The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area increased 0.5 percent in August, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Michael Hirniak noted that the energy index advanced 3.4 percent and both the index for food and the index for all items less food and energy rose 0.3 percent each in August. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, monthly changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

The Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area all items CPI-U advanced 2.4 percent for the 12 months ending in August. The index for all items less food and energy increased 1.8 percent over the year. The energy index was up 11.0 percent, and the food index rose 2.1 percent.

  

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

Month	All items	All items less food and energy
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
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
Note: The October 2025 data values are not available due to the 2025 lapse in appropriations.

The index for food increased 0.3 percent for the month of August. The food at home index (grocery store purchases) was up 0.3 percent, with higher prices seen in 3 of the 6 major grocery store food groups. The dairy and related products index led these increases, up 5.0 percent over the month. The food away from home index (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) rose 0.3 percent for the same period.

The index for food rose 2.1 percent over the year. The food at home index increased 0.9 percent as 5 of the 6 major grocery store food group indexes advanced over the year. Grocery store index increases ranged from 4.8 percent for cereals and bakery products to 0.5 percent for nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials. Over the year, the index for fruits and vegetables declined -3.0 percent. Prices for food away from home rose 4.3 percent.

The energy index increased 3.4 percent over the month. Gasoline prices increased 4.3 percent in August.

From August 2025 to August 2026, the index for energy rose 11.0 percent. The gasoline index increased 21.5 percent over the year.

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.3 percent in August. Among the index’s components, prices were higher for owners’ equivalent rent of residences (+0.4 percent), education and communication (+1.3 percent), recreation (+1.2 percent), and household furnishings and operations (+1.6 percent). In contrast, prices were lower for lodging away from home as well as apparel (-1.0 percent).

The all items less food and energy index advanced 1.8 percent over the year. Components contributing to the increase included owners’ equivalent rent of residences (+4.3 percent), rent of primary residence (+5.0 percent), public transportation, and recreation (+3.7 percent). In contrast, prices were lower for medical care (-1.6 percent).

The September 2026 Consumer Price Index for the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, October 14, 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 August 2026, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Expenditure category	Indexes				Percent change from:
	Historical data	Jun. 2026	Jul. 2026	Aug. 2026	Aug. 2025	Jun. 2026	Jul. 2026
All items		309.915	309.462	310.890	2.4	0.3	0.5
All items (1967=100)		925.898	924.543	928.809	-	-	-
Food and beverages		337.128	338.799	339.760	2.0	0.8	0.3
Food		338.225	339.960	340.966	2.1	0.8	0.3
Food at home		306.103	308.929	309.741	0.9	1.2	0.3
Cereals and bakery products		359.153	349.121	351.689	4.8	-2.1	0.7
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		340.333	340.883	342.199	0.6	0.5	0.4
Dairy and related products		263.238	260.054	273.063	0.7	3.7	5.0
Fruits and vegetables		345.579	357.342	351.850	-3.0	1.8	-1.5
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		272.680	278.502	276.381	0.5	1.4	-0.8
Other food at home		249.199	254.720	254.115	1.1	2.0	-0.2
Food away from home		377.988	377.678	378.979	4.3	0.3	0.3
Alcoholic beverages		318.961	319.777	320.144	0.2	0.4	0.1
Housing		340.427	340.447	341.138	3.3	0.2	0.2
Shelter		435.119	438.674	438.194	4.1	0.7	-0.1
Rent of primary residence		467.954	469.310	471.853	5.0	0.8	0.5
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)		449.053	450.839	452.677	4.3	0.8	0.4
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)		449.053	450.839	452.677	4.3	0.8	0.4
Household furnishings and operations		106.489	104.771	106.491	0.6	0.0	1.6
Apparel		95.759	99.203	98.230	2.7	2.6	-1.0
Transportation		254.061	248.448	250.980	1.8	-1.2	1.0
Private transportation		252.256	249.124	251.943	0.8	-0.1	1.1
New and used motor vehicles(3)		118.205	118.586	118.432	0.7	0.2	-0.1
New vehicles(1)		216.255	216.737	217.124	1.0	0.4	0.2
Used cars and trucks(1)		359.576	359.781	359.122	-2.6	-0.1	-0.2
Motor fuel		374.405	360.273	375.940	21.7	0.4	4.3
Gasoline (all types)		371.592	357.613	373.151	21.5	0.4	4.3
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)		358.024	344.253	359.523	21.8	0.4	4.4
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		419.575	403.809	419.328	19.7	-0.1	3.8
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)		408.654	396.454	410.605	19.0	0.5	3.6
Medical care		567.919	565.100	566.793	-1.6	-0.2	0.3
Recreation(3)		143.266	143.197	144.947	3.7	1.2	1.2
Education and communication(3)		139.681	140.414	142.305	1.3	1.9	1.3
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(6)		95.786	95.880	96.747	-1.8	1.0	0.9
Other goods and services		527.303	524.889	529.057	0.1	0.3	0.8
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 August 2026, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Special aggregate index	Indexes				Percent change from:
	Historical data	Jun. 2026	Jul. 2026	Aug. 2026	Aug. 2025	Jun. 2026	Jul. 2026
All items		309.915	309.462	310.890	2.4	0.3	0.5
Food		338.225	339.960	340.966	2.1	0.8	0.3
Energy		299.679	284.143	293.707	11.0	-2.0	3.4
All items less food and energy		310.953	311.399	312.229	1.8	0.4	0.3
All items less energy		314.408	315.044	315.898	1.9	0.5	0.3
All items less medical care		299.200	298.844	300.261	2.7	0.4	0.5
All items less shelter		267.517	265.813	267.823	1.5	0.1	0.8
Commodities		209.212	209.238	210.827	3.2	0.8	0.8
Commodities less food		155.110	154.604	156.267	4.0	0.7	1.1
Commodities less food & beverages		149.406	148.873	150.549	4.2	0.8	1.1
Durables		93.631	94.027	94.380	0.2	0.8	0.4
Nondurables		274.769	274.429	276.865	4.3	0.8	0.9
Nondurables less food		220.139	218.241	221.697	7.0	0.7	1.6
Nondurables less food & beverages		213.344	211.285	214.920	7.7	0.7	1.7
Services		405.144	404.174	405.329	1.8	0.0	0.3
Services less rent of shelter(1)		393.946	388.246	391.145	-0.6	-0.7	0.7
Services less medical care services		391.639	390.715	391.783	2.2	0.0	0.3
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.