Prices in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), rose 0.9 percent in January, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Jason Palmer noted that the energy index advanced 0.7 percent, and the food index increased 0.8 percent in January. The all items less food and energy index was up 0.9 percent. Within the all items less food and energy category, prices were higher over the month for apparel and shelter but lower for used cars and trucks and medical care. (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 5.4 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) The index for all items less food and energy increased 5.3 percent over the year. Food prices advanced 7.0 percent and energy prices were up 3.2 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price for utility (piped) gas service. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices increased 0.8 percent for January. Prices for food at home (groceries) rose 1.3 percent, and prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) were unchanged for the same period.

Over the year, food prices rose 7.0 percent. Prices for food at home increased 7.3 percent over the year. All six major grocery store food group indexes advanced over the year. The index for other food at home (includes sugar, sweets, fats, and oils, for example) rose 11.1 percent, cereals and bakery products advanced 13.4 percent, and dairy and related products increased 12.5 percent. Prices for food away from home increased 6.5 percent.

Energy

The energy index increased 0.7 percent over the month. The increase was mainly due to higher gasoline prices (3.4 percent). Electricity prices advanced 1.9 percent, while utility (piped) gas service prices fell 5.0 percent for the same period.

Energy prices advanced 3.2 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for utility (piped) gas service (8.5 percent). Gasoline prices increased 2.4 percent, while electricity prices fell 1.5 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.9 percent in January. Higher prices for apparel (7.7 percent) and shelter (0.5 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for used cars and trucks (-1.5 percent) and medical care (-0.3 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 5.3 percent. A 6.6-percent increase in the shelter index was a major contributing factor. The new vehicles index (8.1 percent) and the index for recreation (7.5 percent) were also higher over the year.

Table A. Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI, 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	0.6	0.8	0.9	2.6	0.7	0.7	0.9	6.8	0.9	5.4
February	0.6	1.4	0.0	2.0	0.6	1.2	0.8	7.1
March	0.1	1.5	-0.7	1.1	0.6	2.6	1.4	7.8
April	-0.1	0.8	-0.9	0.3	1.0	4.6	0.4	7.2
May	0.8	1.2	1.0	0.4	1.0	4.7	1.8	8.0
June	-0.4	1.0	0.3	1.1	0.4	4.7	1.3(r)	8.9(r)
July	0.3	1.6	0.2	1.0	0.4	4.9	-0.2(r)	8.4(r)
August	0.2	1.6	0.1	1.0	0.1	4.8	0.1(r)	8.3(r)
September	0.2	1.4	0.6	1.4	0.3	4.5	0.2(r)	8.2(r)
October	0.3	1.8	-0.1	1.0	0.7	5.3	0.1(r)	7.7(r)
November	-0.2	2.2	-0.4	0.8	0.2	6.0	-0.6	6.8
December	-0.2	2.2	-0.2	0.9	0.4	6.6	-0.8	5.5
Footnotes: (r) Revised

The February 2023 Consumer Price Index for the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, March 14, 2023, at 7:30 a.m. (CT).

Technical Note

The Consumer Price Index for Chicago is published monthly. 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 population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers 29 percent of the total 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 87 urban areas across the country from about 4,000 housing units and approximately 26,000 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 (1982-84) that equals 100.0. An increase of 16.5 percent, for example, is shown as 116.5. This change can also be expressed in dollars as follows: the price of a base period "market basket" of goods and services in the CPI has risen from $10 in 1982-84 to $11.65. For further details see the CPI home page on the Internet at www.bls.gov/cpi and the BLS Handbook of Methods, Chapter 17, The Consumer Price Index, available on the Internet at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/homch17_a.htm.

