According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices for apparel are 765.09% higher in 2026 versus 1914 (a $48,366,512,229.64 difference in value).
Between 1914 and 2026: Apparel experienced an average inflation rate of 1.95% per year. In other words, apparel costing $6,321,703,715 in the year 1914 would cost $54,688,215,944.64 in 2026 for an equivalent purchase. Compared to the overall inflation rate of 3.15% during this same period, inflation for apparel was lower.
Below are calculations of equivalent buying power for Apparel, over time, for $6,321,703,715 beginning in 1914. Each of the amounts below is equivalent in terms of what it could buy at the time:
| Year | USD Value | Inflation Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1914 | $6,321,703,715.00 | - |
| 1915 | $6,342,776,060.72 | 0.33% |
| 1916 | $6,655,349,188.85 | 4.93% |
| 1917 | $7,694,918,244.20 | 15.62% |
| 1918 | $9,693,279,029.67 | 25.97% |
| 1919 | $14,329,195,087.33 | 47.83% |
| 1920 | $18,378,597,522.55 | 28.26% |
| 1921 | $14,701,473,194.99 | -20.01% |
| 1922 | $11,445,795,781.77 | -22.15% |
| 1923 | $11,379,066,687.00 | -0.58% |
| 1924 | $11,329,897,880.33 | -0.43% |
| 1925 | $11,119,174,423.16 | -1.86% |
| 1926 | $10,961,131,830.29 | -1.42% |
| 1927 | $10,746,896,315.50 | -1.95% |
| 1928 | $10,550,221,088.81 | -1.83% |
| 1929 | $10,441,347,302.61 | -1.03% |
| 1930 | $10,307,889,113.07 | -1.28% |
| 1931 | $9,528,212,321.55 | -7.56% |
| 1932 | $8,379,769,479.99 | -12.05% |
| 1933 | $7,810,816,145.64 | -6.79% |
| 1934 | $8,628,167,737.08 | 10.46% |
| 1935 | $8,756,370,120.11 | 1.49% |
| 1936 | $8,853,897,258.62 | 1.11% |
| 1937 | $9,261,295,942.48 | 4.60% |
| 1938 | $9,264,808,000.09 | 0.04% |
| 1939 | $9,113,789,522.46 | -1.63% |
| 1940 | $9,191,054,790.09 | 0.85% |
| 1941 | $9,616,013,762.04 | 4.62% |
| 1942 | $11,252,632,612.70 | 17.02% |
| 1943 | $11,740,808,621.80 | 4.34% |
| 1944 | $12,562,630,104.75 | 7.00% |
| 1945 | $13,208,848,706.73 | 5.14% |
| 1946 | $14,494,261,795.45 | 9.73% |
| 1947 | $16,798,171,593.80 | 15.90% |
| 1948 | $17,915,005,916.79 | 6.65% |
| 1949 | $17,209,082,335.28 | -3.94% |
| 1950 | $16,977,286,532.39 | -1.35% |
| 1951 | $18,512,055,712.09 | 9.04% |
| 1952 | $18,311,868,427.78 | -1.08% |
| 1953 | $18,195,970,526.34 | -0.63% |
| 1954 | $18,129,241,431.57 | -0.37% |
| 1955 | $18,073,048,509.66 | -0.31% |
| 1956 | $18,438,302,502.08 | 2.02% |
| 1957 | $18,754,387,687.83 | 1.71% |
| 1958 | $18,828,140,897.84 | 0.39% |
| 1959 | $18,975,647,317.86 | 0.78% |
| 1960 | $19,260,123,985.03 | 1.50% |
| 1961 | $19,411,142,462.67 | 0.78% |
| 1962 | $19,520,016,248.87 | 0.56% |
| 1963 | $19,758,836,166.99 | 1.22% |
| 1964 | $19,927,414,932.73 | 0.85% |
| 1965 | $20,117,066,044.18 | 0.95% |
| 1966 | $20,657,922,917.57 | 2.69% |
| 1967 | $21,500,816,746.24 | 4.08% |
| 1968 | $22,649,259,587.80 | 5.34% |
| 1969 | $23,952,232,964.61 | 5.75% |
| 1970 | $24,939,121,155.68 | 4.12% |
| 1971 | $25,746,894,408.15 | 3.24% |
| 1972 | $26,280,727,166.30 | 2.07% |
| 1973 | $27,243,030,954.03 | 3.66% |
| 1974 | $29,262,464,085.21 | 7.41% |
| 1975 | $30,565,437,462.03 | 4.45% |
| 1976 | $31,710,368,245.96 | 3.75% |
| 1977 | $33,129,239,524.22 | 4.47% |
| 1978 | $34,291,730,596.26 | 3.51% |
| 1979 | $35,794,891,257.38 | 4.38% |
| 1980 | $38,327,084,801.00 | 7.07% |
| 1981 | $40,153,354,763.11 | 4.76% |
| 1982 | $41,206,972,048.94 | 2.62% |
