According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices for apparel are 206.98% higher in 2025 versus 1920 (a $536,086,127,336.45 difference in value).
Between 1920 and 2025: Apparel experienced an average inflation rate of 1.07% per year. In other words, apparel costing $259,000,000,000 in the year 1920 would cost $795,086,127,336.45 in 2025 for an equivalent purchase. Compared to the overall inflation rate of 2.68% during this same period, inflation for apparel was lower.
In the year 1920: Pricing changed by 13.43%, which is significantly above the average yearly change for apparel during the 1920-2025 time period. Compared to inflation for all items in 1920 (15.62%), inflation for apparel was lower.
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 | 13.43% |
| 1921 | $191,375,584,112.15 | -26.11% |
| 1922 | $162,540,654,205.61 | -15.07% |
| 1923 | $163,992,990,654.21 | 0.89% |
| 1924 | $161,935,514,018.69 | -1.25% |
| 1925 | $159,151,869,158.88 | -1.72% |
| 1926 | $156,327,881,619.94 | -1.77% |
| 1927 | $152,898,753,894.08 | -2.19% |
| 1928 | $151,083,333,333.33 | -1.19% |
| 1929 | $149,267,912,772.59 | -1.20% |
| 1930 | $145,637,071,651.09 | -2.43% |
| 1931 | $130,710,280,373.83 | -10.25% |
| 1932 | $116,186,915,887.85 | -11.11% |
| 1933 | $115,380,062,305.30 | -0.69% |
| 1934 | $125,062,305,295.95 | 8.39% |
| 1935 | $125,869,158,878.50 | 0.65% |
| 1936 | $127,281,152,647.98 | 1.12% |
| 1937 | $133,978,037,383.18 | 5.26% |
| 1938 | $132,283,644,859.81 | -1.26% |
| 1939 | $130,831,308,411.21 | -1.10% |
| 1940 | $132,007,009,345.79 | 0.90% |
| 1941 | $138,065,061,107.12 | 4.59% |
| 1942 | $161,572,429,906.54 | 17.03% |
| 1943 | $168,554,816,678.65 | 4.32% |
| 1944 | $180,378,324,946.08 | 7.01% |
| 1945 | $189,688,173,975.56 | 5.16% |
| 1946 | $208,121,675,053.92 | 9.72% |
| 1947 | $241,218,188,353.70 | 15.90% |
| 1948 | $257,231,128,684.40 | 6.64% |
| 1949 | $247,083,393,242.27 | -3.94% |
| 1950 | $243,778,396,836.81 | -1.34% |
| 1951 | $265,796,189,791.52 | 9.03% |
| 1952 | $262,956,685,837.53 | -1.07% |
| 1953 | $261,234,363,767.07 | -0.65% |
| 1954 | $260,349,928,109.27 | -0.34% |
| 1955 | $259,512,041,696.62 | -0.32% |
| 1956 | $264,725,557,153.13 | 2.01% |
| 1957 | $269,287,383,177.57 | 1.72% |
| 1958 | $270,311,466,570.81 | 0.38% |
| 1959 | $272,452,731,847.59 | 0.79% |
| 1960 | $276,549,065,420.56 | 1.50% |
| 1961 | $278,736,879,942.49 | 0.79% |
| 1962 | $280,273,005,032.35 | 0.55% |
| 1963 | $283,717,649,173.26 | 1.23% |
| 1964 | $286,138,209,920.92 | 0.85% |
| 1965 | $288,884,615,384.62 | 0.96% |
| 1966 | $296,611,790,079.08 | 2.67% |
| 1967 | $308,714,593,817.40 | 4.08% |
| 1968 | $325,193,026,599.57 | 5.34% |
| 1969 | $343,905,823,148.81 | 5.75% |
| 1970 | $358,103,342,918.76 | 4.13% |
| 1971 | $369,694,104,960.46 | 3.24% |
| 1972 | $377,328,181,164.63 | 2.06% |
| 1973 | $391,153,306,973.40 | 3.66% |
| 1974 | $420,153,486,700.22 | 7.41% |
| 1975 | $438,866,283,249.46 | 4.45% |
| 1976 | $455,298,166,786.48 | 3.74% |
| 1977 | $475,686,736,161.04 | 4.48% |
| 1978 | $492,397,915,168.94 | 3.51% |
