According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices for apparel are 199.68% higher in 2026 versus 1920 (a $75,878,004,968.47 difference in value).
Between 1920 and 2026:Apparel experienced an average inflation rate of 1.04% per year. In other words, apparel costing $38,000,000,000 in the year 1920 would cost $113,878,004,968.47 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 $38,000,000,000 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 | $38,000,000,000.00 | 28.26% |
| 1921 | $30,397,095,356.39 | -20.01% |
| 1922 | $23,665,583,795.15 | -22.15% |
| 1923 | $23,527,613,223.77 | -0.58% |
| 1924 | $23,425,950,697.50 | -0.43% |
| 1925 | $22,990,254,156.32 | -1.86% |
| 1926 | $22,663,481,750.43 | -1.42% |
| 1927 | $22,220,523,600.23 | -1.95% |
| 1928 | $21,813,873,495.13 | -1.83% |
| 1929 | $21,588,763,615.52 | -1.03% |
| 1930 | $21,312,822,472.77 | -1.28% |
| 1931 | $19,700,745,270.40 | -7.56% |
| 1932 | $17,326,199,120.96 | -12.05% |
| 1933 | $16,149,818,459.77 | -6.79% |
| 1934 | $17,839,792,922.54 | 10.46% |
| 1935 | $18,104,867,042.00 | 1.49% |
| 1936 | $18,306,516,338.62 | 1.11% |
| 1937 | $19,148,862,984.90 | 4.60% |
| 1938 | $19,156,124,593.92 | 0.04% |
| 1939 | $18,843,875,406.08 | -1.63% |
| 1940 | $19,003,630,804.51 | 0.85% |
| 1941 | $19,882,285,495.89 | 4.62% |
| 1942 | $23,266,195,299.06 | 17.02% |
| 1943 | $24,275,558,952.80 | 4.34% |
| 1944 | $25,974,775,463.41 | 7.00% |
| 1945 | $27,310,911,523.03 | 5.14% |
| 1946 | $29,968,660,424.23 | 9.73% |
| 1947 | $34,732,275,941.14 | 15.90% |
| 1948 | $37,041,467,609.40 | 6.65% |
| 1949 | $35,581,884,196.45 | -3.94% |
| 1950 | $35,102,618,001.15 | -1.35% |
| 1951 | $38,275,941,142.75 | 9.04% |
| 1952 | $37,862,029,428.63 | -1.08% |
| 1953 | $37,622,396,330.98 | -0.63% |
| 1954 | $37,484,425,759.60 | -0.37% |
| 1955 | $37,368,240,015.29 | -0.31% |
| 1956 | $38,123,447,353.33 | 2.02% |
| 1957 | $38,776,992,165.11 | 1.71% |
| 1958 | $38,929,485,954.52 | 0.39% |
| 1959 | $39,234,473,533.35 | 0.78% |
| 1960 | $39,822,663,863.94 | 1.50% |
| 1961 | $40,134,913,051.79 | 0.78% |
| 1962 | $40,360,022,931.40 | 0.56% |
| 1963 | $40,853,812,344.74 | 1.22% |
| 1964 | $41,202,369,577.68 | 0.85% |
| 1965 | $41,594,496,464.74 | 0.95% |
| 1966 | $42,712,784,253.77 | 2.69% |
| 1967 | $44,455,570,418.50 | 4.08% |
| 1968 | $46,830,116,567.93 | 5.34% |
| 1969 | $49,524,173,514.24 | 5.75% |
| 1970 | $51,564,685,648.77 | 4.12% |
| 1971 | $53,234,855,723.29 | 3.24% |
| 1972 | $54,338,620,294.29 | 2.07% |
| 1973 | $56,328,301,165.68 | 3.66% |
| 1974 | $60,503,726,352.00 | 7.41% |
| 1975 | $63,197,783,298.30 | 4.45% |
| 1976 | $65,565,067,838.72 | 3.75% |
| 1977 | $68,498,757,882.67 | 4.47% |
| 1978 | $70,902,350,468.18 | 3.51% |
| 1979 | $74,010,319,128.61 | 4.38% |
| 1980 | $79,245,939,231.80 | 7.07% |
| 1981 | $83,021,975,922.03 | 4.76% |
| 1982 | $85,200,458,627.94 | 2.62% |
| 1983 | $87,306,325,243.65 | 2.47% |
| 1984 | $88,911,140,837.00 | 1.84% |
| 1985 | $91,518,058,475.06 | 2.93% |
| 1986 | $92,295,050,640.17 | 0.85% |
| 1987 | $96,354,290,082.17 | 4.40% |
| 1988 | $100,536,976,877.51 | 4.34% |
| 1989 | $103,332,696,350.09 | 2.78% |
| 1990 | $108,125,358,303.08 | 4.64% |
| 1991 | $112,155,551,309.00 | 3.73% |
| 1992 | $114,914,962,736.48 | 2.46% |
| 1993 | $116,468,947,066.69 | 1.35% |
| 1994 | $116,243,837,187.08 | -0.19% |
| 1995 | $114,987,578,826.68 | -1.08% |
| 1996 | $114,762,468,947.07 | -0.20% |
| 1997 | $115,764,570,991.78 | 0.87% |
| 1998 | $115,917,064,781.20 | 0.13% |
| 1999 | $114,406,650,105.10 | -1.30% |
| 2000 | $112,910,758,647.05 | -1.31% |
| 2001 | $110,899,292,948.60 | -1.78% |
| 2002 | $108,074,527,039.94 | -2.55% |
| 2003 | $105,329,638,830.50 | -2.54% |
| 2004 | $104,944,773,552.46 | -0.37% |
| 2005 | $104,167,781,387.35 | -0.74% |
| 2006 | $104,087,903,688.13 | -0.08% |
| 2007 | $103,694,251,863.18 | -0.38% |
| 2008 | $103,614,664,628.32 | -0.08% |
| 2009 | $104,635,283,776.04 | 0.99% |
| 2010 | $104,134,160,137.59 | -0.48% |
| 2011 | $106,406,390,215.94 | 2.18% |
| 2012 | $110,026,084,463.98 | 3.40% |
| 2013 | $111,025,354,481.18 | 0.91% |
| 2014 | $111,115,035,352.57 | 0.08% |
| 2015 | $109,710,567,552.07 | -1.26% |
| 2016 | $109,835,031,530.67 | 0.11% |
| 2017 | $109,457,427,861.65 | -0.34% |
| 2018 | $109,494,389,451.56 | 0.03% |
| 2019 | $108,097,764,188.80 | -1.28% |
| 2020 | $102,892,933,307.85 | -4.81% |
| 2021 | $105,432,172,749.86 | 2.47% |
| 2022 | $110,737,286,451.37 | 5.03% |
| 2023 | $113,785,346,837.38 | 2.75% |
| 2024 | $114,573,086,183.83 | 0.69% |
| 2025 | $114,722,021,784.83 | 0.13% |
| 2026 | $113,878,004,968.47 | -0.74%* |
* 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 | 130.685 |