According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices for apparel are 205.92% higher in 2026 versus 1920 (a $226,516,759,029.24 difference in value).
Between 1920 and 2026:Apparel experienced an average inflation rate of 1.06% per year. In other words, apparel costing $110,000,000,000 in the year 1920 would cost $336,516,759,029.24 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 $110,000,000,000 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 | $110,000,000,000.00 | 28.26% |
| 1921 | $87,991,591,821.14 | -20.01% |
| 1922 | $68,505,637,301.74 | -22.15% |
| 1923 | $68,106,248,805.66 | -0.58% |
| 1924 | $67,811,962,545.39 | -0.43% |
| 1925 | $66,550,735,715.65 | -1.86% |
| 1926 | $65,604,815,593.35 | -1.42% |
| 1927 | $64,322,568,316.45 | -1.95% |
| 1928 | $63,145,423,275.37 | -1.83% |
| 1929 | $62,493,789,413.34 | -1.03% |
| 1930 | $61,695,012,421.17 | -1.28% |
| 1931 | $57,028,473,151.16 | -7.56% |
| 1932 | $50,154,786,929.10 | -12.05% |
| 1933 | $46,749,474,488.82 | -6.79% |
| 1934 | $51,641,505,828.40 | 10.46% |
| 1935 | $52,408,825,647.89 | 1.49% |
| 1936 | $52,992,547,296.01 | 1.11% |
| 1937 | $55,430,919,166.83 | 4.60% |
| 1938 | $55,451,939,613.99 | 0.04% |
| 1939 | $54,548,060,386.01 | -1.63% |
| 1940 | $55,010,510,223.58 | 0.85% |
| 1941 | $57,553,984,330.21 | 4.62% |
| 1942 | $67,349,512,707.82 | 17.02% |
| 1943 | $70,271,354,863.37 | 4.34% |
| 1944 | $75,190,139,499.33 | 7.00% |
| 1945 | $79,057,901,777.18 | 5.14% |
| 1946 | $86,751,385,438.56 | 9.73% |
| 1947 | $100,540,798,776.99 | 15.90% |
| 1948 | $107,225,300,974.58 | 6.65% |
| 1949 | $103,000,191,094.97 | -3.94% |
| 1950 | $101,612,841,582.27 | -1.35% |
| 1951 | $110,798,776,992.17 | 9.04% |
| 1952 | $109,600,611,503.92 | -1.08% |
| 1953 | $108,906,936,747.56 | -0.63% |
| 1954 | $108,507,548,251.48 | -0.37% |
| 1955 | $108,171,221,096.89 | -0.31% |
| 1956 | $110,357,347,601.76 | 2.02% |
| 1957 | $112,249,187,846.36 | 1.71% |
| 1958 | $112,690,617,236.77 | 0.39% |
| 1959 | $113,573,476,017.58 | 0.78% |
| 1960 | $115,276,132,237.72 | 1.50% |
| 1961 | $116,180,011,465.70 | 0.78% |
| 1962 | $116,831,645,327.73 | 0.56% |
| 1963 | $118,261,035,734.76 | 1.22% |
| 1964 | $119,270,017,198.55 | 0.85% |
| 1965 | $120,405,121,345.31 | 0.95% |
| 1966 | $123,642,270,208.29 | 2.69% |
| 1967 | $128,687,177,527.23 | 4.08% |
| 1968 | $135,560,863,749.28 | 5.34% |
| 1969 | $143,359,449,646.47 | 5.75% |
| 1970 | $149,266,195,299.06 | 4.12% |
| 1971 | $154,100,898,146.38 | 3.24% |
| 1972 | $157,296,006,115.04 | 2.07% |
| 1973 | $163,055,608,637.49 | 3.66% |
| 1974 | $175,142,365,755.78 | 7.41% |
| 1975 | $182,940,951,652.97 | 4.45% |
| 1976 | $189,793,617,427.86 | 3.75% |
| 1977 | $198,285,878,081.41 | 4.47% |
| 1978 | $205,243,646,092.11 | 3.51% |
| 1979 | $214,240,397,477.55 | 4.38% |
| 1980 | $229,396,139,881.52 | 7.07% |
| 1981 | $240,326,772,405.89 | 4.76% |
| 1982 | $246,632,906,554.56 | 2.62% |
| 1983 | $252,728,836,231.61 | 2.47% |
| 1984 | $257,374,355,054.46 | 1.84% |
| 1985 | $264,920,695,585.71 | 2.93% |
| 1986 | $267,169,883,432.07 | 0.85% |
| 1987 | $278,920,313,395.76 | 4.40% |
| 1988 | $291,028,090,961.21 | 4.34% |
| 1989 | $299,120,963,118.67 | 2.78% |
| 1990 | $312,994,458,245.75 | 4.64% |
| 1991 | $324,660,806,420.79 | 3.73% |
| 1992 | $332,648,576,342.44 | 2.46% |
| 1993 | $337,146,952,035.16 | 1.35% |
| 1994 | $336,495,318,173.13 | -0.19% |
| 1995 | $332,858,780,814.06 | -1.08% |
| 1996 | $332,207,146,952.04 | -0.20% |
| 1997 | $335,107,968,660.42 | 0.87% |
| 1998 | $335,549,398,050.83 | 0.13% |
| 1999 | $331,177,145,041.09 | -1.30% |
| 2000 | $326,846,932,925.66 | -1.31% |
| 2001 | $321,024,269,061.72 | -1.78% |
| 2002 | $312,847,315,115.61 | -2.55% |
| 2003 | $304,901,586,088.29 | -2.54% |
| 2004 | $303,787,502,388.69 | -0.37% |
| 2005 | $301,538,314,542.33 | -0.74% |
| 2006 | $301,307,089,623.54 | -0.08% |
| 2007 | $300,167,571,182.88 | -0.38% |
| 2008 | $299,937,187,081.98 | -0.08% |
| 2009 | $302,891,610,930.63 | 0.99% |
| 2010 | $301,440,989,871.97 | -0.48% |
| 2011 | $308,018,497,993.50 | 2.18% |
| 2012 | $318,496,560,290.46 | 3.40% |
| 2013 | $321,389,184,024.46 | 0.91% |
| 2014 | $321,648,786,546.91 | 0.08% |
| 2015 | $317,583,221,861.27 | -1.26% |
| 2016 | $317,943,512,325.63 | 0.11% |
| 2017 | $316,850,449,073.19 | -0.34% |
| 2018 | $316,957,443,149.25 | 0.03% |
| 2019 | $312,914,580,546.53 | -1.28% |
| 2020 | $297,847,964,838.52 | -4.81% |
| 2021 | $305,198,394,802.22 | 2.47% |
| 2022 | $320,555,302,885.53 | 5.03% |
| 2023 | $329,378,635,581.88 | 2.75% |
| 2024 | $331,658,933,690.04 | 0.69% |
| 2025 | $332,090,063,061.34 | 0.13% |
| 2026 | $336,516,759,029.24 | 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 |