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News Release Information

23-1963-CHI
Wednesday, September 13, 2023

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

Consumer Price Index, Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area – August 2023

Area prices were up 0.2 percent over the past month, up 2.3 percent from a year ago

Prices in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), increased 0.2 percent in August, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Jason Palmer noted that the energy index was up 1.9 percent and the food index declined 0.2 percent in August. The all items less food and energy index rose 0.1 percent. Within the all items less food and energy category, prices were higher over the month for medical care, shelter, and apparel, but lower for recreation and household furnishings and operations. (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 2.3 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) The index for all items less food and energy rose 4.0 percent over the year. Food prices increased 3.4 percent. Energy prices declined 14.3 percent, largely the result of a decrease in the price of utility (piped) gas service. (See table 1.)


Food

Food prices declined 0.2 percent for the month of August. Prices for food at home (groceries) decreased 0.3 percent, and prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) increased 0.1 percent for the same period. Within the food at home group, indexes were lower in August for nonfrozen noncarbonated juices and drinks, coffee, and other miscellaneous foods (includes easy-to-prepare canned or non-frozen packaged foods excluding fruits, vegetables or soups). In contrast the indexes for other fresh fruits, carbonated drinks, and frozen and freeze dried prepared foods were higher.

Over the year, food prices increased 3.4 percent. Prices for food at home rose 3.6 percent since a year ago. 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 5.6 percent, while cereals and bakery products increased 6.7 percent. Prices for food away from home advanced 3.3 percent.

Energy

The energy index advanced 1.9 percent over the month. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (5.3 percent). Prices for utility (piped) gas service rose 1.7 percent, while prices for electricity declined 3.5 percent for the same period.

Energy prices declined 14.3 percent over the year, largely due to lower prices for utility (piped) gas service (-43.2 percent). Prices paid for electricity increased 4.7 percent, while prices for gasoline declined 5.8 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 0.1 percent in August. Higher prices for medical care (1.3 percent), shelter (0.2 percent), and apparel (2.0 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for recreation (-2.0 percent) and household furnishings and operations (-1.9 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 4.0 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (5.9 percent) and recreation (7.0 percent). Partly offsetting the increases was a price decrease in household furnishings and operations (-1.8 percent).

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 0.4 5.0

March

0.1 1.5 -0.7 1.1 0.6 2.6 1.4 7.8 0.8 4.4

April

-0.1 0.8 -0.9 0.3 1.0 4.6 0.4 7.2 0.8 4.8

May

0.8 1.2 1.0 0.4 1.0 4.7 1.8 8.0 0.4 3.3

June

-0.4 1.0 0.3 1.1 0.4 4.7 1.3(r) 8.9(r) 0.1 2.1

July

0.3 1.6 0.2 1.0 0.4 4.9 -0.2(r) 8.4(r) 0.0 2.2

August

0.2 1.6 0.1 1.0 0.1 4.8 0.1(r) 8.3(r) 0.2 2.3

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

(r) Revised

The September 2023 Consumer Price Index for the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area is scheduled to be released on Thursday, October 12, 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-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI Core Based Statistical Area consists of 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.

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-
Jun.
2023
Jul.
2023
Aug.
2023
Aug.
2022
Jun.
2023
Jul.
2023

Expenditure category

All items

283.627 283.528 283.957 2.3 0.1 0.2

All items (1967=100)

847.359 847.063 848.344 - - -

Food and beverages

314.655 317.161 316.842 3.8 0.7 -0.1

Food

315.066 318.025 317.506 3.4 0.8 -0.2

Food at home

292.285 296.780 295.827 3.6 1.2 -0.3

Cereals and bakery products

330.096 336.951 340.952 6.7 3.3 1.2

Meats, poultry, fish and eggs

312.245 319.781 316.663 0.8 1.4 -1.0

Dairy and related products

255.609 268.580 262.752 2.0 2.8 -2.2

Fruits and vegetables

353.955 358.271 364.680 2.4 3.0 1.8

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)

