According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices for apparel are 205.92% higher in 2026 versus 1920 (a $533,344,005,350.66 difference in value).
Between 1920 and 2026:Apparel experienced an average inflation rate of 1.06% per year. In other words, apparel costing $259,000,000,000 in the year 1920 would cost $792,344,005,350.66 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 $259,000,000,000 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 | $259,000,000,000.00 | 28.26% |
| 1921 | $207,180,202,560.67 | -20.01% |
| 1922 | $161,299,636,919.55 | -22.15% |
| 1923 | $160,359,258,551.50 | -0.58% |
| 1924 | $159,666,348,175.04 | -0.43% |
| 1925 | $156,696,732,275.94 | -1.86% |
| 1926 | $154,469,520,351.61 | -1.42% |
| 1927 | $151,450,410,854.19 | -1.95% |
| 1928 | $148,678,769,348.37 | -1.83% |
| 1929 | $147,144,467,800.50 | -1.03% |
| 1930 | $145,263,711,064.40 | -1.28% |
| 1931 | $134,276,132,237.72 | -7.56% |
| 1932 | $118,091,725,587.62 | -12.05% |
| 1933 | $110,073,762,660.04 | -6.79% |
| 1934 | $121,592,272,814.13 | 10.46% |
| 1935 | $123,398,962,207.29 | 1.49% |
| 1936 | $124,773,361,360.60 | 1.11% |
| 1937 | $130,514,618,765.53 | 4.60% |
| 1938 | $130,564,112,363.84 | 0.04% |
| 1939 | $128,435,887,636.16 | -1.63% |
| 1940 | $129,524,746,799.16 | 0.85% |
| 1941 | $135,513,472,195.68 | 4.62% |
| 1942 | $158,577,489,012.04 | 17.02% |
| 1943 | $165,457,099,178.29 | 4.34% |
| 1944 | $177,038,601,184.79 | 7.00% |
| 1945 | $186,145,423,275.37 | 5.14% |
| 1946 | $204,260,080,259.89 | 9.73% |
| 1947 | $236,727,880,756.74 | 15.90% |
| 1948 | $252,466,845,021.98 | 6.65% |
| 1949 | $242,518,631,759.98 | -3.94% |
| 1950 | $239,252,054,270.97 | -1.35% |
| 1951 | $260,880,756,736.10 | 9.04% |
| 1952 | $258,059,621,631.95 | -1.08% |
| 1953 | $256,426,332,887.45 | -0.63% |
| 1954 | $255,485,954,519.40 | -0.37% |
| 1955 | $254,694,056,946.30 | -0.31% |
| 1956 | $259,841,391,171.41 | 2.02% |
| 1957 | $264,295,815,020.07 | 1.71% |
| 1958 | $265,335,180,584.75 | 0.39% |
| 1959 | $267,413,911,714.12 | 0.78% |
| 1960 | $271,422,893,177.91 | 1.50% |
| 1961 | $273,551,117,905.60 | 0.78% |
| 1962 | $275,085,419,453.47 | 0.56% |
| 1963 | $278,450,984,139.12 | 1.22% |
| 1964 | $280,826,676,858.40 | 0.85% |
| 1965 | $283,499,331,167.59 | 0.95% |
| 1966 | $291,121,345,308.62 | 2.69% |
| 1967 | $302,999,808,905.03 | 4.08% |
| 1968 | $319,184,215,555.13 | 5.34% |
| 1969 | $337,546,340,531.24 | 5.75% |
| 1970 | $351,454,041,658.70 | 4.12% |
| 1971 | $362,837,569,271.93 | 3.24% |
| 1972 | $370,360,596,216.32 | 2.07% |
| 1973 | $383,921,842,155.55 | 3.66% |
| 1974 | $412,380,661,188.61 | 7.41% |
| 1975 | $430,742,786,164.72 | 4.45% |
| 1976 | $446,877,699,216.51 | 3.75% |
| 1977 | $466,873,112,937.13 | 4.47% |
| 1978 | $483,255,493,980.51 | 3.51% |
| 1979 | $504,438,754,060.77 | 4.38% |
| 1980 | $540,123,638,448.31 | 7.07% |
| 1981 | $565,860,309,573.86 | 4.76% |
| 1982 | $580,708,389,069.37 | 2.62% |
| 1983 | $595,061,532,581.69 | 2.47% |
| 1984 | $605,999,617,810.05 | 1.84% |
| 1985 | $623,767,819,606.34 | 2.93% |
| 1986 | $629,063,634,626.41 | 0.85% |
| 1987 | $656,730,556,086.38 | 4.40% |
| 1988 | $685,238,868,717.75 | 4.34% |
| 1989 | $704,293,904,070.32 | 2.78% |
| 1990 | $736,959,678,960.44 | 4.64% |
| 1991 | $764,428,626,027.14 | 3.73% |
| 1992 | $783,236,193,388.11 | 2.46% |
| 1993 | $793,827,823,428.24 | 1.35% |
| 1994 | $792,293,521,880.37 | -0.19% |
| 1995 | $783,731,129,371.30 | -1.08% |
| 1996 | $782,196,827,823.43 | -0.20% |
| 1997 | $789,026,944,391.36 | 0.87% |
| 1998 | $790,066,309,956.05 | 0.13% |
| 1999 | $779,771,641,505.83 | -1.30% |
| 2000 | $769,575,960,252.25 | -1.31% |
| 2001 | $755,866,233,518.06 | -1.78% |
| 2002 | $736,613,223,772.21 | -2.55% |
| 2003 | $717,904,643,607.87 | -2.54% |
| 2004 | $715,281,482,897.00 | -0.37% |
| 2005 | $709,985,667,876.93 | -0.74% |
| 2006 | $709,441,238,295.43 | -0.08% |
| 2007 | $706,758,190,330.59 | -0.38% |
| 2008 | $706,215,740,493.03 | -0.08% |
| 2009 | $713,172,065,736.67 | 0.99% |
| 2010 | $709,756,512,516.72 | -0.48% |
| 2011 | $725,243,554,366.52 | 2.18% |
| 2012 | $749,914,628,320.28 | 3.40% |
| 2013 | $756,725,442,384.87 | 0.91% |
| 2014 | $757,336,688,324.10 | 0.08% |
| 2015 | $747,764,131,473.34 | -1.26% |
| 2016 | $748,612,451,748.52 | 0.11% |
| 2017 | $746,038,784,635.96 | -0.34% |
| 2018 | $746,290,707,051.40 | 0.03% |
| 2019 | $736,771,603,286.83 | -1.28% |
| 2020 | $701,296,571,756.16 | -4.81% |
| 2021 | $718,603,493,216.13 | 2.47% |
| 2022 | $754,762,031,339.58 | 5.03% |
| 2023 | $775,536,969,233.71 | 2.75% |
| 2024 | $780,906,034,779.29 | 0.69% |
| 2025 | $781,921,148,480.80 | 0.13% |
| 2026 | $792,344,005,350.66 | 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 |