The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area advanced 0.4 percent in January, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Michael Hirniak noted that food prices were up 1.1 percent while prices for energy were down 4.7 percent in January. The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.6 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 1.3 percent for the 12 months ending in January. The index for all items less food and energy increased 1.4 percent over the year. Food prices increased 1.9 percent. Energy prices fell 0.9 percent.

Food prices advanced 1.1 percent for the month of January. Prices for food at home (grocery store purchases) advanced 1.1 percent, with higher prices in 5 of the 6 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 1.9 percent over the year. Prices for food at home declined 0.6 percent, and prices for food away from home increased 6.1 percent. Grocery food categories declining over the year included dairy and related products (-3.4 percent) and fruits and vegetables (-3.7 percent). The indexes for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (+2.8 percent) and cereals and bakery products (+3.4 percent) were higher over the year.

  

View Chart Data

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

Month	All items	All items less food and energy
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
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

The energy index declined 4.7 percent over the month. Gasoline prices were down 3.9 percent.

Energy prices fell 0.9 percent over the year. From January 2025 to January 2026 the gasoline index declined 9.9 percent.

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.6 percent in January. Among the index’s components, prices were higher for education and communication (+3.3 percent) and apparel (+5.4 percent). In contrast, prices were lower for lodging away from home, used cars and trucks (-3.0 percent), and other goods and services (-1.4 percent).

The index for all items less food and energy increased 1.4 percent over the year. Components contributing to the increase included owners’ equivalent rent of residences (+4.2 percent), rent of primary residence (+5.1 percent), and recreation (+3.3 percent). In contrast, prices were lower for lodging away from home and education and communication (-3.4 percent).

The Chicago-Naperville-Elgin Consumer Price Index for February 2026 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, March 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 January 2026, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Expenditure category	Indexes				Percent change from:
	Historical data	Nov. 2025	Dec. 2025	Jan. 2026	Jan. 2025	Nov. 2025	Dec. 2025
All items		301.839	301.159	302.224	1.3	0.1	0.4
All items (1967=100)		901.768	899.737	902.919	-	-	-
Food and beverages		331.682	329.063	332.761	1.8	0.3	1.1
Food		332.489	329.825	333.423	1.9	0.3	1.1
Food at home		302.169	298.345	301.681	-0.6	-0.2	1.1
Cereals and bakery products		342.624	352.915	349.333	3.4	2.0	-1.0
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		343.457	332.264	334.754	2.8	-2.5	0.7
Dairy and related products		255.327	248.128	261.514	-3.4	2.4	5.4
Fruits and vegetables		342.297	344.125	348.387	-3.7	1.8	1.2
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		272.567	263.099	267.248	-2.0	-2.0	1.6
Other food at home		246.655	242.540	244.218	-1.9	-1.0	0.7
Food away from home		369.149	368.880	372.758	6.1	1.0	1.1
Alcoholic beverages		317.096	315.329	320.285	-0.2	1.0	1.6
Housing		330.065	332.697	331.214	3.4	0.3	-0.4
Shelter		423.002	425.780	425.251	3.6	0.5	-0.1
Rent of primary residence		455.203	456.573	458.680	5.1	0.8	0.5
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)		440.057	441.797	442.504	4.2	0.6	0.2
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)		440.057	441.797	442.504	4.2	0.6	0.2
Household furnishings and operations		107.519	105.264	105.547	-0.1	-1.8	0.3
Apparel		90.156	91.494	96.479	1.3	7.0	5.4
Transportation		242.972	235.247	233.772	-4.5	-3.8	-0.6
Private transportation		245.899	236.168	232.981	-5.6	-5.3	-1.3
New and used motor vehicles(3)		117.321	117.254	116.646	-0.9	-0.6	-0.5
New vehicles(1)		214.783	214.428	215.023	0.5	0.1	0.3
Used cars and trucks(1)		365.162	358.993	348.102	-1.4	-4.7	-3.0
Motor fuel		291.260	271.177	260.536	-9.8	-10.5	-3.9
Gasoline (all types)		289.243	269.185	258.614	-9.9	-10.6	-3.9
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)		277.469	257.623	247.179	-10.3	-10.9	-4.1
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		333.119	314.157	303.504	-7.9	-8.9	-3.4
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)		330.388	313.725	304.902	-6.5	-7.7	-2.8
Medical care		572.149	573.230	577.658	0.7	1.0	0.8
Recreation(3)		140.331	141.355	141.670	3.3	1.0	0.2
Education and communication(3)		137.580	135.002	139.418	-3.4	1.3	3.3
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)		1,245.588	1,245.588	1,274.680	-4.4	2.3	2.3
Other goods and services		537.275	537.810	530.342	3.6	-1.3	-1.4
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 January 2026, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Special aggregate index	Indexes				Percent change from:
	Historical data	Nov. 2025	Dec. 2025	Jan. 2026	Jan. 2025	Nov. 2025	Dec. 2025
All items		301.839	301.159	302.224	1.3	0.1	0.4
Food		332.489	329.825	333.423	1.9	0.3	1.1
Energy		245.600	247.225	235.523	-0.9	-4.1	-4.7
All items less food and energy		306.290	305.724	307.455	1.4	0.4	0.6
All items less energy		309.577	308.718	310.723	1.5	0.4	0.6
All items less medical care		290.641	289.856	290.781	1.4	0.0	0.3
All items less shelter		260.794	259.033	260.586	0.2	-0.1	0.6
Commodities		202.128	200.240	202.088	0.4	0.0	0.9
Commodities less food		148.082	146.565	147.746	-0.6	-0.2	0.8
Commodities less food & beverages		142.320	140.838	141.914	-0.6	-0.3	0.8
Durables		93.986	93.229	93.510	0.2	-0.5	0.3
Nondurables		262.035	259.472	262.430	0.5	0.2	1.1
Nondurables less food		202.419	200.010	202.413	-1.1	0.0	1.2
Nondurables less food & beverages		194.660	192.265	194.503	-1.2	-0.1	1.2
Services		396.567	397.175	397.285	1.8	0.2	0.0
Services less rent of shelter(1)		388.660	387.074	387.840	0.1	-0.2	0.2
Services less medical care services		382.231	382.643	382.371	2.0	0.0	-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.