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

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area advanced 0.9 percent in April, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Michael Hirniak noted that the energy index rose 10.6 percent due to higher gasoline prices. The food index increased 0.2 percent. The index for all items less food and energy was up 0.3 percent in April. (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 advanced 3.1 percent for the 12 months ending in April. The energy index rose 14.2 percent and food prices increased 3.5 percent. The index for all items less food and energy increased 2.2 percent over the year.

Food

Food prices advanced 0.2 percent for the month of April. Prices for food at home (grocery store purchases) advanced 0.4 percent, with higher prices in four of the six major grocery store food groups. Prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) were unchanged for the same period.

Food prices increased 3.5 percent over the year. Prices for food at home increased 2.2 percent as four of the six major grocery store food group indexes rose over the year. Grocery store index increases ranged from 5.8 percent for fruits and vegetables to 2.0 percent for nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials. The index for other food at home declined 0.8 percent over the year. Prices for food away from home increased 5.8 percent.

Energy

The energy index rose 10.6 percent over the month. Gasoline prices increased 13.7 percent from March to April.

Energy prices rose 14.2 percent over the year. From April 2025 to April 2026 gasoline prices were up 26.8 percent.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.3 percent in April. Among the index's components, prices were higher for lodging away from home and public transportation. In contrast, prices were lower for education and communication (-0.5 percent) and household furnishings and operations (-0.6 percent).

The index for all items less food and energy increased 2.2 percent over the year. Components contributing to the increase included owners' equivalent rent of residences (+4.0 percent) and public transportation. In contrast, prices were lower for education and communication (-3.2 percent) and medical care (-1.4 percent).

The May 2026 Consumer Price Index for the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, June 10, 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 April 2026, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Expenditure category	Indexes				Percent change from:
	Historical data	Feb. 2026	Mar. 2026	Apr. 2026	Apr. 2025	Feb. 2026	Mar. 2026
All items		304.489	306.592	309.364	3.1	1.6	0.9
All items (1967=100)		909.685	915.969	924.251	-	-	-
Food and beverages		335.931	338.889	339.855	3.3	1.2	0.3
Food		336.796	340.000	340.839	3.5	1.2	0.2
Food at home		305.741	308.272	309.611	2.2	1.3	0.4
Cereals and bakery products		349.975	349.756	353.368	3.2	1.0	1.0
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		341.940	340.773	345.738	4.2	1.1	1.5
Dairy and related products		263.034	262.743	258.651	-2.6	-1.7	-1.6
Fruits and vegetables		352.083	355.834	368.502	5.8	4.7	3.6
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		279.291	276.543	279.176	2.0	0.0	1.0
Other food at home		244.599	253.040	247.598	-0.8	1.2	-2.2
Food away from home		374.724	378.963	378.866	5.8	1.1	0.0
Alcoholic beverages		320.777	320.524	323.112	-0.2	0.7	0.8
Housing		333.769	333.601	336.871	4.0	0.9	1.0
Shelter		426.458	428.799	432.065	4.7	1.3	0.8
Rent of primary residence		459.197	460.749	464.262	5.2	1.1	0.8
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)		443.806	445.246	446.463	4.0	0.6	0.3
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)		443.806	445.246	446.463	4.0	0.6	0.3
Household furnishings and operations		106.703	107.099	106.480	1.9	-0.2	-0.6
Apparel		99.626	97.199	97.156	6.0	-2.5	0.0
Transportation		235.658	248.438	256.411	5.0	8.8	3.2
Private transportation		232.996	248.356	255.775	3.4	9.8	3.0
New and used motor vehicles(3)		116.595	116.937	117.346	-0.5	0.6	0.3
New vehicles(1)		215.570	215.346	215.727	0.3	0.1	0.2
Used cars and trucks(1)		344.684	345.687	349.147	-2.1	1.3	1.0
Motor fuel		268.398	339.158	385.562	27.0	43.7	13.7
Gasoline (all types)		266.414	336.711	382.805	26.8	43.7	13.7
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)		254.910	324.378	369.725	27.4	45.0	14.0
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		310.393	377.578	425.249	23.8	37.0	12.6
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)		311.232	370.973	412.403	21.8	32.5	11.2
Medical care		574.846	566.017	565.150	-1.4	-1.7	-0.2
Recreation(3)		143.781	143.734	143.900	3.4	0.1	0.1
Education and communication(3)		138.674	139.124	138.426	-3.2	-0.2	-0.5
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(6)		95.503	95.383	95.383	-4.2	-0.1	0.0
Other goods and services		534.319	527.891	528.548	-0.2	-1.1	0.1
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. (6) Indexes on a December 2024=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 April 2026, not seasonally adjusted (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Special aggregate index	Indexes				Percent change from:
	Historical data	Feb. 2026	Mar. 2026	Apr. 2026	Apr. 2025	Feb. 2026	Mar. 2026
All items		304.489	306.592	309.364	3.1	1.6	0.9
Food		336.796	340.000	340.839	3.5	1.2	0.2
Energy		246.979	267.863	296.249	14.2	19.9	10.6
All items less food and energy		308.779	309.120	310.086	2.2	0.4	0.3
All items less energy		312.348	313.113	314.059	2.5	0.5	0.3
All items less medical care		293.258	295.816	298.740	3.5	1.9	1.0
All items less shelter		263.159	265.166	267.755	2.3	1.7	1.0
Commodities		204.016	208.036	210.354	4.3	3.1	1.1
Commodities less food		149.096	153.098	155.718	4.8	4.4	1.7
Commodities less food & beverages		143.270	147.330	149.921	5.1	4.6	1.8
Durables		93.500	93.967	93.285	-0.7	-0.2	-0.7
Nondurables		265.811	272.387	277.102	6.0	4.2	1.7
Nondurables less food		205.716	214.676	222.201	9.2	8.0	3.5
Nondurables less food & beverages		197.968	207.467	215.271	10.1	8.7	3.8
Services		399.792	399.586	402.702	2.4	0.7	0.8
Services less rent of shelter(1)		391.798	388.944	392.037	0.1	0.1	0.8
Services less medical care services		385.201	385.553	389.008	2.9	1.0	0.9
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.