According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices for apparel are 205.92% higher in 2026 versus 1920 (a $304,768,003,057.52 difference in value).
Between 1920 and 2026:Apparel experienced an average inflation rate of 1.06% per year. In other words, apparel costing $148,000,000,000 in the year 1920 would cost $452,768,003,057.52 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 $148,000,000,000 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 | $148,000,000,000.00 | 28.26% |
| 1921 | $118,388,687,177.53 | -20.01% |
| 1922 | $92,171,221,096.89 | -22.15% |
| 1923 | $91,633,862,029.43 | -0.58% |
| 1924 | $91,237,913,242.88 | -0.43% |
| 1925 | $89,540,989,871.97 | -1.86% |
| 1926 | $88,268,297,343.78 | -1.42% |
| 1927 | $86,543,091,916.68 | -1.95% |
| 1928 | $84,959,296,770.49 | -1.83% |
| 1929 | $84,082,553,028.86 | -1.03% |
| 1930 | $83,007,834,893.94 | -1.28% |
| 1931 | $76,729,218,421.56 | -7.56% |
| 1932 | $67,480,986,050.07 | -12.05% |
| 1933 | $62,899,292,948.60 | -6.79% |
| 1934 | $69,481,298,750.93 | 10.46% |
| 1935 | $70,513,692,689.88 | 1.49% |
| 1936 | $71,299,063,634.63 | 1.11% |
| 1937 | $74,579,782,151.73 | 4.60% |
| 1938 | $74,608,064,207.91 | 0.04% |
| 1939 | $73,391,935,792.09 | -1.63% |
| 1940 | $74,014,141,028.09 | 0.85% |
| 1941 | $77,436,269,826.10 | 4.62% |
| 1942 | $90,615,708,006.88 | 17.02% |
| 1943 | $94,546,913,816.17 | 4.34% |
| 1944 | $101,164,914,962.74 | 7.00% |
| 1945 | $106,368,813,300.21 | 5.14% |
| 1946 | $116,720,045,862.79 | 9.73% |
| 1947 | $135,273,074,718.13 | 15.90% |
| 1948 | $144,266,768,583.99 | 6.65% |
| 1949 | $138,582,075,291.42 | -3.94% |
| 1950 | $136,715,459,583.41 | -1.35% |
| 1951 | $149,074,718,134.91 | 9.04% |
| 1952 | $147,462,640,932.54 | -1.08% |
| 1953 | $146,529,333,078.54 | -0.63% |
| 1954 | $145,991,974,011.08 | -0.37% |
| 1955 | $145,539,461,112.17 | -0.31% |
| 1956 | $148,480,794,955.09 | 2.02% |
| 1957 | $151,026,180,011.47 | 1.71% |
| 1958 | $151,620,103,191.29 | 0.39% |
| 1959 | $152,807,949,550.93 | 0.78% |
| 1960 | $155,098,796,101.66 | 1.50% |
| 1961 | $156,314,924,517.49 | 0.78% |
| 1962 | $157,191,668,259.12 | 0.56% |
| 1963 | $159,114,848,079.50 | 1.22% |
| 1964 | $160,472,386,776.23 | 0.85% |
| 1965 | $161,999,617,810.05 | 0.95% |
| 1966 | $166,355,054,462.07 | 2.69% |
| 1967 | $173,142,747,945.73 | 4.08% |
| 1968 | $182,390,980,317.22 | 5.34% |
| 1969 | $192,883,623,160.71 | 5.75% |
| 1970 | $200,830,880,947.83 | 4.12% |
| 1971 | $207,335,753,869.67 | 3.24% |
| 1972 | $211,634,626,409.33 | 2.07% |
| 1973 | $219,383,909,803.17 | 3.66% |
| 1974 | $235,646,092,107.78 | 7.41% |
| 1975 | $246,138,734,951.27 | 4.45% |
| 1976 | $255,358,685,266.58 | 3.75% |
| 1977 | $266,784,635,964.07 | 4.47% |
| 1978 | $276,145,996,560.29 | 3.51% |
| 1979 | $288,250,716,606.15 | 4.38% |
| 1980 | $308,642,079,113.32 | 7.07% |
| 1981 | $323,348,748,327.92 | 4.76% |
| 1982 | $331,833,365,182.50 | 2.62% |
| 1983 | $340,035,161,475.25 | 2.47% |
| 1984 | $346,285,495,891.46 | 1.84% |
| 1985 | $356,438,754,060.77 | 2.93% |
| 1986 | $359,464,934,072.23 | 0.85% |
| 1987 | $375,274,603,477.93 | 4.40% |
| 1988 | $391,565,067,838.72 | 4.34% |
| 1989 | $402,453,659,468.76 | 2.78% |
| 1990 | $421,119,816,548.82 | 4.64% |
| 1991 | $436,816,357,729.79 | 3.73% |
| 1992 | $447,563,539,078.92 | 2.46% |
| 1993 | $453,615,899,101.85 | 1.35% |
| 1994 | $452,739,155,360.21 | -0.19% |
| 1995 | $447,846,359,640.74 | -1.08% |
| 1996 | $446,969,615,899.10 | -0.20% |
| 1997 | $450,872,539,652.21 | 0.87% |
| 1998 | $451,466,462,832.03 | 0.13% |
| 1999 | $445,583,795,146.19 | -1.30% |
| 2000 | $439,757,691,572.71 | -1.31% |
| 2001 | $431,923,562,010.32 | -1.78% |
| 2002 | $420,921,842,155.55 | -2.55% |
| 2003 | $410,231,224,918.78 | -2.54% |
| 2004 | $408,732,275,941.14 | -0.37% |
| 2005 | $405,706,095,929.68 | -0.74% |
| 2006 | $405,394,993,311.68 | -0.08% |
| 2007 | $403,861,823,046.05 | -0.38% |
| 2008 | $403,551,851,710.30 | -0.08% |
| 2009 | $407,526,894,706.67 | 0.99% |
| 2010 | $405,575,150,009.55 | -0.48% |
| 2011 | $414,424,888,209.44 | 2.18% |
| 2012 | $428,522,644,754.44 | 3.40% |
| 2013 | $432,414,538,505.64 | 0.91% |
| 2014 | $432,763,821,899.48 | 0.08% |
| 2015 | $427,293,789,413.34 | -1.26% |
| 2016 | $427,778,543,856.30 | 0.11% |
| 2017 | $426,307,876,934.84 | -0.34% |
| 2018 | $426,451,832,600.80 | 0.03% |
| 2019 | $421,012,344,735.33 | -1.28% |
| 2020 | $400,740,898,146.38 | -4.81% |
| 2021 | $410,630,567,552.07 | 2.47% |
| 2022 | $431,292,589,336.90 | 5.03% |
| 2023 | $443,163,982,419.26 | 2.75% |
| 2024 | $446,232,019,873.88 | 0.69% |
| 2025 | $446,812,084,846.17 | 0.13% |
| 2026 | $452,768,003,057.52 | 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 |