According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices for apparel are 768.34% higher in 2026 versus 1915 (a $14,598,438,538.21 difference in value).
Between 1915 and 2026:Apparel experienced an average inflation rate of 1.97% per year. In other words, apparel costing $1,900,000,000 in the year 1915 would cost $16,498,438,538.21 in 2026 for an equivalent purchase. Compared to the overall inflation rate of 3.18% during this same period, inflation for apparel was lower.
In the year 1915: Pricing changed by 0.33%, which is below the average yearly change for apparel during the 1915-2026 time period. Compared to inflation for all items in 1915 (0.92%), inflation for apparel was lower.
Below are calculations of equivalent buying power for Apparel, over time, for $1,900,000,000 beginning in 1915. Each of the amounts below is equivalent in terms of what it could buy at the time:
| Year | USD Value | Inflation Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1915 | $1,900,000,000.00 | 0.33% |
| 1916 | $1,993,632,336.66 | 4.93% |
| 1917 | $2,305,038,759.69 | 15.62% |
| 1918 | $2,903,654,485.05 | 25.97% |
| 1919 | $4,292,358,803.99 | 47.83% |
| 1920 | $5,505,370,985.60 | 28.26% |
| 1921 | $4,403,875,968.99 | -20.01% |
| 1922 | $3,428,626,799.56 | -22.15% |
| 1923 | $3,408,637,873.75 | -0.58% |
| 1924 | $3,393,909,191.58 | -0.43% |
| 1925 | $3,330,786,268.00 | -1.86% |
| 1926 | $3,283,444,075.30 | -1.42% |
| 1927 | $3,219,269,102.99 | -1.95% |
| 1928 | $3,160,354,374.31 | -1.83% |
| 1929 | $3,127,740,863.79 | -1.03% |
| 1930 | $3,087,763,012.18 | -1.28% |
| 1931 | $2,854,208,194.91 | -7.56% |
| 1932 | $2,510,188,261.35 | -12.05% |
| 1933 | $2,339,756,367.66 | -6.79% |
| 1934 | $2,584,596,798.55 | 10.46% |
| 1935 | $2,623,000,255.56 | 1.49% |
| 1936 | $2,652,214,839.42 | 1.11% |
| 1937 | $2,774,252,491.69 | 4.60% |
| 1938 | $2,775,304,540.42 | 0.04% |
| 1939 | $2,730,066,445.18 | -1.63% |
| 1940 | $2,753,211,517.17 | 0.85% |
| 1941 | $2,880,509,413.07 | 4.62% |
| 1942 | $3,370,764,119.60 | 17.02% |
| 1943 | $3,516,998,892.58 | 4.34% |
| 1944 | $3,763,178,294.57 | 7.00% |
| 1945 | $3,956,755,260.24 | 5.14% |
| 1946 | $4,341,805,094.13 | 9.73% |
| 1947 | $5,031,949,058.69 | 15.90% |
| 1948 | $5,366,500,553.71 | 6.65% |
| 1949 | $5,155,038,759.69 | -3.94% |
| 1950 | $5,085,603,543.74 | -1.35% |
| 1951 | $5,545,348,837.21 | 9.04% |
| 1952 | $5,485,382,059.80 | -1.08% |
| 1953 | $5,450,664,451.83 | -0.63% |
| 1954 | $5,430,675,526.02 | -0.37% |
| 1955 | $5,413,842,746.40 | -0.31% |
| 1956 | $5,523,255,813.95 | 2.02% |
| 1957 | $5,617,940,199.34 | 1.71% |
| 1958 | $5,640,033,222.59 | 0.39% |
