According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices for apparel are 519.76% higher in 2025 versus 1917 (a $36,383,077,830.19 difference in value).
Between 1917 and 2025: Apparel experienced an average inflation rate of 1.70% per year. In other words, apparel costing $7,000,000,000 in the year 1917 would cost $43,383,077,830.19 in 2025 for an equivalent purchase. Compared to the overall inflation rate of 3.03% during this same period, inflation for apparel was lower.
In the year 1917: Pricing changed by 22.19%, which is significantly above the average yearly change for apparel during the 1917-2025 time period. Compared to inflation for all items in 1917 (17.81%), inflation for apparel was much higher.
Below are calculations of equivalent buying power for Apparel, over time, for $7,000,000,000 beginning in 1917. Each of the amounts below is equivalent in terms of what it could buy at the time:
| Year | USD Value | Inflation Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1917 | $7,000,000,000.00 | 22.19% |
| 1918 | $9,757,075,471.70 | 39.39% |
| 1919 | $12,459,119,496.86 | 27.69% |
| 1920 | $14,132,075,471.70 | 13.43% |
| 1921 | $10,442,216,981.13 | -26.11% |
| 1922 | $8,868,867,924.53 | -15.07% |
| 1923 | $8,948,113,207.55 | 0.89% |
| 1924 | $8,835,849,056.60 | -1.25% |
| 1925 | $8,683,962,264.15 | -1.72% |
| 1926 | $8,529,874,213.84 | -1.77% |
| 1927 | $8,342,767,295.60 | -2.19% |
| 1928 | $8,243,710,691.82 | -1.19% |
| 1929 | $8,144,654,088.05 | -1.20% |
| 1930 | $7,946,540,880.50 | -2.43% |
| 1931 | $7,132,075,471.70 | -10.25% |
| 1932 | $6,339,622,641.51 | -11.11% |
| 1933 | $6,295,597,484.28 | -0.69% |
| 1934 | $6,823,899,371.07 | 8.39% |
| 1935 | $6,867,924,528.30 | 0.65% |
| 1936 | $6,944,968,553.46 | 1.12% |
| 1937 | $7,310,377,358.49 | 5.26% |
| 1938 | $7,217,924,528.30 | -1.26% |
| 1939 | $7,138,679,245.28 | -1.10% |
| 1940 | $7,202,830,188.68 | 0.90% |
| 1941 | $7,533,381,712.63 | 4.59% |
| 1942 | $8,816,037,735.85 | 17.03% |
| 1943 | $9,197,024,673.44 | 4.32% |
| 1944 | $9,842,162,554.43 | 7.01% |
| 1945 | $10,350,145,137.88 | 5.16% |
| 1946 | $11,355,950,653.12 | 9.72% |
| 1947 | $13,161,828,737.30 | 15.90% |
| 1948 | $14,035,558,780.84 | 6.64% |
| 1949 | $13,481,857,764.88 | -3.94% |
| 1950 | $13,301,523,947.75 | -1.34% |
| 1951 | $14,502,902,757.62 | 9.03% |
| 1952 | $14,347,968,069.67 | -1.07% |
| 1953 | $14,253,991,291.73 | -0.65% |
| 1954 | $14,205,732,946.30 | -0.34% |
| 1955 | $14,160,014,513.79 | -0.32% |
| 1956 | $14,444,484,760.52 | 2.01% |
| 1957 | $14,693,396,226.42 | 1.72% |
| 1958 | $14,749,274,310.60 | 0.38% |
| 1959 | $14,866,110,304.79 | 0.79% |
| 1960 | $15,089,622,641.51 | 1.50% |
| 1961 | $15,208,998,548.62 | 0.79% |
| 1962 | $15,292,815,674.89 | 0.55% |
| 1963 | $15,480,769,230.77 | 1.23% |
| 1964 | $15,612,844,702.47 | 0.85% |
| 1965 | $15,762,699,564.59 | 0.96% |
| 1966 | $16,184,325,108.85 | 2.67% |
| 1967 | $16,844,702,467.34 | 4.08% |
| 1968 | $17,743,831,640.06 | 5.34% |
| 1969 | $18,764,876,632.80 | 5.75% |
| 1970 | $19,539,550,072.57 | 4.13% |
| 1971 | $20,171,988,388.97 | 3.24% |
| 1972 | $20,588,534,107.40 | 2.06% |
| 1973 | $21,342,888,243.83 | 3.66% |
