According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices for apparel are 205.92% higher in 2026 versus 1920 (a $77,221,622,396.33 difference in value).
Between 1920 and 2026:Apparel experienced an average inflation rate of 1.06% per year. In other words, apparel costing $37,500,000,000 in the year 1920 would cost $114,721,622,396.33 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 $37,500,000,000 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 | $37,500,000,000.00 | 28.26% |
| 1921 | $29,997,133,575.39 | -20.01% |
| 1922 | $23,354,194,534.68 | -22.15% |
| 1923 | $23,218,039,365.56 | -0.58% |
| 1924 | $23,117,714,504.11 | -0.43% |
| 1925 | $22,687,750,812.15 | -1.86% |
| 1926 | $22,365,278,043.19 | -1.42% |
| 1927 | $21,928,148,289.70 | -1.95% |
| 1928 | $21,526,848,843.88 | -1.83% |
| 1929 | $21,304,700,936.37 | -1.03% |
| 1930 | $21,032,390,598.13 | -1.28% |
| 1931 | $19,441,524,937.89 | -7.56% |
| 1932 | $17,098,222,816.74 | -12.05% |
| 1933 | $15,937,320,848.46 | -6.79% |
| 1934 | $17,605,058,805.14 | 10.46% |
| 1935 | $17,866,645,107.23 | 1.49% |
| 1936 | $18,065,641,123.64 | 1.11% |
| 1937 | $18,896,904,261.42 | 4.60% |
| 1938 | $18,904,070,322.95 | 0.04% |
| 1939 | $18,595,929,677.05 | -1.63% |
| 1940 | $18,753,583,030.77 | 0.85% |
| 1941 | $19,620,676,476.21 | 4.62% |
| 1942 | $22,960,061,150.39 | 17.02% |
| 1943 | $23,956,143,703.42 | 4.34% |
| 1944 | $25,633,002,102.04 | 7.00% |
| 1945 | $26,951,557,424.04 | 5.14% |
| 1946 | $29,574,335,944.96 | 9.73% |
| 1947 | $34,275,272,310.34 | 15.90% |
| 1948 | $36,554,079,877.70 | 6.65% |
| 1949 | $35,113,701,509.65 | -3.94% |
| 1950 | $34,640,741,448.50 | -1.35% |
| 1951 | $37,772,310,338.24 | 9.04% |
| 1952 | $37,363,844,830.88 | -1.08% |
| 1953 | $37,127,364,800.31 | -0.63% |
| 1954 | $36,991,209,631.19 | -0.37% |
| 1955 | $36,876,552,646.67 | -0.31% |
| 1956 | $37,621,823,046.05 | 2.02% |
| 1957 | $38,266,768,583.99 | 1.71% |
| 1958 | $38,417,255,876.17 | 0.39% |
| 1959 | $38,718,230,460.54 | 0.78% |
| 1960 | $39,298,681,444.68 | 1.50% |
| 1961 | $39,606,822,090.58 | 0.78% |
| 1962 | $39,828,969,998.09 | 0.56% |
| 1963 | $40,316,262,182.30 | 1.22% |
| 1964 | $40,660,233,135.87 | 0.85% |
| 1965 | $41,047,200,458.63 | 0.95% |
| 1966 | $42,150,773,934.65 | 2.69% |
| 1967 | $43,870,628,702.47 | 4.08% |
| 1968 | $46,213,930,823.62 | 5.34% |
| 1969 | $48,872,539,652.21 | 5.75% |
| 1970 | $50,886,202,942.86 | 4.12% |
| 1971 | $52,534,397,095.36 | 3.24% |
| 1972 | $53,623,638,448.31 | 2.07% |
| 1973 | $55,587,139,308.24 | 3.66% |
| 1974 | $59,707,624,689.47 | 7.41% |
| 1975 | $62,366,233,518.06 | 4.45% |
| 1976 | $64,702,369,577.68 | 3.75% |
| 1977 | $67,597,458,436.84 | 4.47% |
| 1978 | $69,969,424,804.13 | 3.51% |
| 1979 | $73,036,499,140.07 | 4.38% |
| 1980 | $78,203,229,505.06 | 7.07% |
| 1981 | $81,929,581,502.01 | 4.76% |
| 1982 | $84,079,399,961.78 | 2.62% |
| 1983 | $86,157,557,806.23 | 2.47% |
| 1984 | $87,741,257,404.93 | 1.84% |
| 1985 | $90,313,873,495.13 | 2.93% |
| 1986 | $91,080,642,079.11 | 0.85% |
| 1987 | $95,086,470,475.83 | 4.40% |
| 1988 | $99,214,121,918.59 | 4.34% |
| 1989 | $101,973,055,608.64 | 2.78% |
| 1990 | $106,702,656,220.14 | 4.64% |
| 1991 | $110,679,820,370.72 | 3.73% |
| 1992 | $113,402,923,753.11 | 2.46% |
| 1993 | $114,936,460,921.08 | 1.35% |
| 1994 | $114,714,313,013.57 | -0.19% |
| 1995 | $113,474,584,368.43 | -1.08% |
| 1996 | $113,252,436,460.92 | -0.20% |
| 1997 | $114,241,352,952.42 | 0.87% |
| 1998 | $114,391,840,244.60 | 0.13% |
| 1999 | $112,901,299,445.82 | -1.30% |
| 2000 | $111,425,090,770.11 | -1.31% |
| 2001 | $109,440,091,725.59 | -1.78% |
| 2002 | $106,652,493,789.41 | -2.55% |
| 2003 | $103,943,722,530.10 | -2.54% |
| 2004 | $103,563,921,268.87 | -0.37% |
| 2005 | $102,797,152,684.88 | -0.74% |
| 2006 | $102,718,326,008.03 | -0.08% |
| 2007 | $102,329,853,812.34 | -0.38% |
| 2008 | $102,251,313,777.95 | -0.08% |
| 2009 | $103,258,503,726.35 | 0.99% |
| 2010 | $102,763,973,819.99 | -0.48% |
| 2011 | $105,006,306,134.15 | 2.18% |
| 2012 | $108,578,372,826.29 | 3.40% |
| 2013 | $109,564,494,553.79 | 0.91% |
| 2014 | $109,652,995,413.72 | 0.08% |
| 2015 | $108,267,007,452.70 | -1.26% |
| 2016 | $108,389,833,747.37 | 0.11% |
| 2017 | $108,017,198,547.68 | -0.34% |
| 2018 | $108,053,673,800.88 | 0.03% |
| 2019 | $106,675,425,186.32 | -1.28% |
| 2020 | $101,539,078,922.22 | -4.81% |
| 2021 | $104,044,907,318.94 | 2.47% |
| 2022 | $109,280,216,892.80 | 5.03% |
| 2023 | $112,288,171,221.10 | 2.75% |
| 2024 | $113,065,545,576.15 | 0.69% |
| 2025 | $113,212,521,498.18 | 0.13% |
| 2026 | $114,721,622,396.33 | 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 |