According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices for apparel are 205.92% higher in 2026 versus 1920 (a $205,924,326,390,215,999,488 difference in value).
Between 1920 and 2026:Apparel experienced an average inflation rate of 1.06% per year. In other words, apparel costing $100,000,000,000,000,000,000 in the year 1920 would cost $305,924,326,390,215,999,488 in 2026 for an equivalent purchase. Compared to the overall inflation rate of 2.67% during this same period, inflation for apparel was lower.
In the year 1920: Pricing changed by 28.26%, which is significantly above the average yearly change for apparel during the 1920-2026 time period. Compared to inflation for all items in 1920 (15.63%), inflation for apparel was much higher.
Below are calculations of equivalent buying power for Apparel, over time, for $100,000,000,000,000,000,000 beginning in 1920. Each of the amounts below is equivalent in terms of what it could buy at the time:
| Year | USD Value | Inflation Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1920 | $100,000,000,000,000,000,000.00 | 28.26% |
| 1921 | $79,992,356,201,031,925,760.00 | -20.01% |
| 1922 | $62,277,852,092,489,973,760.00 | -22.15% |
| 1923 | $61,914,771,641,505,841,152.00 | -0.58% |
| 1924 | $61,647,238,677,622,800,384.00 | -0.43% |
| 1925 | $60,500,668,832,409,706,496.00 | -1.86% |
| 1926 | $59,640,741,448,499,904,512.00 | -1.42% |
| 1927 | $58,475,062,105,866,625,024.00 | -1.95% |
| 1928 | $57,404,930,250,334,412,800.00 | -1.83% |
| 1929 | $56,812,535,830,307,676,160.00 | -1.03% |
| 1930 | $56,086,374,928,339,394,560.00 | -1.28% |
| 1931 | $51,844,066,501,051,031,552.00 | -7.56% |
| 1932 | $45,595,260,844,639,805,440.00 | -12.05% |
| 1933 | $42,499,522,262,564,503,552.00 | -6.79% |
| 1934 | $46,946,823,480,360,665,088.00 | 10.46% |
| 1935 | $47,644,386,952,623,153,152.00 | 1.49% |
| 1936 | $48,175,042,996,369,203,200.00 | 1.11% |
| 1937 | $50,391,744,697,114,476,544.00 | 4.60% |
| 1938 | $50,410,854,194,534,703,104.00 | 0.04% |
| 1939 | $49,589,145,805,465,321,472.00 | -1.63% |
| 1940 | $50,009,554,748,710,125,568.00 | 0.85% |
| 1941 | $52,321,803,936,556,482,560.00 | 4.62% |
| 1942 | $61,226,829,734,377,996,288.00 | 17.02% |
| 1943 | $63,883,049,875,788,275,712.00 | 4.34% |
| 1944 | $68,354,672,272,119,250,944.00 | 7.00% |
| 1945 | $71,870,819,797,439,340,544.00 | 5.14% |
| 1946 | $78,864,895,853,239,058,432.00 | 9.73% |
| 1947 | $91,400,726,160,901,980,160.00 | 15.90% |
| 1948 | $97,477,546,340,531,257,344.00 | 6.65% |
| 1949 | $93,636,537,359,067,480,064.00 | -3.94% |
| 1950 | $92,375,310,529,333,100,544.00 | -1.35% |
| 1951 | $100,726,160,901,968,297,984.00 | 9.04% |
| 1952 | $99,636,919,549,015,867,392.00 | -1.08% |
| 1953 | $99,006,306,134,148,710,400.00 | -0.63% |
| 1954 | $98,643,225,683,164,561,408.00 | -0.37% |
| 1955 | $98,337,473,724,441,034,752.00 | -0.31% |
| 1956 | $100,324,861,456,143,745,024.00 | 2.02% |
| 1957 | $102,044,716,223,963,316,224.00 | 1.71% |
| 1958 | $102,446,015,669,787,934,720.00 | 0.39% |
| 1959 | $103,248,614,561,437,040,640.00 | 0.78% |
| 1960 | $104,796,483,852,474,679,296.00 | 1.50% |
| 1961 | $105,618,192,241,544,052,736.00 | 0.78% |
| 1962 | $106,210,586,661,570,789,376.00 | 0.56% |
| 1963 | $107,510,032,486,145,622,016.00 | 1.22% |
