Prices in the Midwest Region, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 0.5 percent in February, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) The all items less food and energy index increased 0.6 percent, led by an increase in the index for owners’ equivalent rent of residences. Food prices increased 0.3 percent over the month. A decline in the index for energy (-1.0 percent) was almost entirely driven by falling natural gas service prices. (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 5.6 percent. (See chart 1.) The index for all items less food and energy increased 5.0 percent over the year, while food prices advanced 10.2 percent. Energy prices rose 2.8 percent over the same period. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices increased 0.3 percent for the month of February. Prices for food at home (grocery store products) similarly rose 0.3 percent, while prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) advanced 0.4 percent for the same period. Within the food at home category, prices paid for nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials (+1.6 percent) and other food at home (+0.7 percent) contributed most to the over-the-month increase. Declining prices for fruits and vegetables (-0.7 percent) somewhat moderated these increases.

Over the year, food prices advanced 10.2 percent. Prices for food at home rose 10.8 percent since a year ago, with all six major grocery store food group indexes contributing to the rise. The other food at home index (which includes sugar, sweets, fats, and oils) contributed the most to the rise at 14.0 percent. Prices for food away from home rose 9.3 percent over the same period.

Energy

The energy index fell 1.0 percent over the month. The decrease was almost entirely due to lower prices for natural gas service (-5.7 percent), but the index for electricity also declined (-0.1 percent). An increase in the index for gasoline (+0.2 percent) somewhat offset these decreases.

From February 2022 to February 2023, energy prices rose 2.8 percent, largely due to higher prices for electricity (+7.2 percent) and natural gas service (+6.6 percent). Partially offsetting the rise was a decrease in prices paid for gasoline (-1.2 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 February. The over-the-month increase was most driven by higher prices for owners’ equivalent rent of residences (+0.6 percent), household furnishings and operations (+1.8 percent), and apparel (+3.6 percent). Partially offsetting the rise were declining prices paid for used cars and trucks (-1.5 percent) and medical care services (-0.3 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 5.0 percent. The largest component contributing to the increase was owners’ equivalent rent of residences (+6.7 percent), establishing a new series high. Increases to rent of primary residence (+7.2 percent), and household furnishings and operations (+7.3 percent) also made notable contributions. Partly offsetting these increases was a decline in prices paid for used cars and trucks (-13.7 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	0.5	5.6
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 March 2023 Consumer Price Index for the Midwest Region is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, April 12, 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
	Dec. 2022	Jan. 2023	Feb. 2023	Feb. 2022	Dec. 2022	Jan. 2023
All items	275.182	277.332	278.672	5.6	1.3	0.5
All items (December 1977 = 100)	447.736	451.235	453.415
Food and beverages	304.158	306.450	307.292	10.1	1.0	0.3
Food	305.627	307.830	308.834	10.2	1.0	0.3
Food at home	283.100	285.715	286.503	10.8	1.2	0.3
Cereals and bakery products	326.939	331.269	331.724	15.4	1.5	0.1
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	312.238	313.911	313.694	6.5	0.5	-0.1
Dairy and related products	249.347	249.775	249.245	12.7	0.0	-0.2
Fruits and vegetables	318.399	321.859	319.760	4.8	0.4	-0.7
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials	202.897	205.925	209.289	13.1	3.2	1.6
Other food at home	248.908	251.159	252.935	14.0	1.6	0.7
Food away from home	341.267	342.565	343.973	9.3	0.8	0.4
Alcoholic beverages	283.424	286.968	285.532	7.5	0.7	-0.5
Housing	270.680	272.146	273.757	6.8	1.1	0.6
Shelter	319.195	320.948	323.149	6.6	1.2	0.7
Rent of primary residence(1)	323.196	324.979	326.662	7.2	1.1	0.5
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(1)(2)	326.773	328.370	330.261	6.7	1.1	0.6
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(1)(2)	326.679	328.275	330.173	6.7	1.1	0.6
Fuels and utilities	277.057	277.374	273.308	6.8	-1.4	-1.5
Household energy	229.988	229.229	224.665	7.0	-2.3	-2.0
Energy services(1)	236.860	236.567	231.573	7.5	-2.2	-2.1
Electricity(1)	224.797	227.589	227.436	7.2	1.2	-0.1
Utility (piped) gas service(1)	239.812	233.952	220.580	6.6	-8.0	-5.7
Household furnishings and operations	138.380	139.561	142.037	7.3	2.6	1.8
Apparel	112.806	117.238	121.509	3.2	7.7	3.6
Transportation	247.495	252.011	252.532	3.1	2.0	0.2
Private transportation	245.121	249.961	249.921	2.4	2.0	0.0
New and used motor vehicles(3)	124.923	124.645	124.114	-0.8	-0.6	-0.4
New vehicles	169.594	170.275	170.870	6.7	0.8	0.3
New cars and trucks(3)(4)
New cars(4)	166.799	167.404	167.627		0.5	0.1
Used cars and trucks	188.271	185.529	182.823	-13.7	-2.9	-1.5
Motor fuel	278.775	297.443	297.681	-1.1	6.8	0.1
Gasoline (all types)	275.513	295.119	295.646	-1.2	7.3	0.2
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	267.733	287.352	287.707	-1.6	7.5	0.1
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	325.104	343.140	345.479	1.1	6.3	0.7
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	309.101	324.608	326.932	3.3	5.8	0.7
Medical care	546.667	546.299	545.075	2.6	-0.3	-0.2
Medical care commodities	379.713	382.279	383.580	2.3	1.0	0.3
Medical care services	602.040	600.669	598.585	2.7	-0.6	-0.3
Professional services	457.057	456.500	458.145	4.0	0.2	0.4
Recreation(3)	136.972	136.997	138.176	5.5	0.9	0.9
Education and communication(3)	142.374	143.206	143.295	0.5	0.6	0.1
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(6)	1,265.198	1,268.532	1,268.715	3.4	0.3	0.0
Other goods and services	501.439	504.538	508.053	6.5	1.3	0.7
Commodity and service group
Commodities	211.678	214.174	215.388	4.0	1.8	0.6
Commodities less food and beverages	169.244	171.690	172.976	0.8	2.2	0.7
Nondurables less food and beverages	213.231	219.562	221.649	2.9	3.9	1.0
Durables	124.016	123.923	124.595	-1.2	0.5	0.5
Services	340.254	342.031	343.495	6.7	1.0	0.4
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter	261.981	264.308	265.340	5.2	1.3	0.4
All items less medical care	262.410	264.679	266.139	5.9	1.4	0.6
Commodities less food	172.768	175.252	176.483	1.1	2.2	0.7
Nondurables	257.349	261.817	263.331	6.7	2.3	0.6
Nondurables less food	216.915	223.087	224.977	3.2	3.7	0.8
Services less rent of shelter(2)	372.453	374.327	374.876	6.7	0.7	0.1
Services less medical care services	320.853	322.861	324.586	7.3	1.2	0.5
Energy	253.118	260.465	257.853	2.8	1.9	-1.0
All items less energy	280.944	282.690	284.380	5.8	1.2	0.6
All items less food and energy	277.585	279.259	281.067	5.0	1.3	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.