According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices for apparel are 197.56% higher in 2026 versus 1920 (a $602,572,291,228.74 difference in value).
Between 1920 and 2026: Apparel experienced an average inflation rate of 1.03% per year. In other words, apparel costing $305,000,000,000 in the year 1920 would cost $907,572,291,228.74 in 2026 for an equivalent purchase. Compared to the overall inflation rate of 2.66% 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 $305,000,000,000 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 | $305,000,000,000.00 | 28.26% |
| 1921 | $243,976,686,413.15 | -20.01% |
| 1922 | $189,947,448,882.09 | -22.15% |
| 1923 | $188,840,053,506.59 | -0.58% |
| 1924 | $188,024,077,966.75 | -0.43% |
| 1925 | $184,527,039,938.85 | -1.86% |
| 1926 | $181,904,261,417.92 | -1.42% |
| 1927 | $178,348,939,422.89 | -1.95% |
| 1928 | $175,085,037,263.52 | -1.83% |
| 1929 | $173,278,234,282.44 | -1.03% |
| 1930 | $171,063,443,531.44 | -1.28% |
| 1931 | $158,124,402,828.21 | -7.56% |
| 1932 | $139,065,545,576.15 | -12.05% |
| 1933 | $129,623,542,900.82 | -6.79% |
| 1934 | $143,187,811,615.10 | 10.46% |
| 1935 | $145,315,380,205.50 | 1.49% |
| 1936 | $146,933,881,138.93 | 1.11% |
| 1937 | $153,694,821,326.20 | 4.60% |
| 1938 | $153,753,105,293.33 | 0.04% |
| 1939 | $151,246,894,706.67 | -1.63% |
| 1940 | $152,529,141,983.57 | 0.85% |
| 1941 | $159,581,502,006.50 | 4.62% |
| 1942 | $186,741,830,689.85 | 17.02% |
| 1943 | $194,843,302,121.15 | 4.34% |
| 1944 | $208,481,750,429.96 | 7.00% |
| 1945 | $219,206,000,382.19 | 5.14% |
| 1946 | $240,537,932,352.38 | 9.73% |
| 1947 | $278,772,214,790.75 | 15.90% |
| 1948 | $297,306,516,338.62 | 6.65% |
| 1949 | $285,591,438,945.16 | -3.94% |
| 1950 | $281,744,697,114.47 | -1.35% |
| 1951 | $307,214,790,751.00 | 9.04% |
| 1952 | $303,892,604,624.50 | -1.08% |
| 1953 | $301,969,233,709.15 | -0.63% |
| 1954 | $300,861,838,333.65 | -0.37% |
| 1955 | $299,929,294,859.55 | -0.31% |
| 1956 | $305,990,827,441.24 | 2.02% |
| 1957 | $311,236,384,483.09 | 1.71% |
| 1958 | $312,460,347,792.85 | 0.39% |
| 1959 | $314,908,274,412.38 | 0.78% |
| 1960 | $319,629,275,750.05 | 1.50% |
| 1961 | $322,135,486,336.71 | 0.78% |
| 1962 | $323,942,289,317.79 | 0.56% |
| 1963 | $327,905,599,082.74 | 1.22% |
| 1964 | $330,703,229,505.06 | 0.85% |
| 1965 | $333,850,563,730.17 | 0.95% |
| 1966 | $342,826,294,668.45 | 2.69% |
| 1967 | $356,814,446,780.05 | 4.08% |
| 1968 | $375,873,304,032.10 | 5.34% |
| 1969 | $397,496,655,837.95 | 5.75% |
| 1970 | $413,874,450,601.95 | 4.12% |
| 1971 | $427,279,763,042.23 | 3.24% |
| 1972 | $436,138,926,046.25 | 2.07% |
| 1973 | $452,108,733,040.32 | 3.66% |
| 1974 | $485,622,014,141.03 | 7.41% |
| 1975 | $507,245,365,946.88 | 4.45% |
| 1976 | $526,245,939,231.80 | 3.75% |
| 1977 | $549,792,661,952.99 | 4.47% |
| 1978 | $569,084,655,073.57 | 3.51% |
| 1979 | $594,030,193,005.92 | 4.38% |
| 1980 | $636,052,933,307.85 | 7.07% |
| 1981 | $666,360,596,216.32 | 4.76% |
| 1982 | $683,845,786,355.82 | 2.62% |
| 1983 | $700,748,136,824.00 | 2.47% |
| 1984 | $713,628,893,560.10 | 1.84% |
| 1985 | $734,552,837,760.37 | 2.93% |
| 1986 | $740,789,222,243.46 | 0.85% |
| 1987 | $773,369,959,870.06 | 4.40% |
| 1988 | $806,941,524,937.89 | 4.34% |
| 1989 | $829,380,852,283.59 | 2.78% |
| 1990 | $867,848,270,590.48 | 4.64% |
| 1991 | $900,195,872,348.56 | 3.73% |
| 1992 | $922,343,779,858.59 | 2.46% |
| 1993 | $934,816,548,824.77 | 1.35% |
| 1994 | $933,009,745,843.68 | -0.19% |
| 1995 | $922,926,619,529.91 | -1.08% |
| 1996 | $921,119,816,548.83 | -0.20% |
| 1997 | $929,163,004,012.99 | 0.87% |
| 1998 | $930,386,967,322.76 | 0.13% |
| 1999 | $918,263,902,159.37 | -1.30% |
| 2000 | $906,257,404,930.25 | -1.31% |
| 2001 | $890,112,746,034.78 | -1.78% |
| 2002 | $867,440,282,820.56 | -2.55% |
| 2003 | $845,408,943,244.79 | -2.54% |
| 2004 | $842,319,892,986.81 | -0.37% |
| 2005 | $836,083,508,503.73 | -0.74% |
| 2006 | $835,442,384,865.28 | -0.08% |
| 2007 | $832,282,811,007.07 | -0.38% |
| 2008 | $831,644,018,727.31 | -0.08% |
| 2009 | $839,835,830,307.66 | 0.99% |
| 2010 | $835,813,653,735.91 | -0.48% |
| 2011 | $854,051,289,891.08 | 2.18% |
| 2012 | $883,104,098,987.20 | 3.40% |
| 2013 | $891,124,555,704.19 | 0.91% |
| 2014 | $891,844,362,698.26 | 0.08% |
| 2015 | $880,571,660,615.33 | -1.26% |
| 2016 | $881,570,647,811.96 | 0.11% |
| 2017 | $878,539,881,521.12 | -0.34% |
| 2018 | $878,836,546,913.82 | 0.03% |
| 2019 | $867,626,791,515.38 | -1.28% |
| 2020 | $825,851,175,234.09 | -4.81% |
| 2021 | $846,231,912,860.69 | 2.47% |
| 2022 | $888,812,430,728.07 | 5.03% |
| 2023 | $913,277,125,931.59 | 2.75% |
| 2024 | $919,599,770,686.03 | 0.69% |
| 2025 | $923,040,644,163.79 | 0.37% |
| 2026 | $907,572,291,228.74 | -1.68%* |
* 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 | 131.975 | 129.763 |