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 Chicago-Gary-Kenosha, Ill.-Ind.-Wis. consolidated area covered in this release is comprised of Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, and Will Counties in Illinois; Lake and Porter Counties in Indiana; and Kenosha County in 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
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Item and Group	Indexes			Percent change from-
	Nov. 2022	Dec. 2022	Jan. 2023	Jan. 2022	Nov. 2022	Dec. 2022
Expenditure category
All items	276.861	274.577	276.982	5.4	0.0	0.9
All items (1967=100)	827.146	820.322	827.506	-	-	-
Food and beverages	309.360	306.670	309.456	7.2	0.0	0.9
Food	310.034	307.177	309.578	7.0	-0.1	0.8
Food at home	288.405	284.258	287.840	7.3	-0.2	1.3
Cereals and bakery products	327.905	324.301	330.703	13.4	0.9	2.0
Meats, poultry, fish and eggs	305.777	305.976	309.076	2.4	1.1	1.0
Dairy and related products	266.554	264.019	264.850	12.5	-0.6	0.3
Fruits and vegetables	368.546	353.422	349.816	0.5	-5.1	-1.0
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	237.547	228.766	240.337	7.6	1.2	5.1
Other food at home	232.349	231.853	234.725	11.1	1.0	1.2
Food away from home	331.470	331.484	331.484	6.5	0.0	0.0
Alcoholic beverages	299.504	299.430	306.495	10.6	2.3	2.4
Housing	290.838	292.255	293.590	6.0	0.9	0.5
Shelter	362.667	365.482	367.385	6.6	1.3	0.5
Rent of primary residence(2)	384.450	388.585	390.122	6.6	1.5	0.4
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)(3)	374.185	377.596	378.824	6.9	1.2	0.3
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)(3)	374.185	377.596	378.824	6.9	1.2	0.3
Fuels and utilities	268.154	259.194	256.695	4.2	-4.3	-1.0
Household energy	216.693	207.393	204.428	4.0	-5.7	-1.4
Energy services(2)	220.946	211.463	208.692	4.1	-5.5	-1.3
Electricity(2)	152.168	169.807	172.951	-1.5	13.7	1.9
Utility (piped) gas service(2)	299.259	255.013	242.141	8.5	-19.1	-5.0
Household furnishings and operations	104.244	106.655	107.930	3.8	3.5	1.2
Apparel	87.857	84.808	91.307	6.6	3.9	7.7
Transportation	235.613	222.900	225.631	5.1	-4.2	1.2
Private transportation	237.609	225.076	227.656	4.5	-4.2	1.1
New and used motor vehicles(4)	119.281	118.129	117.941	1.0	-1.1	-0.2
New vehicles(1)	213.081	213.469	214.150	8.1	0.5	0.3
Used cars and trucks(1)	373.809	365.191	359.802	-11.4	-3.7	-1.5
Motor fuel	365.629	300.391	310.160	2.4	-15.2	3.3
Gasoline (all types)	361.632	296.891	307.122	2.4	-15.1	3.4
Gasoline, unleaded regular(5)	349.590	285.755	296.068	2.2	-15.3	3.6
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(5)(6)	395.799	334.067	340.324	3.9	-14.0	1.9
Gasoline, unleaded premium(5)	381.066	328.788	334.955	5.1	-12.1	1.9
Medical care	541.431	544.045	542.230	0.9	0.1	-0.3
Recreation(4)	125.258	125.777	126.628	7.5	1.1	0.7
Education and communication(4)	139.886	140.106	141.514	1.3	1.2	1.0
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)	1,253.021	1,250.647	1,250.880	2.0	-0.2	0.0
Other goods and services	445.484	442.860	444.674	5.3	-0.2	0.4
Commodity and service group
All items	276.861	274.577	276.982	5.4	0.0	0.9
Commodities	199.991	195.550	198.372	4.5	-0.8	1.4
Commodities less food and beverages	147.110	142.369	144.951	2.5	-1.5	1.8
Nondurables less food and beverages	200.664	187.466	194.530	5.4	-3.1	3.8
Durables	99.258	99.852	99.332	-0.7	0.1	-0.5
Services	348.617	348.990	350.837	6.1	0.6	0.5
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	265.771	263.236	265.817	5.9	0.0	1.0
All items less shelter	247.703	243.804	246.383	4.9	-0.5	1.1
Commodities less food	152.356	147.647	150.367	2.9	-1.3	1.8
Nondurables	254.899	246.604	251.950	6.6	-1.2	2.2
Nondurables less food	207.110	194.504	201.579	5.8	-2.7	3.6
Services less rent of shelter(3)	350.907	348.647	350.544	5.4	-0.1	0.5
Services less medical care services	333.216	333.337	335.343	6.6	0.6	0.6
Energy	273.920	243.786	245.508	3.2	-10.4	0.7
All items less energy	279.949	280.002	282.485	5.6	0.9	0.9
All items less food and energy	275.417	276.015	278.515	5.3	1.1	0.9
Footnotes (1) Index on a December 1977=100 base. (2) This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator. All other item stratum index series were calculated using a geometric means estimator. (3) Index on a December 1982=100 base. (4) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base. (5) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (6) Index on a December 1993=100 base.
- Data not available. Note: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date. Data not seasonally adjusted.