According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices for apparel are 205.92% higher in 2026 versus 1920 (a $2,471,091,916,682,592 difference in value).
Between 1920 and 2026:Apparel experienced an average inflation rate of 1.06% per year. In other words, apparel costing $1,200,000,000,000,000 in the year 1920 would cost $3,671,091,916,682,592 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 $1,200,000,000,000,000 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 | $1,200,000,000,000,000.00 | 28.26% |
| 1921 | $959,908,274,412,383.00 | -20.01% |
| 1922 | $747,334,225,109,879.88 | -22.15% |
| 1923 | $742,977,259,698,070.13 | -0.58% |
| 1924 | $739,766,864,131,473.50 | -0.43% |
| 1925 | $726,008,025,988,916.50 | -1.86% |
| 1926 | $715,688,897,381,998.88 | -1.42% |
| 1927 | $701,700,745,270,399.50 | -1.95% |
| 1928 | $688,859,163,004,013.00 | -1.83% |
| 1929 | $681,750,429,963,692.13 | -1.03% |
| 1930 | $673,036,499,140,072.75 | -1.28% |
| 1931 | $622,128,798,012,612.38 | -7.56% |
| 1932 | $547,143,130,135,677.63 | -12.05% |
| 1933 | $509,994,267,150,774.00 | -6.79% |
| 1934 | $563,361,881,764,327.88 | 10.46% |
| 1935 | $571,732,643,431,477.88 | 1.49% |
| 1936 | $578,100,515,956,430.38 | 1.11% |
| 1937 | $604,700,936,365,373.63 | 4.60% |
| 1938 | $604,930,250,334,416.13 | 0.04% |
| 1939 | $595,069,749,665,583.88 | -1.63% |
| 1940 | $600,114,656,984,521.50 | 0.85% |
| 1941 | $627,861,647,238,677.75 | 4.62% |
| 1942 | $734,721,956,812,535.88 | 17.02% |
| 1943 | $766,596,598,509,459.25 | 4.34% |
| 1944 | $820,256,067,265,431.00 | 7.00% |
| 1945 | $862,449,837,569,272.00 | 5.14% |
| 1946 | $946,378,750,238,869.00 | 9.73% |
| 1947 | $1,096,808,713,930,823.88 | 15.90% |
| 1948 | $1,169,730,556,086,375.00 | 6.65% |
| 1949 | $1,123,638,448,308,809.63 | -3.94% |
| 1950 | $1,108,503,726,351,997.13 | -1.35% |
| 1951 | $1,208,713,930,823,619.75 | 9.04% |
| 1952 | $1,195,643,034,588,190.25 | -1.08% |
| 1953 | $1,188,075,673,609,784.50 | -0.63% |
| 1954 | $1,183,718,708,197,974.75 | -0.37% |
| 1955 | $1,180,049,684,693,292.75 | -0.31% |
| 1956 | $1,203,898,337,473,724.50 | 2.02% |
| 1957 | $1,224,536,594,687,560.00 | 1.71% |
| 1958 | $1,229,352,188,037,455.00 | 0.39% |
| 1959 | $1,238,983,374,737,244.50 | 0.78% |
| 1960 | $1,257,557,806,229,696.25 | 1.50% |
| 1961 | $1,267,418,306,898,528.75 | 0.78% |
| 1962 | $1,274,527,039,938,849.50 | 0.56% |
| 1963 | $1,290,120,389,833,747.50 | 1.22% |
| 1964 | $1,301,127,460,347,793.00 | 0.85% |
| 1965 | $1,313,510,414,676,094.00 | 0.95% |
| 1966 | $1,348,824,765,908,657.00 | 2.69% |
| 1967 | $1,403,860,118,478,884.50 | 4.08% |
| 1968 | $1,478,845,786,355,819.00 | 5.34% |
