According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices for apparel are 205.92% higher in 2026 versus 1920 (a $67,955,027,708,771.28 difference in value).
Between 1920 and 2026:Apparel experienced an average inflation rate of 1.06% per year. In other words, apparel costing $33,000,000,000,000 in the year 1920 would cost $100,955,027,708,771.28 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 $33,000,000,000,000 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 | $33,000,000,000,000.00 | 28.26% |
| 1921 | $26,397,477,546,340.54 | -20.01% |
| 1922 | $20,551,691,190,521.69 | -22.15% |
| 1923 | $20,431,874,641,696.93 | -0.58% |
| 1924 | $20,343,588,763,615.52 | -0.43% |
| 1925 | $19,965,220,714,695.20 | -1.86% |
| 1926 | $19,681,444,678,004.97 | -1.42% |
| 1927 | $19,296,770,494,935.99 | -1.95% |
| 1928 | $18,943,626,982,610.36 | -1.83% |
| 1929 | $18,748,136,824,001.54 | -1.03% |
| 1930 | $18,508,503,726,352.00 | -1.28% |
| 1931 | $17,108,541,945,346.84 | -7.56% |
| 1932 | $15,046,436,078,731.14 | -12.05% |
| 1933 | $14,024,842,346,646.29 | -6.79% |
| 1934 | $15,492,451,748,519.02 | 10.46% |
| 1935 | $15,722,647,694,365.64 | 1.49% |
| 1936 | $15,897,764,188,801.84 | 1.11% |
| 1937 | $16,629,275,750,047.77 | 4.60% |
| 1938 | $16,635,581,884,196.45 | 0.04% |
| 1939 | $16,364,418,115,803.56 | -1.63% |
| 1940 | $16,503,153,067,074.34 | 0.85% |
| 1941 | $17,266,195,299,063.64 | 4.62% |
| 1942 | $20,204,853,812,344.74 | 17.02% |
| 1943 | $21,081,406,459,010.13 | 4.34% |
| 1944 | $22,557,041,849,799.35 | 7.00% |
| 1945 | $23,717,370,533,154.99 | 5.14% |
| 1946 | $26,025,415,631,568.90 | 9.73% |
| 1947 | $30,162,239,633,097.65 | 15.90% |
| 1948 | $32,167,590,292,375.32 | 6.65% |
| 1949 | $30,900,057,328,492.27 | -3.94% |
| 1950 | $30,483,852,474,679.93 | -1.35% |
| 1951 | $33,239,633,097,649.55 | 9.04% |
| 1952 | $32,880,183,451,175.24 | -1.08% |
| 1953 | $32,672,081,024,269.07 | -0.63% |
| 1954 | $32,552,264,475,444.31 | -0.37% |
| 1955 | $32,451,366,329,065.55 | -0.31% |
| 1956 | $33,107,204,280,527.43 | 2.02% |
| 1957 | $33,674,756,353,907.90 | 1.71% |
| 1958 | $33,807,185,171,030.01 | 0.39% |
| 1959 | $34,072,042,805,274.23 | 0.78% |
| 1960 | $34,582,839,671,316.65 | 1.50% |
| 1961 | $34,854,003,439,709.54 | 0.78% |
| 1962 | $35,049,493,598,318.37 | 0.56% |
| 1963 | $35,478,310,720,428.06 | 1.22% |
| 1964 | $35,781,005,159,564.31 | 0.85% |
| 1965 | $36,121,536,403,592.59 | 0.95% |
| 1966 | $37,092,681,062,488.07 | 2.69% |
| 1967 | $38,606,153,258,169.32 | 4.08% |
| 1968 | $40,668,259,124,785.02 | 5.34% |
| 1969 | $43,007,834,893,942.30 | 5.75% |
| 1970 | $44,779,858,589,719.10 | 4.12% |
| 1971 | $46,230,269,443,913.63 | 3.24% |
| 1972 | $47,188,801,834,511.75 | 2.07% |
| 1973 | $48,916,682,591,247.86 | 3.66% |
| 1974 | $52,542,709,726,734.20 | 7.41% |
| 1975 | $54,882,285,495,891.45 | 4.45% |
| 1976 | $56,938,085,228,358.50 | 3.75% |
| 1977 | $59,485,763,424,421.94 | 4.47% |
| 1978 | $61,573,093,827,632.34 | 3.51% |
| 1979 | $64,272,119,243,263.91 | 4.38% |
| 1980 | $68,818,841,964,456.34 | 7.07% |
| 1981 | $72,098,031,721,765.72 | 4.76% |
| 1982 | $73,989,871,966,367.28 | 2.62% |
| 1983 | $75,818,650,869,482.14 | 2.47% |
| 1984 | $77,212,306,516,338.64 | 1.84% |
| 1985 | $79,476,208,675,711.83 | 2.93% |
| 1986 | $80,150,965,029,619.73 | 0.85% |
| 1987 | $83,676,094,018,727.31 | 4.40% |
| 1988 | $87,308,427,288,362.33 | 4.34% |
| 1989 | $89,736,288,935,601.00 | 2.78% |
| 1990 | $93,898,337,473,724.44 | 4.64% |
| 1991 | $97,398,241,926,237.36 | 3.73% |
| 1992 | $99,794,572,902,732.69 | 2.46% |
| 1993 | $101,144,085,610,548.44 | 1.35% |
| 1994 | $100,948,595,451,939.63 | -0.19% |
| 1995 | $99,857,634,244,219.41 | -1.08% |
| 1996 | $99,662,144,085,610.58 | -0.20% |
| 1997 | $100,532,390,598,127.28 | 0.87% |
| 1998 | $100,664,819,415,249.41 | 0.13% |
| 1999 | $99,353,143,512,325.63 | -1.30% |
| 2000 | $98,054,079,877,699.23 | -1.31% |
| 2001 | $96,307,280,718,517.13 | -1.78% |
| 2002 | $93,854,194,534,683.72 | -2.55% |
| 2003 | $91,470,475,826,485.78 | -2.54% |
| 2004 | $91,136,250,716,606.16 | -0.37% |
| 2005 | $90,461,494,362,698.28 | -0.74% |
| 2006 | $90,392,126,887,062.88 | -0.08% |
| 2007 | $90,050,271,354,863.38 | -0.38% |
| 2008 | $89,981,156,124,593.95 | -0.08% |
| 2009 | $90,867,483,279,189.78 | 0.99% |
| 2010 | $90,432,296,961,589.92 | -0.48% |
| 2011 | $92,405,549,398,050.84 | 2.18% |
| 2012 | $95,548,968,087,139.31 | 3.40% |
| 2013 | $96,416,755,207,338.06 | 0.91% |
| 2014 | $96,494,635,964,074.16 | 0.08% |
| 2015 | $95,274,966,558,379.52 | -1.26% |
| 2016 | $95,383,053,697,687.77 | 0.11% |
| 2017 | $95,055,134,721,956.84 | -0.34% |
| 2018 | $95,087,232,944,773.58 | 0.03% |
| 2019 | $93,874,374,163,959.50 | -1.28% |
| 2020 | $89,354,389,451,557.44 | -4.81% |
| 2021 | $91,559,518,440,665.05 | 2.47% |
| 2022 | $96,166,590,865,660.28 | 5.03% |
| 2023 | $98,813,590,674,565.28 | 2.75% |
| 2024 | $99,497,680,107,013.20 | 0.69% |
| 2025 | $99,627,018,918,402.44 | 0.13% |
| 2026 | $100,955,027,708,771.28 | 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 |