Consumer Price Index, Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area – February 2026

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area advanced 0.7 percent in February, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Michael Hirniak noted that food prices were up 1.0 percent while prices for energy were up 4.9 percent in February. The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.4 percent. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

The Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area all items CPI-U increased 2.0 percent for the 12 months ending in February. The index for all items less food and energy rose 1.8 percent over the year. Food prices rose 3.2 percent. Energy prices increased 2.4 percent.

Food

Food prices advanced 1.0 percent for the month of February. Prices for food at home (grocery store purchases) advanced 1.3 percent, with higher prices in all six major grocery store food groups. The food away from home index (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) increased 0.5 percent for the same period.

Food prices rose 3.2 percent over the year. Prices for food at home advanced 1.1 percent, and prices for food away from home rose 6.6 percent. Grocery food categories increasing over the year included nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials (+6.5 percent) and meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (+1.7 percent). The indexes for other food at home (-1.2 percent) and fruits and vegetables (-0.6 percent) were lower over the year.

Energy

The energy index rose 4.9 percent over the month. Gasoline prices were up 3.0 percent.

Energy prices rose 2.4 percent over the year. From February 2025 to February 2026 the gasoline index declined 6.6 percent.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.4 percent in February. Among the index's components, prices were higher for apparel (+3.3 percent), public transportation, and shelter (+0.3 percent). In contrast, prices were lower for education and communication (-0.5 percent) and medical care (-0.5 percent).

The index for all items less food and energy rose 1.8 percent over the year. Components contributing to the increase included owners' equivalent rent of residences (+4.2 percent), public transportation, and rent of primary residence (+4.7 percent). In contrast, prices were lower for education and communication (-4.4 percent) and used cars and trucks (-2.5 percent).

The Chicago-Naperville-Elgin Consumer Price Index for March 2026 is scheduled to be released on Friday, April 10, 2026, at 7:30 a.m. (CT).

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 February 2026, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Expenditure category	Indexes				Percent change from:
	Historical data	Dec. 2025	Jan. 2026	Feb. 2026	Feb. 2025	Dec. 2025	Jan. 2026
All items		301.159	302.224	304.489	2.0	1.1	0.7
All items (1967=100)		899.737	902.919	909.685	-	-	-
Food and beverages		329.063	332.761	335.931	3.0	2.1	1.0
Food		329.825	333.423	336.796	3.2	2.1	1.0
Food at home		298.345	301.681	305.741	1.1	2.5	1.3
Cereals and bakery products		352.915	349.333	349.975	2.6	-0.8	0.2
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		332.264	334.754	341.940	1.7	2.9	2.1
Dairy and related products		248.128	261.514	263.034	-0.9	6.0	0.6
Fruits and vegetables		344.125	348.387	352.083	-0.6	2.3	1.1
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		263.099	267.248	279.291	6.5	6.2	4.5
Other food at home		242.540	244.218	244.599	-1.2	0.8	0.2
Food away from home		368.880	372.758	374.724	6.6	1.6	0.5
Alcoholic beverages		315.329	320.285	320.777	0.0	1.7	0.2
Housing		332.697	331.214	333.769	4.1	0.3	0.8
Shelter		425.780	425.251	426.458	4.0	0.2	0.3
Rent of primary residence		456.573	458.680	459.197	4.7	0.6	0.1
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)		441.797	442.504	443.806	4.2	0.5	0.3
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)		441.797	442.504	443.806	4.2	0.5	0.3
Household furnishings and operations		105.264	105.547	106.703	1.1	1.4	1.1
Apparel		91.494	96.479	99.626	4.9	8.9	3.3
Transportation		235.247	233.772	235.658	-3.3	0.2	0.8
Private transportation		236.168	232.981	232.996	-5.7	-1.3	0.0
New and used motor vehicles(3)		117.254	116.646	116.595	-0.9	-0.6	0.0
New vehicles(1)		214.428	215.023	215.570	0.7	0.5	0.3
Used cars and trucks(1)		358.993	348.102	344.684	-2.5	-4.0	-1.0
Motor fuel		271.177	260.536	268.398	-6.5	-1.0	3.0
Gasoline (all types)		269.185	258.614	266.414	-6.6	-1.0	3.0
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)		257.623	247.179	254.910	-6.8	-1.1	3.1
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		314.157	303.504	310.393	-5.3	-1.2	2.3
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)		313.725	304.902	311.232	-4.0	-0.8	2.1
Medical care		573.230	577.658	574.846	0.7	0.3	-0.5
Recreation(3)		141.355	141.670	143.781	3.3	1.7	1.5
Education and communication(3)		135.002	139.418	138.674	-4.4	2.7	-0.5
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)		1,245.588	1,274.680	1,274.680	-4.4	2.3	0.0
Other goods and services		537.810	530.342	534.319	3.7	-0.6	0.7
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 February 2026, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Special aggregate index	Indexes				Percent change from:
	Historical data	Dec. 2025	Jan. 2026	Feb. 2026	Feb. 2025	Dec. 2025	Jan. 2026
All items		301.159	302.224	304.489	2.0	1.1	0.7
Food		329.825	333.423	336.796	3.2	2.1	1.0
Energy		247.225	235.523	246.979	2.4	-0.1	4.9
All items less food and energy		305.724	307.455	308.779	1.8	1.0	0.4
All items less energy		308.718	310.723	312.348	2.0	1.2	0.5
All items less medical care		289.856	290.781	293.258	2.1	1.2	0.9
All items less shelter		259.033	260.586	263.159	1.0	1.6	1.0
Commodities		200.240	202.088	204.016	1.5	1.9	1.0
Commodities less food		146.565	147.746	149.096	0.4	1.7	0.9
Commodities less food & beverages		140.838	141.914	143.270	0.4	1.7	1.0
Durables		93.229	93.510	93.500	0.0	0.3	0.0
Nondurables		259.472	262.430	265.811	2.0	2.4	1.3
Nondurables less food		200.010	202.413	205.716	0.7	2.9	1.6
Nondurables less food & beverages		192.265	194.503	197.968	0.8	3.0	1.8
Services		397.175	397.285	399.792	2.3	0.7	0.6
Services less rent of shelter(1)		387.074	387.840	391.798	0.6	1.2	1.0
Services less medical care services		382.643	382.371	385.201	2.4	0.7	0.7
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.