According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices for apparel are 205.92% higher in 2026 versus 1920 (a $329,478,922,224.35 difference in value).
Between 1920 and 2026:Apparel experienced an average inflation rate of 1.06% per year. In other words, apparel costing $160,000,000,000 in the year 1920 would cost $489,478,922,224.35 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 $160,000,000,000 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 | $160,000,000,000.00 | 28.26% |
| 1921 | $127,987,769,921.65 | -20.01% |
| 1922 | $99,644,563,347.98 | -22.15% |
| 1923 | $99,063,634,626.41 | -0.58% |
| 1924 | $98,635,581,884.20 | -0.43% |
| 1925 | $96,801,070,131.86 | -1.86% |
| 1926 | $95,425,186,317.60 | -1.42% |
| 1927 | $93,560,099,369.39 | -1.95% |
| 1928 | $91,847,888,400.54 | -1.83% |
| 1929 | $90,900,057,328.49 | -1.03% |
| 1930 | $89,738,199,885.34 | -1.28% |
| 1931 | $82,950,506,401.68 | -7.56% |
| 1932 | $72,952,417,351.42 | -12.05% |
| 1933 | $67,999,235,620.10 | -6.79% |
| 1934 | $75,114,917,568.58 | 10.46% |
| 1935 | $76,231,019,124.20 | 1.49% |
| 1936 | $77,080,068,794.19 | 1.11% |
| 1937 | $80,626,791,515.38 | 4.60% |
| 1938 | $80,657,366,711.26 | 0.04% |
| 1939 | $79,342,633,288.74 | -1.63% |
| 1940 | $80,015,287,597.94 | 0.85% |
| 1941 | $83,714,886,298.49 | 4.62% |
| 1942 | $97,962,927,575.00 | 17.02% |
| 1943 | $102,212,879,801.26 | 4.34% |
| 1944 | $109,367,475,635.39 | 7.00% |
| 1945 | $114,993,311,675.90 | 5.14% |
| 1946 | $126,183,833,365.18 | 9.73% |
| 1947 | $146,241,161,857.44 | 15.90% |
| 1948 | $155,964,074,144.85 | 6.65% |
| 1949 | $149,818,459,774.51 | -3.94% |
| 1950 | $147,800,496,846.93 | -1.35% |
| 1951 | $161,161,857,443.15 | 9.04% |
| 1952 | $159,419,071,278.43 | -1.08% |
| 1953 | $158,410,089,814.64 | -0.63% |
| 1954 | $157,829,161,093.06 | -0.37% |
| 1955 | $157,339,957,959.11 | -0.31% |
| 1956 | $160,519,778,329.83 | 2.02% |
| 1957 | $163,271,545,958.34 | 1.71% |
| 1958 | $163,913,625,071.66 | 0.39% |
| 1959 | $165,197,783,298.30 | 0.78% |
| 1960 | $167,674,374,163.96 | 1.50% |
| 1961 | $168,989,107,586.47 | 0.78% |
| 1962 | $169,936,938,658.51 | 0.56% |
| 1963 | $172,016,051,977.83 | 1.22% |
| 1964 | $173,483,661,379.71 | 0.85% |
| 1965 | $175,134,721,956.81 | 0.95% |
| 1966 | $179,843,302,121.15 | 2.69% |
| 1967 | $187,181,349,130.52 | 4.08% |
| 1968 | $197,179,438,180.78 | 5.34% |
| 1969 | $208,522,835,849.42 | 5.75% |
| 1970 | $217,114,465,889.55 | 4.12% |
| 1971 | $224,146,760,940.19 | 3.24% |
| 1972 | $228,794,190,712.78 | 2.07% |
| 1973 | $237,171,794,381.81 | 3.66% |
| 1974 | $254,752,532,008.41 | 7.41% |
| 1975 | $266,095,929,677.05 | 4.45% |
| 1976 | $276,063,443,531.44 | 3.75% |
| 1977 | $288,415,822,663.86 | 4.47% |
| 1978 | $298,536,212,497.61 | 3.51% |
| 1979 | $311,622,396,330.98 | 4.38% |
| 1980 | $333,667,112,554.94 | 7.07% |
| 1981 | $349,566,214,408.56 | 4.76% |
| 1982 | $358,738,773,170.27 | 2.62% |
| 1983 | $367,605,579,973.25 | 2.47% |
| 1984 | $374,362,698,261.04 | 1.84% |
| 1985 | $385,339,193,579.21 | 2.93% |
| 1986 | $388,610,739,537.55 | 0.85% |
| 1987 | $405,702,274,030.19 | 4.40% |
| 1988 | $423,313,586,852.67 | 4.34% |
| 1989 | $435,085,037,263.52 | 2.78% |
| 1990 | $455,264,666,539.27 | 4.64% |
| 1991 | $472,233,900,248.42 | 3.73% |
| 1992 | $483,852,474,679.92 | 2.46% |
| 1993 | $490,395,566,596.60 | 1.35% |
| 1994 | $489,447,735,524.56 | -0.19% |
| 1995 | $484,158,226,638.64 | -1.08% |
| 1996 | $483,210,395,566.60 | -0.20% |
| 1997 | $487,429,772,596.98 | 0.87% |
| 1998 | $488,071,851,710.30 | 0.13% |
| 1999 | $481,712,210,968.85 | -1.30% |
| 2000 | $475,413,720,619.15 | -1.31% |
| 2001 | $466,944,391,362.51 | -1.78% |
| 2002 | $455,050,640,168.16 | -2.55% |
| 2003 | $443,493,216,128.42 | -2.54% |
| 2004 | $441,872,730,747.18 | -0.37% |
| 2005 | $438,601,184,788.84 | -0.74% |
| 2006 | $438,264,857,634.24 | -0.08% |
| 2007 | $436,607,376,266.00 | -0.38% |
| 2008 | $436,272,272,119.24 | -0.08% |
| 2009 | $440,569,615,899.10 | 0.99% |
| 2010 | $438,459,621,631.95 | -0.48% |
| 2011 | $448,026,906,172.37 | 2.18% |
| 2012 | $463,267,724,058.86 | 3.40% |
| 2013 | $467,475,176,762.85 | 0.91% |
| 2014 | $467,852,780,431.87 | 0.08% |
| 2015 | $461,939,231,798.20 | -1.26% |
| 2016 | $462,463,290,655.46 | 0.11% |
| 2017 | $460,873,380,470.09 | -0.34% |
| 2018 | $461,029,008,217.08 | 0.03% |
| 2019 | $455,148,480,794.96 | -1.28% |
| 2020 | $433,233,403,401.49 | -4.81% |
| 2021 | $443,924,937,894.13 | 2.47% |
| 2022 | $466,262,258,742.60 | 5.03% |
| 2023 | $479,096,197,210.01 | 2.75% |
| 2024 | $482,412,994,458.25 | 0.69% |
| 2025 | $483,040,091,725.59 | 0.13% |
| 2026 | $489,478,922,224.35 | 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 |