According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices for apparel are 199.68% higher in 2026 versus 1920 (a $49,919,740,110.84 difference in value).
Between 1920 and 2026:Apparel experienced an average inflation rate of 1.04% per year. In other words, apparel costing $25,000,000,000 in the year 1920 would cost $74,919,740,110.84 in 2026 for an equivalent purchase. Compared to the overall inflation rate of 2.66% 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 $25,000,000,000 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 | $25,000,000,000.00 | 28.26% |
| 1921 | $19,998,089,050.26 | -20.01% |
| 1922 | $15,569,463,023.12 | -22.15% |
| 1923 | $15,478,692,910.38 | -0.58% |
| 1924 | $15,411,809,669.41 | -0.43% |
| 1925 | $15,125,167,208.10 | -1.86% |
| 1926 | $14,910,185,362.12 | -1.42% |
| 1927 | $14,618,765,526.47 | -1.95% |
| 1928 | $14,351,232,562.58 | -1.83% |
| 1929 | $14,203,133,957.58 | -1.03% |
| 1930 | $14,021,593,732.08 | -1.28% |
| 1931 | $12,961,016,625.26 | -7.56% |
| 1932 | $11,398,815,211.16 | -12.05% |
| 1933 | $10,624,880,565.64 | -6.79% |
| 1934 | $11,736,705,870.09 | 10.46% |
| 1935 | $11,911,096,738.16 | 1.49% |
| 1936 | $12,043,760,749.09 | 1.11% |
| 1937 | $12,597,936,174.28 | 4.60% |
| 1938 | $12,602,713,548.63 | 0.04% |
| 1939 | $12,397,286,451.37 | -1.63% |
| 1940 | $12,502,388,687.18 | 0.85% |
| 1941 | $13,080,450,984.14 | 4.62% |
| 1942 | $15,306,707,433.59 | 17.02% |
| 1943 | $15,970,762,468.95 | 4.34% |
| 1944 | $17,088,668,068.03 | 7.00% |
| 1945 | $17,967,704,949.36 | 5.14% |
| 1946 | $19,716,223,963.31 | 9.73% |
| 1947 | $22,850,181,540.23 | 15.90% |
| 1948 | $24,369,386,585.13 | 6.65% |
| 1949 | $23,409,134,339.77 | -3.94% |
| 1950 | $23,093,827,632.33 | -1.35% |
| 1951 | $25,181,540,225.49 | 9.04% |
| 1952 | $24,909,229,887.25 | -1.08% |
| 1953 | $24,751,576,533.54 | -0.63% |
| 1954 | $24,660,806,420.79 | -0.37% |
| 1955 | $24,584,368,431.11 | -0.31% |
| 1956 | $25,081,215,364.04 | 2.02% |
| 1957 | $25,511,179,055.99 | 1.71% |
| 1958 | $25,611,503,917.45 | 0.39% |
| 1959 | $25,812,153,640.36 | 0.78% |
| 1960 | $26,199,120,963.12 | 1.50% |
| 1961 | $26,404,548,060.39 | 0.78% |
| 1962 | $26,552,646,665.39 | 0.56% |
| 1963 | $26,877,508,121.54 | 1.22% |
| 1964 | $27,106,822,090.58 | 0.85% |
| 1965 | $27,364,800,305.75 | 0.95% |
| 1966 | $28,100,515,956.43 | 2.69% |
| 1967 | $29,247,085,801.64 | 4.08% |
| 1968 | $30,809,287,215.75 | 5.34% |
| 1969 | $32,581,693,101.47 | 5.75% |
| 1970 | $33,924,135,295.24 | 4.12% |
| 1971 | $35,022,931,396.90 | 3.24% |
| 1972 | $35,749,092,298.87 | 2.07% |
| 1973 | $37,058,092,872.16 | 3.66% |
| 1974 | $39,805,083,126.31 | 7.41% |
| 1975 | $41,577,489,012.04 | 4.45% |
| 1976 | $43,134,913,051.79 | 3.75% |
| 1977 | $45,064,972,291.23 | 4.47% |
| 1978 | $46,646,283,202.75 | 3.51% |
| 1979 | $48,690,999,426.72 | 4.38% |
| 1980 | $52,135,486,336.71 | 7.07% |
| 1981 | $54,619,721,001.34 | 4.76% |
| 1982 | $56,052,933,307.85 | 2.62% |
| 1983 | $57,438,371,870.82 | 2.47% |
| 1984 | $58,494,171,603.29 | 1.84% |
| 1985 | $60,209,248,996.75 | 2.93% |
| 1986 | $60,720,428,052.74 | 0.85% |
| 1987 | $63,390,980,317.22 | 4.40% |
| 1988 | $66,142,747,945.73 | 4.34% |
| 1989 | $67,982,037,072.42 | 2.78% |
| 1990 | $71,135,104,146.76 | 4.64% |
| 1991 | $73,786,546,913.82 | 3.73% |
| 1992 | $75,601,949,168.74 | 2.46% |
| 1993 | $76,624,307,280.72 | 1.35% |
| 1994 | $76,476,208,675.71 | -0.19% |
| 1995 | $75,649,722,912.29 | -1.08% |
| 1996 | $75,501,624,307.28 | -0.20% |
| 1997 | $76,160,901,968.28 | 0.87% |
| 1998 | $76,261,226,829.73 | 0.13% |
| 1999 | $75,267,532,963.88 | -1.30% |
| 2000 | $74,283,393,846.74 | -1.31% |
| 2001 | $72,960,061,150.39 | -1.78% |
| 2002 | $71,101,662,526.28 | -2.55% |
| 2003 | $69,295,815,020.06 | -2.54% |
| 2004 | $69,042,614,179.25 | -0.37% |
| 2005 | $68,531,435,123.26 | -0.74% |
| 2006 | $68,478,884,005.35 | -0.08% |
| 2007 | $68,219,902,541.56 | -0.38% |
| 2008 | $68,167,542,518.63 | -0.08% |
| 2009 | $68,839,002,484.23 | 0.99% |
| 2010 | $68,509,315,879.99 | -0.48% |
| 2011 | $70,004,204,089.43 | 2.18% |
| 2012 | $72,385,581,884.20 | 3.40% |
| 2013 | $73,042,996,369.20 | 0.91% |
| 2014 | $73,101,996,942.48 | 0.08% |
| 2015 | $72,178,004,968.47 | -1.26% |
| 2016 | $72,259,889,164.91 | 0.11% |
| 2017 | $72,011,465,698.45 | -0.34% |
| 2018 | $72,035,782,533.92 | 0.03% |
| 2019 | $71,116,950,124.21 | -1.28% |
| 2020 | $67,692,719,281.48 | -4.81% |
| 2021 | $69,363,271,545.96 | 2.47% |
| 2022 | $72,853,477,928.53 | 5.03% |
| 2023 | $74,858,780,814.06 | 2.75% |
| 2024 | $75,377,030,384.10 | 0.69% |
| 2025 | $75,475,014,332.12 | 0.13% |
| 2026 | $74,919,740,110.84 | -0.74%* |
* 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 | 130.685 |