| 1969 | $1,563,921,268,870,629.00 | 5.75% |
| 1970 | $1,628,358,494,171,603.75 | 4.12% |
| 1971 | $1,681,100,707,051,404.75 | 3.24% |
| 1972 | $1,715,956,430,345,882.25 | 2.07% |
| 1973 | $1,778,788,457,863,558.50 | 3.66% |
| 1974 | $1,910,643,990,063,061.50 | 7.41% |
| 1975 | $1,995,719,472,577,871.00 | 4.45% |
| 1976 | $2,070,475,826,485,763.75 | 3.75% |
| 1977 | $2,163,118,669,978,979.75 | 4.47% |
| 1978 | $2,239,021,593,732,085.00 | 3.51% |
| 1979 | $2,337,167,972,482,324.00 | 4.38% |
| 1980 | $2,502,503,344,162,049.00 | 7.07% |
| 1981 | $2,621,746,608,064,208.00 | 4.76% |
| 1982 | $2,690,540,798,776,992.00 | 2.62% |
| 1983 | $2,757,041,849,799,350.50 | 2.47% |
| 1984 | $2,807,720,236,957,769.00 | 1.84% |
| 1985 | $2,890,043,951,844,066.50 | 2.93% |
| 1986 | $2,914,580,546,531,626.00 | 0.85% |
| 1987 | $3,042,767,055,226,448.00 | 4.40% |
| 1988 | $3,174,851,901,394,994.00 | 4.34% |
| 1989 | $3,263,137,779,476,400.00 | 2.78% |
| 1990 | $3,414,484,999,044,525.50 | 4.64% |
| 1991 | $3,541,754,251,863,176.50 | 3.73% |
| 1992 | $3,628,893,560,099,370.00 | 2.46% |
| 1993 | $3,677,966,749,474,489.50 | 1.35% |
| 1994 | $3,670,858,016,434,168.50 | -0.19% |
| 1995 | $3,631,186,699,789,796.00 | -1.08% |
| 1996 | $3,624,077,966,749,475.00 | -0.20% |
| 1997 | $3,655,723,294,477,356.00 | 0.87% |
| 1998 | $3,660,538,887,827,250.50 | 0.13% |
| 1999 | $3,612,841,582,266,387.00 | -1.30% |
| 2000 | $3,565,602,904,643,609.00 | -1.31% |
| 2001 | $3,502,082,935,218,804.00 | -1.78% |
| 2002 | $3,412,879,801,261,227.50 | -2.55% |
| 2003 | $3,326,199,120,963,118.50 | -2.54% |
| 2004 | $3,314,045,480,603,860.50 | -0.37% |
| 2005 | $3,289,508,885,916,301.00 | -0.74% |
| 2006 | $3,286,986,432,256,832.00 | -0.08% |
| 2007 | $3,274,555,321,995,032.50 | -0.38% |
| 2008 | $3,272,042,040,894,326.00 | -0.08% |
| 2009 | $3,304,272,119,243,264.50 | 0.99% |
| 2010 | $3,288,447,162,239,633.50 | -0.48% |
| 2011 | $3,360,201,796,292,758.00 | 2.18% |
| 2012 | $3,474,507,930,441,430.00 | 3.40% |
| 2013 | $3,506,063,825,721,383.50 | 0.91% |
| 2014 | $3,508,895,853,239,060.50 | 0.08% |
| 2015 | $3,464,544,238,486,528.50 | -1.26% |
| 2016 | $3,468,474,679,915,918.00 | 0.11% |
| 2017 | $3,456,550,353,525,703.00 | -0.34% |
| 2018 | $3,457,717,561,628,129.50 | 0.03% |
| 2019 | $3,413,613,605,962,163.00 | -1.28% |
| 2020 | $3,249,250,525,511,179.50 | -4.81% |
| 2021 | $3,329,437,034,206,001.50 | 2.47% |
| 2022 | $3,496,966,940,569,463.50 | 5.03% |
| 2023 | $3,593,221,479,075,101.00 | 2.75% |
| 2024 | $3,618,097,458,436,843.50 | 0.69% |
| 2025 | $3,622,800,687,941,907.00 | 0.13% |
| 2026 | $3,671,091,916,682,592.00 | 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 |