According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices for apparel are 205.92% higher in 2026 versus 1920 (a $823,697,305,560,864 difference in value).
Between 1920 and 2026:Apparel experienced an average inflation rate of 1.06% per year. In other words, apparel costing $400,000,000,000,000 in the year 1920 would cost $1,223,697,305,560,864 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 $400,000,000,000,000 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 | $400,000,000,000,000.00 | 28.26% |
| 1921 | $319,969,424,804,127.69 | -20.01% |
| 1922 | $249,111,408,369,959.91 | -22.15% |
| 1923 | $247,659,086,566,023.38 | -0.58% |
| 1924 | $246,588,954,710,491.16 | -0.43% |
| 1925 | $242,002,675,329,638.84 | -1.86% |
| 1926 | $238,562,965,793,999.59 | -1.42% |
| 1927 | $233,900,248,423,466.47 | -1.95% |
| 1928 | $229,619,721,001,337.69 | -1.83% |
| 1929 | $227,250,143,321,230.72 | -1.03% |
| 1930 | $224,345,499,713,357.53 | -1.28% |
| 1931 | $207,376,266,004,204.13 | -7.56% |
| 1932 | $182,381,043,378,559.19 | -12.05% |
| 1933 | $169,998,089,050,258.03 | -6.79% |
| 1934 | $187,787,293,921,442.63 | 10.46% |
| 1935 | $190,577,547,810,492.63 | 1.49% |
| 1936 | $192,700,171,985,476.81 | 1.11% |
| 1937 | $201,566,978,788,457.88 | 4.60% |
| 1938 | $201,643,416,778,138.81 | 0.04% |
| 1939 | $198,356,583,221,861.28 | -1.63% |
| 1940 | $200,038,218,994,840.47 | 0.85% |
| 1941 | $209,287,215,746,225.88 | 4.62% |
| 1942 | $244,907,318,937,511.97 | 17.02% |
| 1943 | $255,532,199,503,153.13 | 4.34% |
| 1944 | $273,418,689,088,477.03 | 7.00% |
| 1945 | $287,483,279,189,757.38 | 5.14% |
| 1946 | $315,459,583,412,956.25 | 9.73% |
| 1947 | $365,602,904,643,607.94 | 15.90% |
| 1948 | $389,910,185,362,125.06 | 6.65% |
| 1949 | $374,546,149,436,269.94 | -3.94% |
| 1950 | $369,501,242,117,332.50 | -1.35% |
| 1951 | $402,904,643,607,873.19 | 9.04% |
| 1952 | $398,547,678,196,063.44 | -1.08% |
| 1953 | $396,025,224,536,594.81 | -0.63% |
| 1954 | $394,572,902,732,658.25 | -0.37% |
| 1955 | $393,349,894,897,764.25 | -0.31% |
| 1956 | $401,299,445,824,574.88 | 2.02% |
| 1957 | $408,178,864,895,853.25 | 1.71% |
| 1958 | $409,784,062,679,151.63 | 0.39% |
| 1959 | $412,994,458,245,748.19 | 0.78% |
| 1960 | $419,185,935,409,898.75 | 1.50% |
| 1961 | $422,472,768,966,176.19 | 0.78% |
| 1962 | $424,842,346,646,283.19 | 0.56% |
| 1963 | $430,040,129,944,582.50 | 1.22% |
| 1964 | $433,709,153,449,264.31 | 0.85% |
| 1965 | $437,836,804,892,031.38 | 0.95% |
| 1966 | $449,608,255,302,885.63 | 2.69% |
| 1967 | $467,953,372,826,294.75 | 4.08% |
| 1968 | $492,948,595,451,939.69 | 5.34% |