| 1979 | $513,950,215,672.18 | 4.38% |
| 1980 | $550,305,176,132.28 | 7.07% |
| 1981 | $576,558,950,395.40 | 4.77% |
| 1982 | $591,687,455,068.30 | 2.62% |
| 1983 | $606,303,918,044.57 | 2.47% |
| 1984 | $617,475,736,879.94 | 1.84% |
| 1985 | $635,536,843,997.12 | 2.92% |
| 1986 | $640,936,556,434.22 | 0.85% |
| 1987 | $669,145,398,993.53 | 4.40% |
| 1988 | $698,192,127,965.49 | 4.34% |
| 1989 | $717,603,163,191.95 | 2.78% |
| 1990 | $750,885,873,472.32 | 4.64% |
| 1991 | $778,861,969,805.89 | 3.73% |
| 1992 | $798,040,258,806.61 | 2.46% |
| 1993 | $808,839,683,680.80 | 1.35% |
| 1994 | $807,257,009,345.79 | -0.20% |
| 1995 | $798,552,300,503.24 | -1.08% |
| 1996 | $796,969,626,168.22 | -0.20% |
| 1997 | $803,952,012,940.33 | 0.88% |
| 1998 | $804,976,096,333.57 | 0.13% |
| 1999 | $794,502,516,175.41 | -1.30% |
| 2000 | $784,122,034,507.55 | -1.31% |
| 2001 | $770,157,260,963.34 | -1.78% |
| 2002 | $750,513,479,511.14 | -2.55% |
| 2003 | $731,474,838,245.87 | -2.54% |
| 2004 | $728,774,982,027.32 | -0.37% |
| 2005 | $723,375,269,590.22 | -0.74% |
| 2006 | $722,863,227,893.60 | -0.07% |
| 2007 | $720,106,116,103.52 | -0.38% |
| 2008 | $719,553,576,563.62 | -0.08% |
| 2009 | $726,641,164,629.76 | 0.98% |
| 2010 | $723,161,143,062.54 | -0.48% |
| 2011 | $738,940,871,675.05 | 2.18% |
| 2012 | $764,077,929,547.09 | 3.40% |
| 2013 | $771,017,025,521.21 | 0.91% |
| 2014 | $771,639,854,421.28 | 0.08% |
| 2015 | $761,886,856,578.00 | -1.26% |
| 2016 | $762,750,810,567.94 | 0.11% |
| 2017 | $760,128,691,588.78 | -0.34% |
| 2018 | $760,385,177,929.55 | 0.03% |
| 2019 | $750,686,642,703.09 | -1.28% |
| 2020 | $714,541,619,338.61 | -4.81% |
| 2021 | $732,175,404,385.33 | 2.47% |
| 2022 | $769,016,804,457.22 | 5.03% |
| 2023 | $790,184,142,703.09 | 2.75% |
| 2024 | $795,654,609,992.81 | 0.69% |
| 2025 | $795,086,127,336.45 | -0.07%* |
* 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 | 1913 | 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 |
| CPI | 14.900 | 15.000 | 15.450 | 17.350 | 21.200 | 29.550 | 37.733 | 42.800 | 31.625 | 26.860 | 27.100 | 26.760 | 26.300 | 25.833 | 25.267 | 24.967 | 24.667 | 24.067 | 21.600 | 19.200 | 19.067 | 20.667 | 20.800 | 21.033 | 22.140 | 21.860 | 21.620 | 21.814 | 22.815 | 26.700 | 27.854 | 29.808 | 31.346 | 34.392 | 39.862 | 42.508 | 40.831 | 40.285 | 43.923 | 43.454 | 43.169 | 43.023 | 42.885 | 43.746 | 44.500 | 44.669 | 45.023 | 45.700 | 46.062 | 46.315 | 46.885 | 47.285 | 47.738 | 49.015 | 51.015 | 53.738 | 56.831 | 59.177 | 61.092 | 62.354 | 64.638 | 69.431 | 72.523 | 75.238 | 78.608 | 81.369 | 84.931 | 90.938 | 95.277 | 97.777 | 100.192 | 102.038 | 105.023 | 105.915 | 110.577 | 115.377 | 118.585 | 124.085 | 128.708 | 131.877 | 133.662 | 133.400 | 131.962 | 131.700 | 132.854 | 133.023 | 131.292 | 129.577 | 127.269 | 124.023 | 120.877 | 120.431 | 119.538 | 119.454 | 118.998 | 118.907 | 120.078 | 119.503 | 122.111 | 126.265 | 127.411 | 127.514 | 125.903 | 126.045 | 125.612 | 125.654 | 124.052 | 118.079 | 120.993 | 127.081 | 130.579 | 131.483 | 131.389 |