| 1964 | $108,427,288,362,316,087,296.00 | 0.85% |
| 1965 | $109,459,201,223,007,862,784.00 | 0.95% |
| 1966 | $112,402,063,825,721,409,536.00 | 2.69% |
| 1967 | $116,988,343,206,573,703,168.00 | 4.08% |
| 1968 | $123,237,148,862,984,929,280.00 | 5.34% |
| 1969 | $130,326,772,405,885,747,200.00 | 5.75% |
| 1970 | $135,696,541,180,966,977,536.00 | 4.12% |
| 1971 | $140,091,725,587,617,054,720.00 | 3.24% |
| 1972 | $142,996,369,195,490,148,352.00 | 2.07% |
| 1973 | $148,232,371,488,629,882,880.00 | 3.66% |
| 1974 | $159,220,332,505,255,149,568.00 | 7.41% |
| 1975 | $166,309,956,048,155,934,720.00 | 4.45% |
| 1976 | $172,539,652,207,146,958,848.00 | 3.75% |
| 1977 | $180,259,889,164,914,982,912.00 | 4.47% |
| 1978 | $186,585,132,811,007,098,880.00 | 3.51% |
| 1979 | $194,763,997,706,860,331,008.00 | 4.38% |
| 1980 | $208,541,945,346,837,381,120.00 | 7.07% |
| 1981 | $218,478,884,005,350,670,336.00 | 4.76% |
| 1982 | $224,211,733,231,416,016,896.00 | 2.62% |
| 1983 | $229,753,487,483,279,179,776.00 | 2.47% |
| 1984 | $233,976,686,413,147,406,336.00 | 1.84% |
| 1985 | $240,836,995,987,005,571,072.00 | 2.93% |
| 1986 | $242,881,712,210,968,903,680.00 | 0.85% |
| 1987 | $253,563,921,268,870,676,480.00 | 4.40% |
| 1988 | $264,570,991,782,916,161,536.00 | 4.34% |
| 1989 | $271,928,148,289,700,003,840.00 | 2.78% |
| 1990 | $284,540,416,587,043,799,040.00 | 4.64% |
| 1991 | $295,146,187,655,264,731,136.00 | 3.73% |
| 1992 | $302,407,796,674,947,514,368.00 | 2.46% |
| 1993 | $306,497,229,122,874,114,048.00 | 1.35% |
| 1994 | $305,904,834,702,847,377,408.00 | -0.19% |
| 1995 | $302,598,891,649,149,698,048.00 | -1.08% |
| 1996 | $302,006,497,229,122,961,408.00 | -0.20% |
| 1997 | $304,643,607,873,112,965,120.00 | 0.87% |
| 1998 | $305,044,907,318,937,649,152.00 | 0.13% |
| 1999 | $301,070,131,855,532,228,608.00 | -1.30% |
| 2000 | $297,133,575,386,967,375,872.00 | -1.31% |
| 2001 | $291,840,244,601,566,986,240.00 | -1.78% |
| 2002 | $284,406,650,105,102,237,696.00 | -2.55% |
| 2003 | $277,183,260,080,259,923,968.00 | -2.54% |
| 2004 | $276,170,456,716,988,383,232.00 | -0.37% |
| 2005 | $274,125,740,493,025,050,624.00 | -0.74% |
| 2006 | $273,915,536,021,402,681,344.00 | -0.08% |
| 2007 | $272,879,610,166,252,666,880.00 | -0.38% |
| 2008 | $272,670,170,074,527,105,024.00 | -0.08% |
| 2009 | $275,356,009,936,938,729,472.00 | 0.99% |
| 2010 | $274,037,263,519,969,476,608.00 | -0.48% |
| 2011 | $280,016,816,357,729,796,096.00 | 2.18% |
| 2012 | $289,542,327,536,785,883,136.00 | 3.40% |
| 2013 | $292,171,985,476,781,998,080.00 | 0.91% |
| 2014 | $292,407,987,769,921,667,072.00 | 0.08% |
| 2015 | $288,712,019,873,877,327,872.00 | -1.26% |
| 2016 | $289,039,556,659,659,800,576.00 | 0.11% |
| 2017 | $288,045,862,793,808,576,512.00 | -0.34% |
| 2018 | $288,143,130,135,677,501,440.00 | 0.03% |
| 2019 | $284,467,800,496,846,962,688.00 | -1.28% |
| 2020 | $270,770,877,125,931,597,824.00 | -4.81% |
| 2021 | $277,453,086,183,833,403,392.00 | 2.47% |
| 2022 | $291,413,911,714,121,973,760.00 | 5.03% |
| 2023 | $299,435,123,256,258,396,160.00 | 2.75% |
| 2024 | $301,508,121,536,403,603,456.00 | 0.69% |
| 2025 | $301,900,057,328,492,347,392.00 | 0.13% |
| 2026 | $305,924,326,390,215,999,488.00 | 1.33%* |
* 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 | 133.409 |