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News Release Information

23-479-CHI
Tuesday, March 14, 2023

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

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

Area prices were up 0.4 percent over the past month, up 5.0 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), rose 0.4 percent in February, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Jason Palmer noted that the food index increased 0.7 percent, and the energy index fell 0.4 percent in February. The all items less food and energy index was up 0.4 percent. Within the all items less food and energy category, prices were higher over the month for shelter, recreation, and public transportation but lower for household furnishing and operations 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 5.0 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) The index for all items less food and energy increased by 5.0 percent over the year. Food prices rose 7.4 percent. Energy prices decreased 0.8 percent as a result of declines in the indexes for gasoline and electricity. (See table 1.)


Food

Food prices increased 0.7 percent for February. Prices for food at home (groceries) rose 1.1 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 7.4 percent. Prices for food at home increased 8.1 percent over the year. Five of the 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 12.2 percent, cereals and bakery products advanced 13.9 percent, and nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials increased 11.1 percent. Prices for food away from home were up 6.4 percent.

Energy

The energy index fell 0.4 percent over the month. The decrease was due to lower prices for utility (piped) gas service (-9.3 percent). Electricity prices advanced 3.3 percent, while gasoline prices rose 1.8 percent for the same period.

Energy prices decreased 0.8 percent over the year, largely due to lower prices for gasoline (-2.2 percent) and electricity (-3.0 percent). Prices paid for utility (piped) gas service rose 1.5 percent compared to February 2022.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.4 percent in February. Higher prices for shelter (0.6 percent), recreation (2.7 percent), and public transportation were partially offset by lower prices for household furnishings and operations (-2.3 percent) and medical care (-0.9 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 5.0 percent. Components contributing to the rise included shelter (6.5 percent) and recreation (8.6 percent). Lower prices for used cars and trucks (-13.5 percent) partially offset these increases.

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

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 March 2023 Consumer Price Index for the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area is scheduled to be released on April 12, 2023.


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-
Dec.
2022
Jan.
2023
Feb.
2023
Feb.
2022
Dec.
2022
Jan.
2023

Expenditure category

All items

274.577 276.982 277.978 5.0 1.2 0.4

All items (1967=100)

820.322 827.506 830.484 - - -

Food and beverages

306.670 309.456 311.499 7.6 1.6 0.7

Food

307.177 309.578 311.791 7.4 1.5 0.7

Food at home

284.258 287.840 291.142 8.1 2.4 1.1

Cereals and bakery products

324.301 330.703 330.576 13.9 1.9 0.0

Meats, poultry, fish and eggs

305.976 309.076 311.086 4.2 1.7 0.7

Dairy and related products

264.019 264.850 260.253 9.9 -1.4 -1.7

Fruits and vegetables

353.422 349.816 353.925 -0.5 0.1 1.2

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)

228.766 240.337 247.001 11.1 8.0 2.8

Other food at home

231.853 234.725 240.023 12.2 3.5 2.3

Food away from home

331.484 331.484 331.484 6.4 0.0 0.0

Alcoholic beverages

299.430 306.495 306.641 10.1 2.4 0.0

Housing

292.255 293.590 293.660 5.4 0.5 0.0

Shelter

365.482 367.385 369.630 6.5 1.1 0.6

Rent of primary residence(2)

388.585 390.122 393.765 7.2 1.3 0.9

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

377.596 378.824 380.396 6.8 0.7 0.4

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

377.596 378.824 380.396 6.8 0.7 0.4

Fuels and utilities

259.194 256.695 252.486 1.7 -2.6 -1.6

Household energy

207.393 204.428 200.106 0.8 -3.5 -2.1

Energy services(2)

211.463 208.692 204.038 0.7 -3.5 -2.2

Electricity(2)

169.807 172.951 178.717 -3.0 5.2 3.3

Utility (piped) gas service(2)

255.013 242.141 219.659 1.5 -13.9 -9.3

Household furnishings and operations

106.655 107.930 105.456 1.9 -1.1 -2.3

Apparel

84.808 91.307 91.669 1.6 8.1 0.4

Transportation

222.900 225.631 228.110 4.0 2.3 1.1

Private transportation

225.076 227.656 228.679 3.2 1.6 0.4

New and used motor vehicles(4)

118.129 117.941 117.430 0.1 -0.6 -0.4

New vehicles(1)

213.469 214.150 214.688 8.2 0.6 0.3

Used cars and trucks(1)

365.191 359.802 354.406 -13.5 -3.0 -1.5

Motor fuel

300.391 310.160 315.220 -2.3 4.9 1.6

Gasoline (all types)

296.891 307.122 312.531 -2.2 5.3 1.8

Gasoline, unleaded regular(5)

285.755 296.068 301.311 -2.6 5.4 1.8

Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(5)(6)

334.067 340.324 347.283 0.6 4.0 2.0

Gasoline, unleaded premium(5)

328.788 334.955 340.359 2.0 3.5 1.6

Medical care

544.045 542.230 537.090 0.6 -1.3 -0.9

Recreation(4)

125.777 126.628 129.991 8.6 3.4 2.7

Education and communication(4)

140.106 141.514 141.196 0.9 0.8 -0.2

Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)

1,250.647 1,250.880 1,250.880 2.0 0.0 0.0

Other goods and services

442.860 444.674 446.052 5.7 0.7 0.3

Commodity and service group

All items

274.577 276.982 277.978 5.0 1.2 0.4

Commodities

195.550 198.372 198.595 3.5 1.6 0.1

Commodities less food and beverages

142.369 144.951 144.569 0.5 1.5 -0.3

Nondurables less food and beverages

187.466 194.530 195.539 2.5 4.3 0.5

Durables

99.852 99.332 98.103 -1.9 -1.8 -1.2

Services

348.990 350.837 352.635 6.0 1.0 0.5

Special aggregate indexes

All items less medical care

263.236 265.817 267.072 5.4 1.5 0.5

All items less shelter

243.804 246.383 246.954 4.2 1.3 0.2

Commodities less food

147.647 150.367 149.995 0.9 1.6 -0.2

Nondurables

246.604 251.950 253.454 5.5 2.8 0.6

Nondurables less food

194.504 201.579 202.537 3.0 4.1 0.5

Services less rent of shelter(3)

348.647 350.544 351.909 5.3 0.9 0.4

Services less medical care services

333.337 335.343 337.777 6.6 1.3 0.7

Energy

243.786 245.508 244.620 -0.8 0.3 -0.4

All items less energy

280.002 282.485 283.638 5.4 1.3 0.4

All items less food and energy

276.015 278.515 279.499 5.0 1.3 0.4

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: Tuesday, March 14, 2023