| 1969 | $521,307,089,623,543.06 | 5.75% |
| 1970 | $542,786,164,723,867.81 | 4.12% |
| 1971 | $560,366,902,350,468.31 | 3.24% |
| 1972 | $571,985,476,781,960.63 | 2.07% |
| 1973 | $592,929,485,954,519.50 | 3.66% |
| 1974 | $636,881,330,021,020.63 | 7.41% |
| 1975 | $665,239,824,192,623.88 | 4.45% |
| 1976 | $690,158,608,828,587.88 | 3.75% |
| 1977 | $721,039,556,659,659.88 | 4.47% |
| 1978 | $746,340,531,244,028.50 | 3.51% |
| 1979 | $779,055,990,827,441.50 | 4.38% |
| 1980 | $834,167,781,387,349.63 | 7.07% |
| 1981 | $873,915,536,021,402.88 | 4.76% |
| 1982 | $896,846,932,925,664.13 | 2.62% |
| 1983 | $919,013,949,933,117.00 | 2.47% |
| 1984 | $935,906,745,652,589.50 | 1.84% |
| 1985 | $963,347,983,948,022.25 | 2.93% |
| 1986 | $971,526,848,843,875.50 | 0.85% |
| 1987 | $1,014,255,685,075,482.50 | 4.40% |
| 1988 | $1,058,283,967,131,664.63 | 4.34% |
| 1989 | $1,087,712,593,158,800.00 | 2.78% |
| 1990 | $1,138,161,666,348,175.00 | 4.64% |
| 1991 | $1,180,584,750,621,059.00 | 3.73% |
| 1992 | $1,209,631,186,699,790.00 | 2.46% |
| 1993 | $1,225,988,916,491,496.50 | 1.35% |
| 1994 | $1,223,619,338,811,389.50 | -0.19% |
| 1995 | $1,210,395,566,596,598.75 | -1.08% |
| 1996 | $1,208,025,988,916,491.75 | -0.20% |
| 1997 | $1,218,574,431,492,452.00 | 0.87% |
| 1998 | $1,220,179,629,275,750.25 | 0.13% |
| 1999 | $1,204,280,527,422,129.00 | -1.30% |
| 2000 | $1,188,534,301,547,869.75 | -1.31% |
| 2001 | $1,167,360,978,406,268.00 | -1.78% |
| 2002 | $1,137,626,600,420,409.00 | -2.55% |
| 2003 | $1,108,733,040,321,039.88 | -2.54% |
| 2004 | $1,104,681,826,867,953.63 | -0.37% |
| 2005 | $1,096,502,961,972,100.50 | -0.74% |
| 2006 | $1,095,662,144,085,610.88 | -0.08% |
| 2007 | $1,091,518,440,665,010.50 | -0.38% |
| 2008 | $1,090,680,680,298,108.50 | -0.08% |
| 2009 | $1,101,424,039,747,754.88 | 0.99% |
| 2010 | $1,096,149,054,079,877.88 | -0.48% |
| 2011 | $1,120,067,265,430,919.25 | 2.18% |
| 2012 | $1,158,169,310,147,143.25 | 3.40% |
| 2013 | $1,168,687,941,907,128.00 | 0.91% |
| 2014 | $1,169,631,951,079,686.75 | 0.08% |
| 2015 | $1,154,848,079,495,509.00 | -1.26% |
| 2016 | $1,156,158,226,638,639.50 | 0.11% |
| 2017 | $1,152,183,451,175,234.25 | -0.34% |
| 2018 | $1,152,572,520,542,710.00 | 0.03% |
| 2019 | $1,137,871,201,987,387.75 | -1.28% |
| 2020 | $1,083,083,508,503,726.50 | -4.81% |
| 2021 | $1,109,812,344,735,333.50 | 2.47% |
| 2022 | $1,165,655,646,856,487.75 | 5.03% |
| 2023 | $1,197,740,493,025,033.50 | 2.75% |
| 2024 | $1,206,032,486,145,614.50 | 0.69% |
| 2025 | $1,207,600,229,313,969.25 | 0.13% |
| 2026 | $1,223,697,305,560,864.00 | 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 |