According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices for apparel are 206.98% higher in 2025 versus 1920 (a $57,748,273,948.60 difference in value).
Between 1920 and 2025: Apparel experienced an average inflation rate of 1.07% per year. In other words, apparel costing $27,900,000,000 in the year 1920 would cost $85,648,273,948.60 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 $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 | 13.43% |
| 1921 | $20,615,362,149.53 | -26.11% |
| 1922 | $17,509,205,607.48 | -15.07% |
| 1923 | $17,665,654,205.61 | 0.89% |
| 1924 | $17,444,018,691.59 | -1.25% |
| 1925 | $17,144,158,878.50 | -1.72% |
| 1926 | $16,839,953,271.03 | -1.77% |
| 1927 | $16,470,560,747.66 | -2.19% |
| 1928 | $16,275,000,000.00 | -1.19% |
| 1929 | $16,079,439,252.34 | -1.20% |
| 1930 | $15,688,317,757.01 | -2.43% |
| 1931 | $14,080,373,831.78 | -10.25% |
| 1932 | $12,515,887,850.47 | -11.11% |
| 1933 | $12,428,971,962.62 | -0.69% |
| 1934 | $13,471,962,616.82 | 8.39% |
| 1935 | $13,558,878,504.67 | 0.65% |
| 1936 | $13,710,981,308.41 | 1.12% |
| 1937 | $14,432,383,177.57 | 5.26% |
| 1938 | $14,249,859,813.08 | -1.26% |
| 1939 | $14,093,411,214.95 | -1.10% |
| 1940 | $14,220,060,080.11 | 0.90% |
| 1941 | $14,872,645,578.72 | 4.59% |
| 1942 | $17,404,906,542.06 | 17.03% |
| 1943 | $18,157,063,263.84 | 4.32% |
| 1944 | $19,430,715,312.72 | 7.01% |
| 1945 | $20,433,590,941.77 | 5.16% |
| 1946 | $22,419,284,687.28 | 9.72% |
| 1947 | $25,984,507,548.53 | 15.90% |
| 1948 | $27,709,453,630.48 | 6.64% |
| 1949 | $26,616,319,194.82 | -3.94% |
| 1950 | $26,260,298,346.51 | -1.34% |
| 1951 | $28,632,099,209.20 | 9.03% |
| 1952 | $28,326,222,142.34 | -1.07% |
| 1953 | $28,140,690,150.97 | -0.65% |
| 1954 | $28,045,416,966.21 | -0.34% |
| 1955 | $27,955,158,159.60 | -0.32% |
| 1956 | $28,516,768,511.86 | 2.01% |
| 1957 | $29,008,177,570.09 | 1.72% |
| 1958 | $29,118,493,889.29 | 0.38% |
| 1959 | $29,349,155,283.97 | 0.79% |
| 1960 | $29,790,420,560.75 | 1.50% |
| 1961 | $30,026,096,333.57 | 0.79% |
| 1962 | $30,191,570,812.37 | 0.55% |
| 1963 | $30,562,634,795.11 | 1.23% |
| 1964 | $30,823,382,458.66 | 0.85% |
| 1965 | $31,119,230,769.23 | 0.96% |
| 1966 | $31,951,617,541.34 | 2.67% |
| 1967 | $33,255,355,859.09 | 4.08% |
| 1968 | $35,030,445,722.50 | 5.34% |
| 1969 | $37,046,225,736.88 | 5.75% |
| 1970 | $38,575,611,071.17 | 4.13% |
| 1971 | $39,824,191,229.33 | 3.24% |
| 1972 | $40,646,549,245.15 | 2.06% |
| 1973 | $42,135,819,554.28 | 3.66% |
| 1974 | $45,259,777,138.75 | 7.41% |
| 1975 | $47,275,557,153.13 | 4.45% |
| 1976 | $49,045,632,638.39 | 3.74% |
| 1977 | $51,241,930,266.00 | 4.48% |
| 1978 | $53,042,092,020.13 | 3.51% |
| 1979 | $55,363,749,101.37 | 4.38% |
| 1980 | $59,279,978,432.78 | 7.07% |
| 1981 | $62,108,087,706.69 | 4.77% |
| 1982 | $63,737,760,603.88 | 2.62% |
| 1983 | $65,312,275,341.48 | 2.47% |
| 1984 | $66,515,726,096.33 | 1.84% |
| 1985 | $68,461,304,816.68 | 2.92% |
| 1986 | $69,042,972,681.52 | 0.85% |
| 1987 | $72,081,685,837.53 | 4.40% |
| 1988 | $75,210,657,800.14 | 4.34% |
| 1989 | $77,301,653,486.70 | 2.78% |
| 1990 | $80,886,933,860.53 | 4.64% |
| 1991 | $83,900,575,125.81 | 3.73% |
| 1992 | $85,966,498,921.64 | 2.46% |
| 1993 | $87,129,834,651.33 | 1.35% |
| 1994 | $86,959,345,794.39 | -0.20% |
| 1995 | $86,021,657,081.24 | -1.08% |
| 1996 | $85,851,168,224.30 | -0.20% |
| 1997 | $86,603,324,946.08 | 0.88% |
| 1998 | $86,713,641,265.28 | 0.13% |
| 1999 | $85,585,406,182.60 | -1.30% |
| 2000 | $84,467,199,856.22 | -1.31% |
| 2001 | $82,962,886,412.65 | -1.78% |
| 2002 | $80,846,818,835.37 | -2.55% |
| 2003 | $78,795,938,173.98 | -2.54% |
| 2004 | $78,505,104,241.55 | -0.37% |
| 2005 | $77,923,436,376.71 | -0.74% |
| 2006 | $77,868,278,217.11 | -0.07% |
| 2007 | $77,571,276,599.57 | -0.38% |
| 2008 | $77,511,755,930.98 | -0.08% |
| 2009 | $78,275,245,147.38 | 0.98% |
| 2010 | $77,900,370,237.24 | -0.48% |
| 2011 | $79,600,194,284.69 | 2.18% |
| 2012 | $82,308,008,626.89 | 3.40% |
| 2013 | $83,055,501,976.99 | 0.91% |
| 2014 | $83,122,594,356.58 | 0.08% |
| 2015 | $82,071,981,847.59 | -1.26% |
| 2016 | $82,165,048,705.97 | 0.11% |
| 2017 | $81,882,588,785.05 | -0.34% |
| 2018 | $81,910,218,008.63 | 0.03% |
| 2019 | $80,865,472,322.07 | -1.28% |
| 2020 | $76,971,857,836.09 | -4.81% |
| 2021 | $78,871,404,565.06 | 2.47% |
| 2022 | $82,840,034,148.09 | 5.03% |
| 2023 | $85,120,222,322.07 | 2.75% |
| 2024 | $85,709,512,041.70 | 0.69% |
| 2025 | $85,648,273,948.60 | -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 |