| 1983 | $42,225,468,758.58 | 2.47% |
| 1984 | $43,001,633,492.48 | 1.84% |
| 1985 | $44,262,462,177.86 | 2.93% |
| 1986 | $44,638,252,343.14 | 0.85% |
| 1987 | $46,601,492,552.41 | 4.40% |
| 1988 | $48,624,437,741.21 | 4.34% |
| 1989 | $49,976,579,924.69 | 2.78% |
| 1990 | $52,294,537,953.53 | 4.64% |
| 1991 | $54,243,729,932.32 | 3.73% |
| 1992 | $55,578,311,827.71 | 2.46% |
| 1993 | $56,329,892,158.27 | 1.35% |
| 1994 | $56,221,018,372.07 | -0.19% |
| 1995 | $55,613,432,403.90 | -1.08% |
| 1996 | $55,504,558,617.70 | -0.20% |
| 1997 | $55,989,222,569.18 | 0.87% |
| 1998 | $56,062,975,779.19 | 0.13% |
| 1999 | $55,332,467,794.35 | -1.30% |
| 2000 | $54,608,983,924.74 | -1.31% |
| 2001 | $53,636,143,964.16 | -1.78% |
| 2002 | $52,269,953,550.19 | -2.55% |
| 2003 | $50,942,395,770.04 | -2.54% |
| 2004 | $50,756,256,716.21 | -0.37% |
| 2005 | $50,380,466,550.93 | -0.74% |
| 2006 | $50,341,833,917.12 | -0.08% |
| 2007 | $50,151,445,273.57 | -0.38% |
| 2008 | $50,112,953,122.06 | -0.08% |
| 2009 | $50,606,572,820.47 | 0.99% |
| 2010 | $50,364,205,724.15 | -0.48% |
| 2011 | $51,463,163,673.85 | 2.18% |
| 2012 | $53,213,819,035.42 | 3.40% |
| 2013 | $53,697,113,284.43 | 0.91% |
| 2014 | $53,740,487,196.03 | 0.08% |
| 2015 | $53,061,220,131.85 | -1.26% |
| 2016 | $53,121,416,799.45 | 0.11% |
| 2017 | $52,938,789,803.24 | -0.34% |
| 2018 | $52,956,666,176.52 | 0.03% |
| 2019 | $52,281,192,134.57 | -1.28% |
| 2020 | $49,763,889,715.26 | -4.81% |
| 2021 | $50,991,986,023.63 | 2.47% |
| 2022 | $53,557,789,958.67 | 5.03% |
| 2023 | $55,031,976,144.43 | 2.75% |
| 2024 | $55,412,964,154.98 | 0.69% |
| 2025 | $55,620,303,265.72 | 0.37% |
| 2026 | $54,688,215,944.64 | -1.68%* |
* Not final. See inflation summary for latest details.
** Extended periods of 0% inflation usually indicate incomplete underlying data. This can manifest as a sharp increase in inflation later on.
Raw Consumer Price Index data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics for Apparel:
| Year | 1914 | 1915 | 1916 | 1917 | 1918 | 1919 | 1920 | 1921 | 1922 | 1923 | 1924 | 1925 | 1926 | 1927 | 1928 | 1929 | 1930 | 1931 | 1932 | 1933 | 1934 | 1935 | 1936 | 1937 | 1938 | 1939 | 1940 | 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 | 1945 | 1946 | 1947 | 1948 | 1949 | 1950 | 1951 | 1952 | 1953 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
| CPI | 15.000 | 15.050 | 15.792 | 18.258 | 23.000 | 34.000 | 43.608 | 34.883 | 27.158 | 27.000 | 26.883 | 26.383 | 26.008 | 25.500 | 25.033 | 24.775 | 24.458 | 22.608 | 19.883 | 18.533 | 20.473 | 20.777 | 21.008 | 21.975 | 21.983 | 21.625 | 21.808 | 22.817 | 26.700 | 27.858 | 29.808 | 31.342 | 34.392 | 39.858 | 42.508 | 40.833 | 40.283 | 43.925 | 43.450 | 43.175 | 43.017 | 42.883 | 43.750 | 44.500 | 44.675 | 45.025 | 45.700 | 46.058 | 46.317 | 46.883 | 47.283 | 47.733 | 49.017 | 51.017 | 53.742 | 56.833 | 59.175 | 61.092 | 62.358 | 64.642 | 69.433 | 72.525 | 75.242 | 78.608 | 81.367 | 84.933 | 90.942 | 95.275 | 97.775 | 100.192 | 102.033 | 105.025 | 105.917 | 110.575 | 115.375 | 118.583 | 124.083 | 128.708 | 131.875 | 133.658 | 133.400 | 131.958 | 131.700 | 132.850 | 133.025 | 131.292 | 129.575 | 127.267 | 124.025 | 120.875 | 120.433 | 119.542 | 119.450 | 118.998 | 118.907 | 120.078 | 119.503 | 122.111 | 126.265 | 127.411 | 127.514 | 125.902 | 126.045 | 125.612 | 125.654 | 124.052 | 118.079 | 120.993 | 127.081 | 130.579 | 131.483 | 131.975 | 129.763 |