Prices in the Midwest Region, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 0.8 percent in January, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) The all items less food and energy index rose 0.6 percent in January, largely due to an increase in the index for owners’ equivalent rent of residences. The energy index was up 2.9 percent, driven mainly by rising gasoline prices. The food index rose 0.7 percent over the month. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U advanced 6.0 percent. (See chart 1.) The index for all items less food and energy rose 4.9 percent, while food prices advanced 11.0 percent compared to their January 2022 levels. Energy prices increased 8.2 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of natural gas service. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices advanced 0.7 percent for the month of January. Prices for food at home (grocery store products) rose 0.9 percent, while prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) increased by 0.4 percent during the same period. Within the food at home category, prices paid for other food at home (+0.9 percent) contributed the most to the over-the-month increase.

Over the year, food prices advanced 11.0 percent. Prices for food at home rose 11.9 percent since a year ago, mainly due to a 14.3-percent increase in other food at home (sugar, sweets, fats, and oils for example) and a 16.6-percent increase for cereals and bakery products. Prices for food away from home advanced 9.5 percent over the same period.

Energy

The energy index advanced 2.9 percent over the month. The increase was almost entirely due to higher prices for gasoline (+7.1 percent), but prices paid for electricity (+1.2 percent) also contributed to the over-the-month increase. Partially offsetting the rise was a decrease in the index for natural gas service (-2.4 percent).

From January 2022 to January 2023, energy prices increased 8.2 percent, largely due to higher prices for natural gas service (+15.4 percent) and electricity (+8.9 percent). Prices for gasoline also advanced 5.0 percent for the same period.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 0.6 percent in January, after rising 0.1 percent in December. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for owners’ equivalent rent of residences (+0.5 percent), apparel (+3.9 percent), and household furnishings and operations (+0.9 percent). These rising prices were slightly offset by lower prices for used cars and trucks (-1.5 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 4.9 percent. Components most contributing to the increase included owners’ equivalent rent of residences (+6.6 percent), rent of primary residence (+7.1 percent), and recreation (+5.6 percent). Partly offsetting these increases was a decline in prices paid for used cars and trucks (-11.7 percent).

Table A. Midwest region CPI-U 1-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted

Month	2019		2020		2021		2022		2023
	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month
January	0.2	0.8	0.4	2.5	0.5	1.2	0.8	7.9	0.8	6.0
February	0.7	1.3	0.3	2.1	0.8	1.7	0.9	8.0
March	0.6	1.7	-0.5	1.0	0.7	3.0	1.3	8.6
April	0.3	1.5	-1.1	-0.4	0.8	4.9	0.5	8.2
May	0.3	1.3	0.3	-0.4	1.0	5.6	1.5	8.8
June	0.0	1.2	0.8	0.4	1.0	5.8	1.6	9.5
July	0.2	1.5	0.5	0.7	0.6	5.9	-0.2	8.6
August	0.0	1.5	0.4	1.1	0.2	5.7	-0.2	8.1
September	0.0	1.4	0.2	1.3	0.2	5.7	0.2	8.1
October	0.2	1.5	-0.1	1.0	0.8	6.6	0.1	7.4
November	-0.2	1.9	-0.2	1.0	0.4	7.3	-0.2	6.8
December	0.0	2.3	0.1	1.1	0.3	7.5	-0.5	6.0

The February 2023 Consumer Price Index for the Midwest Region is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, March 14, 2023.

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 Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes CPIs for two population groups: (1) a CPI for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) which covers approximately 93 percent of the total U.S. population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers approximately 29 percent of the total U.S. population. The CPI-U includes, in addition to wage earners and clerical workers, groups such as professional, managerial, and technical workers, the self-employed, short-term workers, the unemployed, and retirees and others not in the labor force.

The CPI is based on prices of food, clothing, shelter, and fuels, transportation fares, charges for doctors' and dentists' services, drugs, and the other goods and services that people buy for day-to-day living. Each month, prices are collected in 75 urban areas across the country from about 6,000 housing units and approximately 22,000 retail establishments—department stores, supermarkets, hospitals, filling stations, and other types of stores and service establishments. All taxes directly associated with the purchase and use of items are included in the index.

The index measures price changes from a designated reference date; for most of the CPI-U the reference base is 1982-84 equals 100. An increase of 7 percent from the reference base, for example, is shown as 107.000.  Alternatively, that relationship can also be expressed as the price of a base period market basket of goods and services rising from $100 to $107. For further details see the CPI home page on the internet at www.bls.gov/cpi and the CPI section of the BLS Handbook of Methods available on the internet at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/cpi/.