| 1959 | $5,684,219,269.10 | 0.78% |
| 1960 | $5,769,435,215.95 | 1.50% |
| 1961 | $5,814,673,311.18 | 0.78% |
| 1962 | $5,847,286,821.71 | 0.56% |
| 1963 | $5,918,826,135.11 | 1.22% |
| 1964 | $5,969,324,473.98 | 0.85% |
| 1965 | $6,026,135,105.20 | 0.95% |
| 1966 | $6,188,150,609.08 | 2.69% |
| 1967 | $6,440,642,303.43 | 4.08% |
| 1968 | $6,784,662,236.99 | 5.34% |
| 1969 | $7,174,972,314.51 | 5.75% |
| 1970 | $7,470,598,006.64 | 4.12% |
| 1971 | $7,712,569,213.73 | 3.24% |
| 1972 | $7,872,480,620.16 | 2.07% |
| 1973 | $8,160,741,971.21 | 3.66% |
| 1974 | $8,765,669,988.93 | 7.41% |
| 1975 | $9,155,980,066.45 | 4.45% |
| 1976 | $9,498,947,951.27 | 3.75% |
| 1977 | $9,923,975,636.77 | 4.47% |
| 1978 | $10,272,203,765.23 | 3.51% |
| 1979 | $10,722,480,620.16 | 4.38% |
| 1980 | $11,481,007,751.94 | 7.07% |
| 1981 | $12,028,073,089.70 | 4.76% |
| 1982 | $12,343,687,707.64 | 2.62% |
| 1983 | $12,648,781,838.32 | 2.47% |
| 1984 | $12,881,284,606.87 | 1.84% |
| 1985 | $13,258,970,099.67 | 2.93% |
| 1986 | $13,371,539,313.40 | 0.85% |
| 1987 | $13,959,634,551.50 | 4.40% |
| 1988 | $14,565,614,617.94 | 4.34% |
| 1989 | $14,970,653,377.63 | 2.78% |
| 1990 | $15,665,005,537.10 | 4.64% |
| 1991 | $16,248,892,580.29 | 3.73% |
| 1992 | $16,648,671,096.35 | 2.46% |
| 1993 | $16,873,809,523.81 | 1.35% |
| 1994 | $16,841,196,013.29 | -0.19% |
| 1995 | $16,659,191,583.61 | -1.08% |
| 1996 | $16,626,578,073.09 | -0.20% |
| 1997 | $16,771,760,797.34 | 0.87% |
| 1998 | $16,793,853,820.60 | 0.13% |
| 1999 | $16,575,027,685.49 | -1.30% |
| 2000 | $16,358,305,647.84 | -1.31% |
| 2001 | $16,066,888,150.61 | -1.78% |
| 2002 | $15,657,641,196.01 | -2.55% |
| 2003 | $15,259,966,777.41 | -2.54% |
| 2004 | $15,204,208,194.91 | -0.37% |
| 2005 | $15,091,638,981.17 | -0.74% |
| 2006 | $15,080,066,445.18 | -0.08% |
| 2007 | $15,023,034,883.72 | -0.38% |
| 2008 | $15,011,504,429.68 | -0.08% |
| 2009 | $15,159,369,878.18 | 0.99% |
| 2010 | $15,086,767,995.57 | -0.48% |
| 2011 | $15,415,964,562.57 | 2.18% |
| 2012 | $15,940,379,291.25 | 3.40% |
| 2013 | $16,085,151,716.50 | 0.91% |
| 2014 | $16,098,144,518.27 | 0.08% |
| 2015 | $15,894,667,774.09 | -1.26% |
| 2016 | $15,912,699,889.26 | 0.11% |
| 2017 | $15,857,993,355.48 | -0.34% |
| 2018 | $15,863,348,283.50 | 0.03% |
| 2019 | $15,661,007,751.94 | -1.28% |
| 2020 | $14,906,941,306.76 | -4.81% |
| 2021 | $15,274,821,705.43 | 2.47% |
| 2022 | $16,043,416,943.52 | 5.03% |
| 2023 | $16,485,014,396.46 | 2.75% |
| 2024 | $16,599,140,642.30 | 0.69% |
| 2025 | $16,620,718,161.68 | 0.13% |
| 2026 | $16,498,438,538.21 | -0.74%* |
* 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 | 131.654 | 130.685 |