According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices for apparel are 205.92% higher in 2026 versus 1920 (a $57,452,887,062.87 difference in value).
Between 1920 and 2026:Apparel experienced an average inflation rate of 1.06% per year. In other words, apparel costing $27,900,000,000 in the year 1920 would cost $85,352,887,062.87 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 $27,900,000,000 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 | $27,900,000,000.00 | 28.26% |
| 1921 | $22,317,867,380.09 | -20.01% |
| 1922 | $17,375,520,733.80 | -22.15% |
| 1923 | $17,274,221,287.98 | -0.58% |
| 1924 | $17,199,579,591.06 | -0.43% |
| 1925 | $16,879,686,604.24 | -1.86% |
| 1926 | $16,639,766,864.13 | -1.42% |
| 1927 | $16,314,542,327.54 | -1.95% |
| 1928 | $16,015,975,539.84 | -1.83% |
| 1929 | $15,850,697,496.66 | -1.03% |
| 1930 | $15,648,098,605.01 | -1.28% |
| 1931 | $14,464,494,553.79 | -7.56% |
| 1932 | $12,721,077,775.65 | -12.05% |
| 1933 | $11,857,366,711.26 | -6.79% |
| 1934 | $13,098,163,751.02 | 10.46% |
| 1935 | $13,292,783,959.78 | 1.49% |
| 1936 | $13,440,836,995.99 | 1.11% |
| 1937 | $14,059,296,770.49 | 4.60% |
| 1938 | $14,064,628,320.28 | 0.04% |
| 1939 | $13,835,371,679.72 | -1.63% |
| 1940 | $13,952,665,774.89 | 0.85% |
| 1941 | $14,597,783,298.30 | 4.62% |
| 1942 | $17,082,285,495.89 | 17.02% |
| 1943 | $17,823,370,915.34 | 4.34% |
| 1944 | $19,070,953,563.92 | 7.00% |
| 1945 | $20,051,958,723.49 | 5.14% |
| 1946 | $22,003,305,943.05 | 9.73% |
| 1947 | $25,500,802,598.89 | 15.90% |
| 1948 | $27,196,235,429.01 | 6.65% |
| 1949 | $26,124,593,923.18 | -3.94% |
| 1950 | $25,772,711,637.68 | -1.35% |
| 1951 | $28,102,598,891.65 | 9.04% |
| 1952 | $27,798,700,554.18 | -1.08% |
| 1953 | $27,622,759,411.43 | -0.63% |
| 1954 | $27,521,459,965.60 | -0.37% |
| 1955 | $27,436,155,169.12 | -0.31% |
| 1956 | $27,990,636,346.26 | 2.02% |
| 1957 | $28,470,475,826.49 | 1.71% |
| 1958 | $28,582,438,371.87 | 0.39% |
| 1959 | $28,806,363,462.64 | 0.78% |
| 1960 | $29,238,218,994.84 | 1.50% |
| 1961 | $29,467,475,635.39 | 0.78% |
| 1962 | $29,632,753,678.58 | 0.56% |
| 1963 | $29,995,299,063.63 | 1.22% |
| 1964 | $30,251,213,453.09 | 0.85% |
| 1965 | $30,539,117,141.22 | 0.95% |
| 1966 | $31,360,175,807.38 | 2.69% |
| 1967 | $32,639,747,754.63 | 4.08% |
| 1968 | $34,383,164,532.77 | 5.34% |
| 1969 | $36,361,169,501.24 | 5.75% |
| 1970 | $37,859,334,989.49 | 4.12% |
| 1971 | $39,085,591,438.95 | 3.24% |
| 1972 | $39,895,987,005.54 | 2.07% |
| 1973 | $41,356,831,645.33 | 3.66% |
| 1974 | $44,422,472,768.97 | 7.41% |
| 1975 | $46,400,477,737.44 | 4.45% |
| 1976 | $48,138,562,965.79 | 3.75% |
| 1977 | $50,292,509,077.01 | 4.47% |
| 1978 | $52,057,252,054.27 | 3.51% |
| 1979 | $54,339,155,360.21 | 4.38% |
| 1980 | $58,183,202,751.77 | 7.07% |
| 1981 | $60,955,608,637.49 | 4.76% |
| 1982 | $62,555,073,571.57 | 2.62% |
| 1983 | $64,101,223,007.83 | 2.47% |
| 1984 | $65,279,495,509.27 | 1.84% |
| 1985 | $67,193,521,880.37 | 2.93% |
| 1986 | $67,763,997,706.86 | 0.85% |
| 1987 | $70,744,334,034.01 | 4.40% |
| 1988 | $73,815,306,707.43 | 4.34% |
| 1989 | $75,867,953,372.83 | 2.78% |
| 1990 | $79,386,776,227.79 | 4.64% |
| 1991 | $82,345,786,355.82 | 3.73% |
| 1992 | $84,371,775,272.31 | 2.46% |
| 1993 | $85,512,726,925.28 | 1.35% |
| 1994 | $85,347,448,882.09 | -0.19% |
| 1995 | $84,425,090,770.11 | -1.08% |
| 1996 | $84,259,812,726.93 | -0.20% |
| 1997 | $84,995,566,596.60 | 0.87% |
| 1998 | $85,107,529,141.98 | 0.13% |
| 1999 | $83,998,566,787.69 | -1.30% |
| 2000 | $82,900,267,532.96 | -1.31% |
| 2001 | $81,423,428,243.84 | -1.78% |
| 2002 | $79,349,455,379.32 | -2.55% |
| 2003 | $77,334,129,562.39 | -2.54% |
| 2004 | $77,051,557,424.04 | -0.37% |
| 2005 | $76,481,081,597.55 | -0.74% |
| 2006 | $76,422,434,549.97 | -0.08% |
| 2007 | $76,133,411,236.38 | -0.38% |
| 2008 | $76,074,977,450.79 | -0.08% |
| 2009 | $76,824,326,772.41 | 0.99% |
| 2010 | $76,456,396,522.07 | -0.48% |
| 2011 | $78,124,691,763.81 | 2.18% |
| 2012 | $80,782,309,382.76 | 3.40% |
| 2013 | $81,515,983,948.02 | 0.91% |
| 2014 | $81,581,828,587.81 | 0.08% |
| 2015 | $80,550,653,544.81 | -1.26% |
| 2016 | $80,642,036,308.05 | 0.11% |
| 2017 | $80,364,795,719.47 | -0.34% |
| 2018 | $80,391,933,307.85 | 0.03% |
| 2019 | $79,366,516,338.62 | -1.28% |
| 2020 | $75,545,074,718.13 | -4.81% |
| 2021 | $77,409,411,045.29 | 2.47% |
| 2022 | $81,304,481,368.24 | 5.03% |
| 2023 | $83,542,399,388.50 | 2.75% |
| 2024 | $84,120,765,908.66 | 0.69% |
| 2025 | $84,230,115,994.65 | 0.13% |
| 2026 | $85,352,887,062.87 | 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 |