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News Release Information

25-806-CHI
Tuesday, May 13, 2025

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

Consumer Price Index, Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area — April 2025

Area prices were up 0.1 percent over the past month, up 3.1 percent from a year ago

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area advanced 0.1 percent in April, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Acting Regional Commissioner Julie Wilson noted that the energy index increased 4.7 percent and the index for food rose 0.3 percent. The all items less food and energy index declined 0.3 percent in April. (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 rose 3.1 percent for the 12 months ending in April. The index for all items less food and energy advanced 3.7 percent over the year. The food index rose 2.5 percent, and the energy index declined 1.6 percent.


Food

Food prices increased 0.3 percent for the month of April. Prices for food at home (grocery store purchases) declined 0.3 percent, and prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) advanced 1.4 percent for the same period.

Food prices rose 2.5 percent over the year. Prices for food at home increased 1.2 percent, and prices for food away from home were up 4.7 percent for the year. Grocery food categories increasing over the year included meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (+3.8 percent) and nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials (+6.3 percent). Fruits and vegetable prices were down 1.8 percent compared to a year ago.

Energy

The energy index increased 4.7 percent over the month. Gasoline prices were up 3.4 percent in April.

Energy prices declined 1.6 percent over the year. Gasoline prices were down 14.3 percent compared to April 2024.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy decreased 0.3 percent in April. Among the index’s components, prices were lower for apparel (-5.1 percent), lodging away from home, and education and communication (-1.1 percent). In contrast, prices were higher for owners’ equivalent rent of residences (+0.4 percent), other goods and services (+2.1 percent), and new and used motor vehicles (+0.3 percent).

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 3.7 percent over the year. Components contributing to the increase included owners’ equivalent rent of residences (+6.1 percent), medical care services, and rent of primary residence (+5.8 percent).

The May 2025 Consumer Price Index for the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, June 11, 2025.


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.

Percent changes for all-items data previously found in Table A of this release can be accessed in Chart 1 for this release and its attendant data table. A full all-items data series history for the original index value and for 1-month, 2-month, 3-month, 6-month, and 12-month percent changes can be accessed via BLS data query tools. A direct link to the all-items series is provided in Table 1 of this release under historical data.

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 April 2025, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)
Expenditure category

Indexes Percent change from:
Historical
data
Feb.
2025
Mar.
2025
Apr.
2025
Apr.
2024
Feb.
2025
Mar.
2025

All items

298.457 299.831 299.983 3.1 0.5 0.1

All items (1967=100)

891.667 895.771 896.223 - - -

Food and beverages

326.163 327.974 328.923 2.6 0.8 0.3

Food

326.484 328.261 329.237 2.5 0.8 0.3

Food at home

302.432 304.082 303.030 1.2 0.2 -0.3

Cereals and bakery products

341.072 336.747 342.461 0.0 0.4 1.7

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs

336.198 341.453 331.775 3.8 -1.3 -2.8

Dairy and related products

265.424 261.525 265.558 1.8 0.1 1.5

Fruits and vegetables

354.313 348.598 348.238 -1.8 -1.7 -0.1

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)

262.228 270.575 273.607 6.3 4.3 1.1

Other food at home

247.694 251.537 249.631 -0.8 0.8 -0.8

Food away from home

351.515 353.422 358.222 4.7 1.9 1.4

Alcoholic beverages

320.906 323.353 323.808 2.9 0.9 0.1

Housing

320.734 322.684 324.051 5.3 1.0 0.4

Shelter

410.121 412.501 412.531 5.3 0.6 0.0

Rent of primary residence

438.594 440.096 441.395 5.8 0.6 0.3

Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)

425.950 427.744 429.390 6.1 0.8 0.4

Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)

425.950 427.744 429.390 6.1 0.8 0.4

Household furnishings and operations

105.589 104.520 104.519 0.4 -1.0 0.0

Apparel

94.995 96.548 91.656 -0.4 -3.5 -5.1

Transportation

243.826 244.141 244.296 -1.8 0.2 0.1

Private transportation

246.954 247.176 247.256 -2.2 0.1 0.0

New and used motor vehicles(3)

117.713 117.515 117.903 0.3 0.2 0.3

New vehicles(1)

214.059 214.294 215.140 -0.1 0.5 0.4

Used cars and trucks(1)

353.434 354.629 356.492 1.6 0.9 0.5

Motor fuel

286.996 293.765 303.644 -14.2 5.8 3.4

Gasoline (all types)

285.124 292.005 301.934 -14.3 5.9 3.4

Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)

273.646 280.475 290.267 -14.7 6.1 3.5

Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)

327.637 333.942 343.378 -11.7 4.8 2.8

Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)

324.354 329.909 338.591 -10.1 4.4 2.6

Medical care

570.981 572.963 573.099 3.1 0.4 0.0

Recreation(3)

139.238 139.486 139.192 3.2 0.0 -0.2

Education and communication(3)

145.004 144.677 143.049 0.5 -1.3 -1.1

Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)

1,333.955 1,333.955 1,328.560 3.6 -0.4 -0.4

Other goods and services

515.392 519.012 529.813 5.5 2.8 2.1

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.

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

Indexes Percent change from:
Historical
data
Feb.
2025
Mar.
2025
Apr.
2025
Apr.
2024
Feb.
2025
Mar.
2025

All items

298.457 299.831 299.983 3.1 0.5 0.1

Food

326.484 328.261 329.237 2.5 0.8 0.3

Energy

241.152 247.837 259.374 -1.6 7.6 4.7

All items less food and energy

303.375 304.248 303.290 3.7 0.0 -0.3

All items less energy

306.234 307.232 306.545 3.5 0.1 -0.2

All items less medical care

287.097 288.454 288.608 3.1 0.5 0.1

All items less shelter

260.435 261.479 261.667 1.9 0.5 0.1

Commodities

200.963 202.041 201.691 -0.9 0.4 -0.2

Commodities less food

148.475 149.263 148.534 -3.2 0.0 -0.5

Commodities less food & beverages

142.650 143.396 142.663 -3.5 0.0 -0.5

Durables

93.472 93.319 93.946 -1.3 0.5 0.7

Nondurables

260.499 262.522 261.314 -0.8 0.3 -0.5

Nondurables less food

204.191 206.328 203.565 -4.2 -0.3 -1.3

Nondurables less food & beverages

196.324 198.414 195.571 -4.7 -0.4 -1.4

Services

390.971 392.610 393.283 5.2 0.6 0.2

Services less rent of shelter(1)

389.468 390.438 391.761 4.9 0.6 0.3

Services less medical care services

376.096 377.597 378.226 5.3 0.6 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.

 

Last Modified Date: Tuesday, May 13, 2025