Consumer Price Index, Chicago-Naperville-Elgin — March 2026

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area advanced 0.7 percent in March, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Michael Hirniak noted that the energy index rose 8.5 percent due to higher gasoline prices. The food index increased 1.0 percent. The index for all items less food and energy was up 0.1 percent in March. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, monthly changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

The Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area all items CPI-U increased 2.3 percent for the 12 months ending in March. The energy index rose 8.1 percent and food prices were up 3.6 percent over the year. The index for all items less food and energy advanced 1.6 percent on an annual basis.

Food

Food prices advanced 1.0 percent for the month of March. Prices for food at home (grocery store purchases) were up 0.8 percent, with higher prices in two of the six major grocery store food groups. The food away from home index (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) increased 1.1 percent for the same period.

Food prices increased 3.6 percent over the year. Prices for food at home increased 1.4 percent as five of the six major grocery store food group indexes rose over the year. Grocery store index increases ranged from 3.9 percent for cereals and bakery products to 0.5 percent for dairy and related products. The index for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs declined 0.2 percent over the year. Prices for food away from home rose 7.2 percent.

Energy

The energy index advanced 8.5 percent over the month. Gasoline prices increased 26.4 percent from February to March.

Energy prices rose 8.1 percent over the year. From March 2025 to March 2026 gasoline prices were up 15.3 percent.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 0.1 percent in March. Among the index's components, prices were higher for shelter (+0.5 percent), but lower for medical care (-1.5 percent) and apparel (-2.4 percent).

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 1.6 percent over the year. Components contributing to the increase included owners' equivalent rent of residences (+4.1 percent), rent of primary residence (+4.7 percent), public transportation, and recreation (+3.0 percent). In contrast, prices were lower for education and communication (-3.8 percent) and medical care (-1.2 percent).

The April 2026 Consumer Price Index for the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, May 12, 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 Chicago 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. Each local index has a much smaller sample size than the national or regional indexes and is, therefore, subject to substantially more sampling and other measurement error. As a result, local-area indexes are more volatile than the national or regional indexes. In addition, local indexes are not adjusted for seasonal influences. 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 includes 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.

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. Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI, CPI-U by expenditure category for March 2026, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Expenditure category	Indexes				Percent change from:
	Historical data	Jan. 2026	Feb. 2026	Mar. 2026	Mar. 2025	Jan. 2026	Feb. 2026
All items		302.224	304.489	306.592	2.3	1.4	0.7
All items (1967=100)		902.919	909.685	915.969	-	-	-
Food and beverages		332.761	335.931	338.889	3.3	1.8	0.9
Food		333.423	336.796	340.000	3.6	2.0	1.0
Food at home		301.681	305.741	308.272	1.4	2.2	0.8
Cereals and bakery products		349.333	349.975	349.756	3.9	0.1	-0.1
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		334.754	341.940	340.773	-0.2	1.8	-0.3
Dairy and related products		261.514	263.034	262.743	0.5	0.5	-0.1
Fruits and vegetables		348.387	352.083	355.834	2.1	2.1	1.1
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		267.248	279.291	276.543	2.2	3.5	-1.0
Other food at home		244.218	244.599	253.040	0.6	3.6	3.5
Food away from home		372.758	374.724	378.963	7.2	1.7	1.1
Alcoholic beverages		320.285	320.777	320.524	-0.9	0.1	-0.1
Housing		331.214	333.769	333.601	3.4	0.7	-0.1
Shelter		425.251	426.458	428.799	4.0	0.8	0.5
Rent of primary residence		458.680	459.197	460.749	4.7	0.5	0.3
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)		442.504	443.806	445.246	4.1	0.6	0.3
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)		442.504	443.806	445.246	4.1	0.6	0.3
Household furnishings and operations		105.547	106.703	107.099	2.5	1.5	0.4
Apparel		96.479	99.626	97.199	0.7	0.7	-2.4
Transportation		233.772	235.658	248.438	1.8	6.3	5.4
Private transportation		232.981	232.996	248.356	0.5	6.6	6.6
New and used motor vehicles(3)		116.646	116.595	116.937	-0.5	0.2	0.3
New vehicles(1)		215.023	215.570	215.346	0.5	0.2	-0.1
Used cars and trucks(1)		348.102	344.684	345.687	-2.5	-0.7	0.3
Motor fuel		260.536	268.398	339.158	15.5	30.2	26.4
Gasoline (all types)		258.614	266.414	336.711	15.3	30.2	26.4
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)		247.179	254.910	324.378	15.7	31.2	27.3
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		303.504	310.393	377.578	13.1	24.4	21.6
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)		304.902	311.232	370.973	12.4	21.7	19.2
Medical care		577.658	574.846	566.017	-1.2	-2.0	-1.5
Recreation(3)		141.670	143.781	143.734	3.0	1.5	0.0
Education and communication(3)		139.418	138.674	139.124	-3.8	-0.2	0.3
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)		1,274.680	1,274.680	1,273.071	-4.6	-0.1	-0.1
Other goods and services		530.342	534.319	527.891	1.7	-0.5	-1.2
Footnotes (1) Indexes on a December 1977=100 base. (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.
- Data not available. NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.

Table 2. Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI, CPI-U by special aggregate index for March 2026, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Special aggregate index	Indexes				Percent change from:
	Historical data	Jan. 2026	Feb. 2026	Mar. 2026	Mar. 2025	Jan. 2026	Feb. 2026
All items		302.224	304.489	306.592	2.3	1.4	0.7
Food		333.423	336.796	340.000	3.6	2.0	1.0
Energy		235.523	246.979	267.863	8.1	13.7	8.5
All items less food and energy		307.455	308.779	309.120	1.6	0.5	0.1
All items less energy		310.723	312.348	313.113	1.9	0.8	0.2
All items less medical care		290.781	293.258	295.816	2.6	1.7	0.9
All items less shelter		260.586	263.159	265.166	1.4	1.8	0.8
Commodities		202.088	204.016	208.036	3.0	2.9	2.0
Commodities less food		147.746	149.096	153.098	2.6	3.6	2.7
Commodities less food & beverages		141.914	143.270	147.330	2.7	3.8	2.8
Durables		93.510	93.500	93.967	0.7	0.5	0.5
Nondurables		262.430	265.811	272.387	3.8	3.8	2.5
Nondurables less food		202.413	205.716	214.676	4.0	6.1	4.4
Nondurables less food & beverages		194.503	197.968	207.467	4.6	6.7	4.8
Services		397.285	399.792	399.586	1.8	0.6	-0.1
Services less rent of shelter(1)		387.840	391.798	388.944	-0.4	0.3	-0.7
Services less medical care services		382.371	385.201	385.553	2.1	0.8	0.1
Footnotes (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.