In calculating the index, price changes for the various items in each location are averaged together with weights that represent their importance in the spending of the appropriate population group. Local data are then combined to obtain a U.S. city average. Because the sample size of a local area is smaller, the local area index is subject to substantially more sampling and other measurement error than the national index. In addition, local indexes are not adjusted for seasonal influences. As a result, local area indexes show greater volatility than the national index, although their long-term trends are quite similar. 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 Midwest region is comprised of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

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. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): Indexes and percent changes for selected periods, Midwest Region, (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted) (not seasonally adjusted)

Expenditure category	Indexes			Percent change from
	Nov. 2022	Dec. 2022	Jan. 2023	Jan. 2022	Nov. 2022	Dec. 2022
All items	276.436	275.182	277.332	6.0	0.3	0.8
All items (December 1977 = 100)	449.777	447.736	451.235
Food and beverages	303.124	304.158	306.450	10.8	1.1	0.8
Food	304.679	305.627	307.830	11.0	1.0	0.7
Food at home	282.201	283.100	285.715	11.9	1.2	0.9
Cereals and bakery products	326.675	326.939	331.269	16.6	1.4	1.3
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	311.139	312.238	313.911	7.7	0.9	0.5
Dairy and related products	248.426	249.347	249.775	14.4	0.5	0.2
Fruits and vegetables	318.502	318.399	321.859	8.1	1.1	1.1
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials	203.323	202.897	205.925	12.0	1.3	1.5
Other food at home	246.936	248.908	251.159	14.3	1.7	0.9
Food away from home	340.248	341.267	342.565	9.5	0.7	0.4
Alcoholic beverages	281.258	283.424	286.968	8.2	2.0	1.3
Housing	268.715	270.680	272.146	6.8	1.3	0.5
Shelter	317.131	319.195	320.948	6.4	1.2	0.5
Rent of primary residence(1)	321.247	323.196	324.979	7.1	1.2	0.6
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(1)(2)	324.528	326.773	328.370	6.6	1.2	0.5
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(1)(2)	324.430	326.679	328.275	6.6	1.2	0.5
Fuels and utilities	272.977	277.057	277.374	10.0	1.6	0.1
Household energy	225.658	229.988	229.229	11.2	1.6	-0.3
Energy services(1)	232.139	236.860	236.567	11.6	1.9	-0.1
Electricity(1)	221.436	224.797	227.589	8.9	2.8	1.2
Utility (piped) gas service(1)	233.365	239.812	233.952	15.4	0.3	-2.4
Household furnishings and operations	137.790	138.380	139.561	5.8	1.3	0.9
Apparel	114.852	112.806	117.238	2.7	2.1	3.9
Transportation	257.439	247.495	252.011	4.6	-2.1	1.8
Private transportation	254.925	245.121	249.961	4.0	-1.9	2.0
New and used motor vehicles(3)	126.043	124.923	124.645	-0.3	-1.1	-0.2
New vehicles	169.169	169.594	170.275	6.1	0.7	0.4
New cars and trucks(3)(4)
New cars(4)	165.426	166.799	167.404	6.5	1.2	0.4
Used cars and trucks	192.881	188.271	185.529	-11.7	-3.8	-1.5
Motor fuel	330.927	278.775	297.443	5.2	-10.1	6.7
Gasoline (all types)	327.613	275.513	295.119	5.0	-9.9	7.1
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	319.463	267.733	287.352	4.8	-10.1	7.3
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	379.080	325.104	343.140	5.9	-9.5	5.5
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	353.248	309.101	324.608	7.7	-8.1	5.0
Medical care	548.459	546.667	546.299	2.8	-0.4	-0.1
Medical care commodities	381.017	379.713	382.279	3.0	0.3	0.7
Medical care services	603.994	602.040	600.669	2.7	-0.6	-0.2
Professional services	456.749	457.057	456.500	3.8	-0.1	-0.1
Recreation(3)	136.504	136.972	136.997	5.6	0.4	0.0
Education and communication(3)	142.104	142.374	143.206	0.8	0.8	0.6
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(6)	1,265.613	1,265.198	1,268.532	3.5	0.2	0.3
Other goods and services	500.211	501.439	504.538	6.5	0.9	0.6
Commodity and service group
Commodities	215.557	211.678	214.174	4.9	-0.6	1.2
Commodities less food and beverages	174.497	169.244	171.690	1.8	-1.6	1.4
Nondurables less food and beverages	225.747	213.231	219.562	5.3	-2.7	3.0
Durables	124.888	124.016	123.923	-1.4	-0.8	-0.1
Services	338.550	340.254	342.031	6.8	1.0	0.5
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter	264.386	261.981	264.308	5.8	0.0	0.9
All items less medical care	263.641	262.410	264.679	6.3	0.4	0.9
Commodities less food	177.885	172.768	175.252	2.0	-1.5	1.4
Nondurables	263.545	257.349	261.817	8.3	-0.7	1.7
Nondurables less food	228.556	216.915	223.087	5.5	-2.4	2.8
Services less rent of shelter(2)	371.146	372.453	374.327	7.0	0.9	0.5
Services less medical care services	318.835	320.853	322.861	7.4	1.3	0.6
Energy	272.717	253.118	260.465	8.2	-4.5	2.9
All items less energy	280.546	280.944	282.690	5.8	0.8	0.6
All items less food and energy	277.276	277.585	279.259	4.9	0.7	0.6
(1) This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator. All other item stratum index series were calculated using a geometric means estimator. (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 1977=100 base.
Note: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.