According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices for apparel are 205.92% higher in 2026 versus 1920 (a $321,241,949,168.74 difference in value).
Between 1920 and 2026:Apparel experienced an average inflation rate of 1.06% per year. In other words, apparel costing $156,000,000,000 in the year 1920 would cost $477,241,949,168.74 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 $156,000,000,000 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 | $156,000,000,000.00 | 28.26% |
| 1921 | $124,788,075,673.61 | -20.01% |
| 1922 | $97,153,449,264.28 | -22.15% |
| 1923 | $96,587,043,760.75 | -0.58% |
| 1924 | $96,169,692,337.09 | -0.43% |
| 1925 | $94,381,043,378.56 | -1.86% |
| 1926 | $93,039,556,659.66 | -1.42% |
| 1927 | $91,221,096,885.15 | -1.95% |
| 1928 | $89,551,691,190.52 | -1.83% |
| 1929 | $88,627,555,895.28 | -1.03% |
| 1930 | $87,494,744,888.21 | -1.28% |
| 1931 | $80,876,743,741.64 | -7.56% |
| 1932 | $71,128,606,917.64 | -12.05% |
| 1933 | $66,299,254,729.60 | -6.79% |
| 1934 | $73,237,044,629.36 | 10.46% |
| 1935 | $74,325,243,646.09 | 1.49% |
| 1936 | $75,153,067,074.34 | 1.11% |
| 1937 | $78,611,121,727.50 | 4.60% |
| 1938 | $78,640,932,543.47 | 0.04% |
| 1939 | $77,359,067,456.53 | -1.63% |
| 1940 | $78,014,905,407.99 | 0.85% |
| 1941 | $81,622,014,141.03 | 4.62% |
| 1942 | $95,513,854,385.63 | 17.02% |
| 1943 | $99,657,557,806.23 | 4.34% |
| 1944 | $106,633,288,744.51 | 7.00% |
| 1945 | $112,118,478,884.01 | 5.14% |
| 1946 | $123,029,237,531.05 | 9.73% |
| 1947 | $142,585,132,811.01 | 15.90% |
| 1948 | $152,064,972,291.23 | 6.65% |
| 1949 | $146,072,998,280.15 | -3.94% |
| 1950 | $144,105,484,425.76 | -1.35% |
| 1951 | $157,132,811,007.07 | 9.04% |
| 1952 | $155,433,594,496.46 | -1.08% |
| 1953 | $154,449,837,569.27 | -0.63% |
| 1954 | $153,883,432,065.74 | -0.37% |
| 1955 | $153,406,459,010.13 | -0.31% |
| 1956 | $156,506,783,871.58 | 2.02% |
| 1957 | $159,189,757,309.38 | 1.71% |
| 1958 | $159,815,784,444.87 | 0.39% |
| 1959 | $161,067,838,715.84 | 0.78% |
| 1960 | $163,482,514,809.86 | 1.50% |
| 1961 | $164,764,379,896.81 | 0.78% |
| 1962 | $165,688,515,192.05 | 0.56% |
| 1963 | $167,715,650,678.39 | 1.22% |
| 1964 | $169,146,569,845.21 | 0.85% |
| 1965 | $170,756,353,907.89 | 0.95% |
| 1966 | $175,347,219,568.13 | 2.69% |
| 1967 | $182,501,815,402.25 | 4.08% |
| 1968 | $192,249,952,226.26 | 5.34% |
| 1969 | $203,309,764,953.18 | 5.75% |
| 1970 | $211,686,604,242.31 | 4.12% |
| 1971 | $218,543,091,916.68 | 3.24% |
| 1972 | $223,074,335,944.96 | 2.07% |
| 1973 | $231,242,499,522.26 | 3.66% |
| 1974 | $248,383,718,708.20 | 7.41% |
| 1975 | $259,443,531,435.12 | 4.45% |
| 1976 | $269,161,857,443.15 | 3.75% |
| 1977 | $281,205,427,097.27 | 4.47% |
| 1978 | $291,072,807,185.17 | 3.51% |
| 1979 | $303,831,836,422.70 | 4.38% |
| 1980 | $325,325,434,741.07 | 7.07% |
| 1981 | $340,827,059,048.35 | 4.76% |
| 1982 | $349,770,303,841.01 | 2.62% |
| 1983 | $358,415,440,473.92 | 2.47% |
| 1984 | $365,003,630,804.51 | 1.84% |
| 1985 | $375,705,713,739.73 | 2.93% |
| 1986 | $378,895,471,049.11 | 0.85% |
| 1987 | $395,559,717,179.44 | 4.40% |
| 1988 | $412,730,747,181.35 | 4.34% |
| 1989 | $424,207,911,331.93 | 2.78% |
| 1990 | $443,883,049,875.79 | 4.64% |
| 1991 | $460,428,052,742.21 | 3.73% |
| 1992 | $471,756,162,812.92 | 2.46% |
| 1993 | $478,135,677,431.68 | 1.35% |
| 1994 | $477,211,542,136.44 | -0.19% |
| 1995 | $472,054,270,972.67 | -1.08% |
| 1996 | $471,130,135,677.43 | -0.20% |
| 1997 | $475,244,028,282.06 | 0.87% |
| 1998 | $475,870,055,417.54 | 0.13% |
| 1999 | $469,669,405,694.63 | -1.30% |
| 2000 | $463,528,377,603.67 | -1.31% |
| 2001 | $455,270,781,578.44 | -1.78% |
| 2002 | $443,674,374,163.96 | -2.55% |
| 2003 | $432,405,885,725.21 | -2.54% |
| 2004 | $430,825,912,478.50 | -0.37% |
| 2005 | $427,636,155,169.12 | -0.74% |
| 2006 | $427,308,236,193.39 | -0.08% |
| 2007 | $425,692,191,859.35 | -0.38% |
| 2008 | $425,365,465,316.26 | -0.08% |
| 2009 | $429,555,375,501.62 | 0.99% |
| 2010 | $427,498,131,091.15 | -0.48% |
| 2011 | $436,826,233,518.06 | 2.18% |
| 2012 | $451,686,030,957.39 | 3.40% |
| 2013 | $455,788,297,343.78 | 0.91% |
| 2014 | $456,156,460,921.08 | 0.08% |
| 2015 | $450,390,751,003.25 | -1.26% |
| 2016 | $450,901,708,389.07 | 0.11% |
| 2017 | $449,351,545,958.34 | -0.34% |
| 2018 | $449,503,283,011.66 | 0.03% |
| 2019 | $443,769,768,775.08 | -1.28% |
| 2020 | $422,402,568,316.45 | -4.81% |
| 2021 | $432,826,814,446.78 | 2.47% |
| 2022 | $454,605,702,274.03 | 5.03% |
| 2023 | $467,118,792,279.76 | 2.75% |
| 2024 | $470,352,669,596.79 | 0.69% |
| 2025 | $470,964,089,432.45 | 0.13% |
| 2026 | $477,241,949,168.74 | 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 |