According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices for apparel are 205.92% higher in 2026 versus 1920 (a $514,810,815,975.54 difference in value).
Between 1920 and 2026:Apparel experienced an average inflation rate of 1.06% per year. In other words, apparel costing $250,000,000,000 in the year 1920 would cost $764,810,815,975.54 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 $250,000,000,000 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 | $250,000,000,000.00 | 28.26% |
| 1921 | $199,980,890,502.58 | -20.01% |
| 1922 | $155,694,630,231.22 | -22.15% |
| 1923 | $154,786,929,103.76 | -0.58% |
| 1924 | $154,118,096,694.06 | -0.43% |
| 1925 | $151,251,672,081.02 | -1.86% |
| 1926 | $149,101,853,621.25 | -1.42% |
| 1927 | $146,187,655,264.67 | -1.95% |
| 1928 | $143,512,325,625.84 | -1.83% |
| 1929 | $142,031,339,575.77 | -1.03% |
| 1930 | $140,215,937,320.85 | -1.28% |
| 1931 | $129,610,166,252.63 | -7.56% |
| 1932 | $113,988,152,111.60 | -12.05% |
| 1933 | $106,248,805,656.41 | -6.79% |
| 1934 | $117,367,058,700.90 | 10.46% |
| 1935 | $119,110,967,381.56 | 1.49% |
| 1936 | $120,437,607,490.92 | 1.11% |
| 1937 | $125,979,361,742.79 | 4.60% |
| 1938 | $126,027,135,486.34 | 0.04% |
| 1939 | $123,972,864,513.66 | -1.63% |
| 1940 | $125,023,886,871.78 | 0.85% |
| 1941 | $130,804,509,841.39 | 4.62% |
| 1942 | $153,067,074,335.94 | 17.02% |
| 1943 | $159,707,624,689.47 | 4.34% |
| 1944 | $170,886,680,680.30 | 7.00% |
| 1945 | $179,677,049,493.60 | 5.14% |
| 1946 | $197,162,239,633.10 | 9.73% |
| 1947 | $228,501,815,402.25 | 15.90% |
| 1948 | $243,693,865,851.33 | 6.65% |
| 1949 | $234,091,343,397.67 | -3.94% |
| 1950 | $230,938,276,323.33 | -1.35% |
| 1951 | $251,815,402,254.92 | 9.04% |
| 1952 | $249,092,298,872.54 | -1.08% |
| 1953 | $247,515,765,335.37 | -0.63% |
| 1954 | $246,608,064,207.91 | -0.37% |
| 1955 | $245,843,684,311.10 | -0.31% |
| 1956 | $250,812,153,640.36 | 2.02% |
| 1957 | $255,111,790,559.91 | 1.71% |
| 1958 | $256,115,039,174.47 | 0.39% |
| 1959 | $258,121,536,403.59 | 0.78% |
| 1960 | $261,991,209,631.19 | 1.50% |
| 1961 | $264,045,480,603.86 | 0.78% |
| 1962 | $265,526,466,653.93 | 0.56% |
| 1963 | $268,775,081,215.36 | 1.22% |
| 1964 | $271,068,220,905.79 | 0.85% |
| 1965 | $273,648,003,057.52 | 0.95% |
| 1966 | $281,005,159,564.30 | 2.69% |
| 1967 | $292,470,858,016.43 | 4.08% |
| 1968 | $308,092,872,157.46 | 5.34% |
| 1969 | $325,816,931,014.71 | 5.75% |
| 1970 | $339,241,352,952.42 | 4.12% |
| 1971 | $350,229,313,969.04 | 3.24% |
| 1972 | $357,490,922,988.73 | 2.07% |
| 1973 | $370,580,928,721.57 | 3.66% |
| 1974 | $398,050,831,263.14 | 7.41% |
| 1975 | $415,774,890,120.39 | 4.45% |
| 1976 | $431,349,130,517.87 | 3.75% |
| 1977 | $450,649,722,912.29 | 4.47% |
| 1978 | $466,462,832,027.52 | 3.51% |
| 1979 | $486,909,994,267.15 | 4.38% |
| 1980 | $521,354,863,367.09 | 7.07% |
| 1981 | $546,197,210,013.38 | 4.76% |
| 1982 | $560,529,333,078.54 | 2.62% |
| 1983 | $574,383,718,708.20 | 2.47% |
| 1984 | $584,941,716,032.87 | 1.84% |
| 1985 | $602,092,489,967.51 | 2.93% |
| 1986 | $607,204,280,527.42 | 0.85% |
| 1987 | $633,909,803,172.18 | 4.40% |
| 1988 | $661,427,479,457.29 | 4.34% |
| 1989 | $679,820,370,724.25 | 2.78% |
| 1990 | $711,351,041,467.61 | 4.64% |
| 1991 | $737,865,469,138.16 | 3.73% |
| 1992 | $756,019,491,687.37 | 2.46% |
| 1993 | $766,243,072,807.19 | 1.35% |
| 1994 | $764,762,086,757.12 | -0.19% |
| 1995 | $756,497,229,122.87 | -1.08% |
| 1996 | $755,016,243,072.81 | -0.20% |
| 1997 | $761,609,019,682.78 | 0.87% |
| 1998 | $762,612,268,297.34 | 0.13% |
| 1999 | $752,675,329,638.83 | -1.30% |
| 2000 | $742,833,938,467.42 | -1.31% |
| 2001 | $729,600,611,503.92 | -1.78% |
| 2002 | $711,016,625,262.76 | -2.55% |
| 2003 | $692,958,150,200.65 | -2.54% |
| 2004 | $690,426,141,792.47 | -0.37% |
| 2005 | $685,314,351,232.56 | -0.74% |
| 2006 | $684,788,840,053.51 | -0.08% |
| 2007 | $682,199,025,415.63 | -0.38% |
| 2008 | $681,675,425,186.32 | -0.08% |
| 2009 | $688,390,024,842.35 | 0.99% |
| 2010 | $685,093,158,799.92 | -0.48% |
| 2011 | $700,042,040,894.32 | 2.18% |
| 2012 | $723,855,818,841.96 | 3.40% |
| 2013 | $730,429,963,691.96 | 0.91% |
| 2014 | $731,019,969,424.80 | 0.08% |
| 2015 | $721,780,049,684.69 | -1.26% |
| 2016 | $722,598,891,649.15 | 0.11% |
| 2017 | $720,114,656,984.52 | -0.34% |
| 2018 | $720,357,825,339.19 | 0.03% |
| 2019 | $711,169,501,242.12 | -1.28% |
| 2020 | $676,927,192,814.83 | -4.81% |
| 2021 | $693,632,715,459.58 | 2.47% |
| 2022 | $728,534,779,285.30 | 5.03% |
| 2023 | $748,587,808,140.65 | 2.75% |
| 2024 | $753,770,303,841.01 | 0.69% |
| 2025 | $754,750,143,321.23 | 0.13% |
| 2026 | $764,810,815,975.54 | 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 |