| 1974 | $22,925,253,991.29 | 7.41% |
| 1975 | $23,946,298,984.03 | 4.45% |
| 1976 | $24,842,888,243.83 | 3.74% |
| 1977 | $25,955,370,101.60 | 4.48% |
| 1978 | $26,867,198,838.90 | 3.51% |
| 1979 | $28,043,178,519.59 | 4.38% |
| 1980 | $30,026,850,507.98 | 7.07% |
| 1981 | $31,459,361,393.32 | 4.77% |
| 1982 | $32,284,833,091.44 | 2.62% |
| 1983 | $33,082,365,747.46 | 2.47% |
| 1984 | $33,691,944,847.61 | 1.84% |
| 1985 | $34,677,431,059.51 | 2.92% |
| 1986 | $34,972,060,957.91 | 0.85% |
| 1987 | $36,511,248,185.78 | 4.40% |
| 1988 | $38,096,153,846.15 | 4.34% |
| 1989 | $39,155,297,532.66 | 2.78% |
| 1990 | $40,971,335,268.51 | 4.64% |
| 1991 | $42,497,822,931.79 | 3.73% |
| 1992 | $43,544,267,053.70 | 2.46% |
| 1993 | $44,133,526,850.51 | 1.35% |
| 1994 | $44,047,169,811.32 | -0.20% |
| 1995 | $43,572,206,095.79 | -1.08% |
| 1996 | $43,485,849,056.60 | -0.20% |
| 1997 | $43,866,835,994.19 | 0.88% |
| 1998 | $43,922,714,078.37 | 0.13% |
| 1999 | $43,351,233,671.99 | -1.30% |
| 2000 | $42,784,833,091.44 | -1.31% |
| 2001 | $42,022,859,216.26 | -1.78% |
| 2002 | $40,951,015,965.17 | -2.55% |
| 2003 | $39,912,191,582.00 | -2.54% |
| 2004 | $39,764,876,632.80 | -0.37% |
| 2005 | $39,470,246,734.40 | -0.74% |
| 2006 | $39,442,307,692.31 | -0.07% |
| 2007 | $39,291,868,650.22 | -0.38% |
| 2008 | $39,261,719,883.89 | -0.08% |
| 2009 | $39,648,447,024.67 | 0.98% |
| 2010 | $39,458,563,134.98 | -0.48% |
| 2011 | $40,319,568,214.80 | 2.18% |
| 2012 | $41,691,146,589.26 | 3.40% |
| 2013 | $42,069,771,407.84 | 0.91% |
| 2014 | $42,103,755,442.67 | 0.08% |
| 2015 | $41,571,592,888.24 | -1.26% |
| 2016 | $41,618,733,671.99 | 0.11% |
| 2017 | $41,475,660,377.36 | -0.34% |
| 2018 | $41,489,655,297.53 | 0.03% |
| 2019 | $40,960,464,441.22 | -1.28% |
| 2020 | $38,988,247,460.09 | -4.81% |
| 2021 | $39,950,417,271.41 | 2.47% |
| 2022 | $41,960,631,349.78 | 5.03% |
| 2023 | $43,115,605,950.65 | 2.75% |
| 2024 | $43,414,096,516.69 | 0.69% |
| 2025 | $43,383,077,830.19 | -0.07%* |
* 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 | 1913 | 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 |
| CPI | 14.900 | 15.000 | 15.450 | 17.350 | 21.200 | 29.550 | 37.733 | 42.800 | 31.625 | 26.860 | 27.100 | 26.760 | 26.300 | 25.833 | 25.267 | 24.967 | 24.667 | 24.067 | 21.600 | 19.200 | 19.067 | 20.667 | 20.800 | 21.033 | 22.140 | 21.860 | 21.620 | 21.814 | 22.815 | 26.700 | 27.854 | 29.808 | 31.346 | 34.392 | 39.862 | 42.508 | 40.831 | 40.285 | 43.923 | 43.454 | 43.169 | 43.023 | 42.885 | 43.746 | 44.500 | 44.669 | 45.023 | 45.700 | 46.062 | 46.315 | 46.885 | 47.285 | 47.738 | 49.015 | 51.015 | 53.738 | 56.831 | 59.177 | 61.092 | 62.354 | 64.638 | 69.431 | 72.523 | 75.238 | 78.608 | 81.369 | 84.931 | 90.938 | 95.277 | 97.777 | 100.192 | 102.038 | 105.023 | 105.915 | 110.577 | 115.377 | 118.585 | 124.085 | 128.708 | 131.877 | 133.662 | 133.400 | 131.962 | 131.700 | 132.854 | 133.023 | 131.292 | 129.577 | 127.269 | 124.023 | 120.877 | 120.431 | 119.538 | 119.454 | 118.998 | 118.907 | 120.078 | 119.503 | 122.111 | 126.265 | 127.411 | 127.514 | 125.903 | 126.045 | 125.612 | 125.654 | 124.052 | 118.079 | 120.993 | 127.081 | 130.579 | 131.483 | 131.389 |