According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices for apparel are 205.92% higher in 2026 versus 1920 (a $345,952,868,335.56 difference in value).
Between 1920 and 2026:Apparel experienced an average inflation rate of 1.06% per year. In other words, apparel costing $168,000,000,000 in the year 1920 would cost $513,952,868,335.56 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 $168,000,000,000 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 | $168,000,000,000.00 | 28.26% |
| 1921 | $134,387,158,417.73 | -20.01% |
| 1922 | $104,626,791,515.38 | -22.15% |
| 1923 | $104,016,816,357.73 | -0.58% |
| 1924 | $103,567,360,978.41 | -0.43% |
| 1925 | $101,641,123,638.45 | -1.86% |
| 1926 | $100,196,445,633.48 | -1.42% |
| 1927 | $98,238,104,337.86 | -1.95% |
| 1928 | $96,440,282,820.56 | -1.83% |
| 1929 | $95,445,060,194.92 | -1.03% |
| 1930 | $94,225,109,879.61 | -1.28% |
| 1931 | $87,098,031,721.77 | -7.56% |
| 1932 | $76,600,038,218.99 | -12.05% |
| 1933 | $71,399,197,401.11 | -6.79% |
| 1934 | $78,870,663,447.01 | 10.46% |
| 1935 | $80,042,570,080.41 | 1.49% |
| 1936 | $80,934,072,233.90 | 1.11% |
| 1937 | $84,658,131,091.15 | 4.60% |
| 1938 | $84,690,235,046.82 | 0.04% |
| 1939 | $83,309,764,953.18 | -1.63% |
| 1940 | $84,016,051,977.83 | 0.85% |
| 1941 | $87,900,630,613.41 | 4.62% |
| 1942 | $102,861,073,953.76 | 17.02% |
| 1943 | $107,323,523,791.32 | 4.34% |
| 1944 | $114,835,849,417.16 | 7.00% |
| 1945 | $120,742,977,259.70 | 5.14% |
| 1946 | $132,493,025,033.44 | 9.73% |
| 1947 | $153,553,219,950.32 | 15.90% |
| 1948 | $163,762,277,852.09 | 6.65% |
| 1949 | $157,309,382,763.23 | -3.94% |
| 1950 | $155,190,521,689.28 | -1.35% |
| 1951 | $169,219,950,315.31 | 9.04% |
| 1952 | $167,390,024,842.35 | -1.08% |
| 1953 | $166,330,594,305.37 | -0.63% |
| 1954 | $165,720,619,147.72 | -0.37% |
| 1955 | $165,206,955,857.06 | -0.31% |
| 1956 | $168,545,767,246.32 | 2.02% |
| 1957 | $171,435,123,256.26 | 1.71% |
| 1958 | $172,109,306,325.24 | 0.39% |
| 1959 | $173,457,672,463.21 | 0.78% |
| 1960 | $176,058,092,872.16 | 1.50% |
| 1961 | $177,438,562,965.79 | 0.78% |
| 1962 | $178,433,785,591.44 | 0.56% |
| 1963 | $180,616,854,576.72 | 1.22% |
| 1964 | $182,157,844,448.69 | 0.85% |
| 1965 | $183,891,458,054.65 | 0.95% |
| 1966 | $188,835,467,227.21 | 2.69% |
| 1967 | $196,540,416,587.04 | 4.08% |
| 1968 | $207,038,410,089.81 | 5.34% |
| 1969 | $218,948,977,641.89 | 5.75% |
| 1970 | $227,970,189,184.02 | 4.12% |
| 1971 | $235,354,098,987.20 | 3.24% |
| 1972 | $240,233,900,248.42 | 2.07% |
| 1973 | $249,030,384,100.90 | 3.66% |
| 1974 | $267,490,158,608.83 | 7.41% |
| 1975 | $279,400,726,160.90 | 4.45% |
| 1976 | $289,866,615,708.01 | 3.75% |
| 1977 | $302,836,613,797.06 | 4.47% |
| 1978 | $313,463,023,122.49 | 3.51% |
| 1979 | $327,203,516,147.53 | 4.38% |
| 1980 | $350,350,468,182.69 | 7.07% |
| 1981 | $367,044,525,128.99 | 4.76% |
| 1982 | $376,675,711,828.78 | 2.62% |
| 1983 | $385,985,858,971.91 | 2.47% |
| 1984 | $393,080,833,174.09 | 1.84% |
| 1985 | $404,606,153,258.17 | 2.93% |
| 1986 | $408,041,276,514.43 | 0.85% |
| 1987 | $425,987,387,731.70 | 4.40% |
| 1988 | $444,479,266,195.30 | 4.34% |
| 1989 | $456,839,289,126.70 | 2.78% |
| 1990 | $478,027,899,866.23 | 4.64% |
| 1991 | $495,845,595,260.84 | 3.73% |
| 1992 | $508,045,098,413.91 | 2.46% |
| 1993 | $514,915,344,926.43 | 1.35% |
| 1994 | $513,920,122,300.78 | -0.19% |
| 1995 | $508,366,137,970.57 | -1.08% |
| 1996 | $507,370,915,344.93 | -0.20% |
| 1997 | $511,801,261,226.83 | 0.87% |
| 1998 | $512,475,444,295.82 | 0.13% |
| 1999 | $505,797,821,517.29 | -1.30% |
| 2000 | $499,184,406,650.11 | -1.31% |
| 2001 | $490,291,610,930.63 | -1.78% |
| 2002 | $477,803,172,176.57 | -2.55% |
| 2003 | $465,667,876,934.84 | -2.54% |
| 2004 | $463,966,367,284.54 | -0.37% |
| 2005 | $460,531,244,028.28 | -0.74% |
| 2006 | $460,178,100,515.96 | -0.08% |
| 2007 | $458,437,745,079.30 | -0.38% |
| 2008 | $458,085,885,725.21 | -0.08% |
| 2009 | $462,598,096,694.06 | 0.99% |
| 2010 | $460,382,602,713.55 | -0.48% |
| 2011 | $470,428,251,480.99 | 2.18% |
| 2012 | $486,431,110,261.80 | 3.40% |
| 2013 | $490,848,935,600.99 | 0.91% |
| 2014 | $491,245,419,453.47 | 0.08% |
| 2015 | $485,036,193,388.11 | -1.26% |
| 2016 | $485,586,455,188.23 | 0.11% |
| 2017 | $483,917,049,493.60 | -0.34% |
| 2018 | $484,080,458,627.94 | 0.03% |
| 2019 | $477,905,904,834.70 | -1.28% |
| 2020 | $454,895,073,571.57 | -4.81% |
| 2021 | $466,121,184,788.84 | 2.47% |
| 2022 | $489,575,371,679.72 | 5.03% |
| 2023 | $503,051,007,070.51 | 2.75% |
| 2024 | $506,533,644,181.16 | 0.69% |
| 2025 | $507,192,096,311.87 | 0.13% |
| 2026 | $513,952,868,335.56 | 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 |