0.9	0.4
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)		450.839	452.677	453.752	4.0	0.6	0.2
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)		450.839	452.677	453.752	4.0	0.6	0.2
Household furnishings and operations		104.771	106.491	107.506	0.5	2.6	1.0
Apparel		99.203	98.230	102.771	3.2	3.6	4.6
Transportation		248.448	250.980	254.375	3.0	2.4	1.4
Private transportation		249.124	251.943	256.162	2.3	2.8	1.7
New and used motor vehicles(3)		118.586	118.432	118.429	0.8	-0.1	0.0
New vehicles(1)		216.737	217.124	217.335	1.0	0.3	0.1
Used cars and trucks(1)		359.781	359.122	358.463	-1.9	-0.4	-0.2
Motor fuel		360.273	375.940	399.613	29.1	10.9	6.3
Gasoline (all types)		357.613	373.151	396.557	28.9	10.9	6.3
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)		344.253	359.523	382.581	29.4	11.1	6.4
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		403.809	419.328	442.241	25.9	9.5	5.5
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)		396.454	410.605	431.426	24.8	8.8	5.1
Medical care		565.100	566.793	579.508	1.0	2.5	2.2
Recreation(3)		143.197	144.947	145.991	2.9	2.0	0.7
Education and communication(3)		140.414	142.305	144.604	6.8	3.0	1.6
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(6)		95.880	96.747	98.423	7.0	2.7	1.7
Other goods and services		524.889	529.057	529.987	-0.3	1.0	0.2
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. (6) Indexes on a December 2024=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 September 2026, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Special aggregate index	Indexes				Percent change from:
	Historical data	Jul. 2026	Aug. 2026	Sep. 2026	Sep. 2025	Jul. 2026	Aug. 2026
All items		309.462	310.890	313.415	2.9	1.3	0.8
Food		339.960	340.966	343.063	2.4	0.9	0.6
Energy		284.143	293.707	299.711	15.1	5.5	2.0
All items less food and energy		311.399	312.229	314.573	2.2	1.0	0.8
All items less energy		315.044	315.898	318.202	2.2	1.0	0.7
All items less medical care		298.844	300.261	302.363	3.1	1.2	0.7
All items less shelter		265.813	267.823	270.795	2.6	1.9	1.1
Commodities		209.238	210.827	213.867	4.1	2.2	1.4
Commodities less food		154.604	156.267	159.394	5.3	3.1	2.0
Commodities less food & beverages		148.873	150.549	153.765	5.6	3.3	2.1
Durables		94.027	94.380	94.919	1.1	0.9	0.6
Nondurables		274.429	276.865	281.656	5.2	2.6	1.7
Nondurables less food		218.241	221.697	228.403	8.5	4.7	3.0
Nondurables less food & beverages		211.285	214.920	222.139	9.5	5.1	3.4
Services		404.174	405.329	407.113	2.2	0.7	0.4
Services less rent of shelter(1)		388.246	391.145	393.798	0.7	1.4	0.7
Services less medical care services		390.715	391.783	392.721	2.3	0.5	0.2
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.