247.601 251.713 243.953 2.8 -1.5 -3.1

Other food at home

243.865 243.233 243.187 5.6 -0.3 0.0

Food away from home

338.613 338.461 338.803 3.3 0.1 0.1

Alcoholic beverages

308.443 305.875 307.787 9.6 -0.2 0.6

Housing

298.425 298.643 298.148 2.1 -0.1 -0.2

Shelter

376.865 376.732 377.643 5.9 0.2 0.2

Rent of primary residence(2)

400.467 401.188 404.537 7.3 1.0 0.8

Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)(3)

386.614 387.286 389.088 6.3 0.6 0.5

Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)(3)

386.614 387.286 389.088 6.3 0.6 0.5

Fuels and utilities

248.661 246.375 243.155 -16.9 -2.2 -1.3

Household energy

194.925 192.579 189.273 -21.9 -2.9 -1.7

Energy services(2)

198.952 196.349 193.077 -21.9 -3.0 -1.7

Electricity(2)

191.259 186.039 179.450 4.7 -6.2 -3.5

Utility (piped) gas service(2)

184.017 186.432 189.519 -43.2 3.0 1.7

Household furnishings and operations

107.531 109.159 107.126 -1.8 -0.4 -1.9

Apparel

91.140 89.210 91.023 -0.4 -0.1 2.0

Transportation

243.171 240.252 243.452 1.6 0.1 1.3

Private transportation

245.128 243.449 247.676 2.5 1.0 1.7

New and used motor vehicles(4)

124.020 124.215 123.210 1.1 -0.7 -0.8

New vehicles(1)

217.153 217.377 217.445 3.3 0.1 0.0

Used cars and trucks(1)

391.335 391.735 384.515 -6.2 -1.7 -1.8

Motor fuel

364.601 352.151 370.980 -6.3 1.7 5.3

Gasoline (all types)

362.997 350.502 368.920 -5.8 1.6 5.3

Gasoline, unleaded regular(5)

350.940 338.517 356.728 -5.9 1.6 5.4

Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(5)(6)

398.168 387.247 404.065 -5.4 1.5 4.3

Gasoline, unleaded premium(5)

384.037 374.606 389.636 -4.1 1.5 4.0

Medical care

538.335 537.939 544.919 0.8 1.2 1.3

Recreation(4)

135.091 134.801 132.076 7.0 -2.2 -2.0

Education and communication(4)

140.150 141.009 141.458 0.4 0.9 0.3

Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)

1,256.198 1,256.712 1,260.744 1.8 0.4 0.3

Other goods and services

454.365 461.302 458.246 5.4 0.9 -0.7

Commodity and service group

All items

283.627 283.528 283.957 2.3 0.1 0.2

Commodities

203.216 203.441 204.230 0.4 0.5 0.4

Commodities less food and beverages

149.246 148.719 149.792 -2.0 0.4 0.7

Nondurables less food and beverages

203.171 200.827 204.843 -0.9 0.8 2.0

Durables

100.445 101.126 100.223 -3.8 -0.2 -0.9

Services

359.163 358.714 358.734 3.7 -0.1 0.0

Special aggregate indexes

All items less medical care

272.905 272.818 272.972 2.5 0.0 0.1

All items less shelter

252.066 251.979 252.243 0.7 0.1 0.1

Commodities less food

154.637 154.054 155.157 -1.6 0.3 0.7

Nondurables

259.297 259.066 261.249 2.0 0.8 0.8

Nondurables less food

209.832 207.470 211.367 -0.2 0.7 1.9

Services less rent of shelter(3)

357.909 357.083 356.091 1.2 -0.5 -0.3

Services less medical care services

344.938 344.556 344.330 4.2 -0.2 -0.1

Energy

259.595 253.485 258.345 -14.3 -0.5 1.9

All items less energy

288.633 288.995 289.088 3.9 0.2 0.0

All items less food and energy

284.778 284.721 284.914 4.0 0.0 0.1

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.

 

Last Modified Date: Wednesday, September 13, 2023