The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Midwest Region advanced 0.8 percent in April, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today. The energy index was up 5.7 percent, led by higher prices for gasoline. The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.4 percent, while the index for food increased 0.5 percent over the same period. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

The Midwest Region all items CPI-U advanced 4.1 percent for the 12 months ending in April. The index for all items less food and energy increased 3.3 percent over the year, and the index for energy rose 15.7 percent. The index for food was up 3.1 percent.

Food

Food prices rose 0.5 percent for the month of April. Prices for food at home (grocery store purchases) advanced 0.6 percent, and prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) increased 0.3 percent for the same period. Within the index for food at home, 5 of the 6 major grocery store food groups rose, with the indexes for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (+1.0 percent) and nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials (+1.9 percent) leading the increases. The index for other food at home declined 0.8 percent during the month. 

The food index advanced 3.1 percent over the year. The index for food at home increased 2.7 percent, and the index for food away from home rose 3.7 percent. Within the food at home category, all six major grocery store food groups increased over the 12-month period, with the indexes for fruits and vegetables (+3.9 percent) and meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (+2.6 percent) leading the increases.

Energy

The energy index rose 5.7 percent over the month. The index for gasoline contributed most to the rise, increasing 11.2 percent. The electricity index also increased over the month (+1.8 percent), while the natural gas service index declined 4.1 percent.

From April 2025 to April 2026 energy prices advanced 15.7 percent. This over-the-year increase was led by a 24.1-percent rise in the gasoline index. The index for electricity advanced 10.5 percent, while prices for natural gas service declined 3.2 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.4 percent in April. Among the index’s components, prices were higher for shelter (+1.0 percent), public transportation, and used cars and trucks (+0.9 percent). In contrast, prices were lower for other goods and services (-1.0 percent), medical care (-0.3 percent) and apparel (-0.8 percent).

The index for all items less food and energy increased 3.3 percent over the year. Components contributing to the increase included owners’ equivalent rent of residences (+4.2 percent), medical care services (+4.2 percent), and recreation (+4.2 percent). In contrast, prices were lower for used cars and trucks (-2.6 percent). 

The May 2026 Consumer Price Index for the Midwest Region is scheduled to be released on June 10, 2026.

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 the Midwest region 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.

The Midwest region is comprised of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and 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. Midwest region CPI-U by expenditure category for April 2026, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Expenditure category	Indexes				Percent change from:
	Historical data	Feb. 2026	Mar. 2026	Apr. 2026	Apr. 2025	Feb. 2026	Mar. 2026
All items		303.490	306.366	308.889	4.1	1.8	0.8
All items (December 1977 = 100)		493.795	498.474	502.580	-	-	-
Food and beverages		330.065	330.058	331.816	3.1	0.5	0.5
Food		331.939	331.874	333.530	3.1	0.5	0.5
Food at home		301.197	300.276	302.196	2.7	0.3	0.6
Cereals and bakery products		349.479	345.327	346.779	3.3	-0.8	0.4
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		339.364	338.435	341.805	2.6	0.7	1.0
Dairy and related products		251.547	246.381	251.034	1.2	-0.2	1.9
Fruits and vegetables		326.087	324.947	329.011	3.9	0.9	1.3
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials		229.832	227.835	232.175	4.5	1.0	1.9
Other food at home		263.521	265.863	263.743	1.6	0.1	-0.8
Food away from home		383.264	384.821	385.943	3.7	0.7	0.3
Alcoholic beverages		303.470	304.276	307.444	2.2	1.3	1.0
Housing		313.497	313.326	315.842	4.7	0.7	0.8
Shelter		376.263	377.851	381.798	4.8	1.5	1.0
Rent of primary residence		380.343	380.836	384.070	4.1	1.0	0.8
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(1)		385.830	387.109	389.837	4.2	1.0	0.7
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(1)		385.695	386.975	389.710	4.2	1.0	0.7
Fuels and utilities		311.871	303.012	302.771	5.7	-2.9	-0.1
Household energy		256.823	246.883	246.600	5.9	-4.0	-0.1
Energy services		266.176	255.056	254.644	5.7	-4.3	-0.2
Electricity		262.882	262.957	267.597	10.5	1.8	1.8
Utility (piped) gas service		250.650	221.139	212.059	-3.2	-15.4	-4.1
Household furnishings and operations		147.422	146.629	146.599	2.7	-0.6	0.0
Apparel		128.447	129.617	128.620	5.4	0.1	-0.8
Transportation		255.624	269.345	276.727	5.8	8.3	2.7
Private transportation		252.660	266.393	273.500	4.9	8.2	2.7
New and used motor vehicles(2)		124.288	124.705	125.102	-0.9	0.7	0.3
New vehicles		173.712	173.906	174.184	0.5	0.3	0.2
New cars(3)		168.576	168.982	169.142	0.5	0.3	0.1
Used cars and trucks		176.998	177.718	179.230	-2.6	1.3	0.9
Motor fuel		248.985	312.083	347.323	24.5	39.5	11.3
Gasoline (all types)		248.101	310.954	345.763	24.1	39.4	11.2
Gasoline, unleaded regular(3)		239.337	302.018	336.508	24.6	40.6	11.4
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(3)(4)		304.903	369.787	407.536	21.8	33.7	10.2
Gasoline, unleaded premium(3)		297.782	352.617	385.289	20.0	29.4	9.3
Medical care		581.956	582.450	580.942	3.4	-0.2	-0.3
Medical care commodities		390.488	389.841	388.379	-0.3	-0.5	-0.4
Medical care services		646.121	647.000	645.477	4.2	-0.1	-0.2
Professional services		495.854	496.843	496.105	3.9	0.1	-0.1
Recreation(2)		149.112	149.907	149.863	4.2	0.5	0.0
Education and communication(2)		143.390	143.404	143.731	0.1	0.2	0.2
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(5)		102.732	102.711	102.733	2.4	0.0	0.0
Other goods and services		574.119	578.199	572.660	0.5	-0.3	-1.0
(1) Index on a December 1982=100 base. (2) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base. (3) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (4) Index on a December 1993=100 base. (5) Index 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. Midwest region CPI-U by special aggregate index for April 2026, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Special aggregate index	Indexes				Percent change from:
	Historical data	Feb. 2026	Mar. 2026	Apr. 2026	Apr. 2025	Feb. 2026	Mar. 2026
All items		303.490	306.366	308.889	4.1	1.8	0.8
Food		331.939	331.874	333.530	3.1	0.5	0.5
Energy		255.290	278.745	294.740	15.7	15.5	5.7
All items less food and energy		309.307	310.637	311.987	3.3	0.9	0.4
All items less energy		311.857	312.989	314.380	3.3	0.8	0.4
All items less medical care		290.407	293.404	296.128	4.2	2.0	0.9
All items less shelter		279.814	283.173	285.207	3.8	1.9	0.7
Commodities		219.435	223.977	226.913	4.0	3.4	1.3
Commodities less food		174.318	180.010	183.180	4.5	5.1	1.8
Commodities less food & beverages		170.361	176.124	179.273	4.6	5.2	1.8
Durables		122.017	121.722	122.184	-0.3	0.1	0.4
Nondurables		272.870	281.435	286.297	6.1	4.9	1.7
Nondurables less food		223.947	239.021	246.279	9.3	10.0	3.0
Nondurables less food & beverages		219.529	235.457	242.963	9.9	10.7	3.2
Services		389.820	390.815	392.838	4.2	0.8	0.5
Services less rent of shelter(1)		413.853	414.166	413.895	3.5	0.0	-0.1
Services less medical care services		370.847	371.854	374.157	4.2	0.9	0.6
(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.