According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices for apparel are 205.92% higher in 2026 versus 1920 (a $85,664,519,778.33 difference in value).
Between 1920 and 2026:Apparel experienced an average inflation rate of 1.06% per year. In other words, apparel costing $41,600,000,000 in the year 1920 would cost $127,264,519,778.33 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 $41,600,000,000 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 | $41,600,000,000.00 | 28.26% |
| 1921 | $33,276,820,179.63 | -20.01% |
| 1922 | $25,907,586,470.48 | -22.15% |
| 1923 | $25,756,545,002.87 | -0.58% |
| 1924 | $25,645,251,289.89 | -0.43% |
| 1925 | $25,168,278,234.28 | -1.86% |
| 1926 | $24,810,548,442.58 | -1.42% |
| 1927 | $24,325,625,836.04 | -1.95% |
| 1928 | $23,880,450,984.14 | -1.83% |
| 1929 | $23,634,014,905.41 | -1.03% |
| 1930 | $23,331,931,970.19 | -1.28% |
| 1931 | $21,567,131,664.44 | -7.56% |
| 1932 | $18,967,628,511.37 | -12.05% |
| 1933 | $17,679,801,261.23 | -6.79% |
| 1934 | $19,529,878,567.83 | 10.46% |
| 1935 | $19,820,064,972.29 | 1.49% |
| 1936 | $20,040,817,886.49 | 1.11% |
| 1937 | $20,962,965,794.00 | 4.60% |
| 1938 | $20,970,915,344.93 | 0.04% |
| 1939 | $20,629,084,655.07 | -1.63% |
| 1940 | $20,803,974,775.46 | 0.85% |
| 1941 | $21,765,870,437.61 | 4.62% |
| 1942 | $25,470,361,169.50 | 17.02% |
| 1943 | $26,575,348,748.33 | 4.34% |
| 1944 | $28,435,543,665.20 | 7.00% |
| 1945 | $29,898,261,035.73 | 5.14% |
| 1946 | $32,807,796,674.95 | 9.73% |
| 1947 | $38,022,702,082.94 | 15.90% |
| 1948 | $40,550,659,277.66 | 6.65% |
| 1949 | $38,952,799,541.37 | -3.94% |
| 1950 | $38,428,129,180.20 | -1.35% |
| 1951 | $41,902,082,935.22 | 9.04% |
| 1952 | $41,448,958,532.39 | -1.08% |
| 1953 | $41,186,623,351.81 | -0.63% |
| 1954 | $41,035,581,884.20 | -0.37% |
| 1955 | $40,908,389,069.37 | -0.31% |
| 1956 | $41,735,142,365.76 | 2.02% |
| 1957 | $42,450,601,949.17 | 1.71% |
| 1958 | $42,617,542,518.63 | 0.39% |
| 1959 | $42,951,423,657.56 | 0.78% |
| 1960 | $43,595,337,282.63 | 1.50% |
| 1961 | $43,937,167,972.48 | 0.78% |
| 1962 | $44,183,604,051.21 | 0.56% |
| 1963 | $44,724,173,514.24 | 1.22% |
| 1964 | $45,105,751,958.72 | 0.85% |
| 1965 | $45,535,027,708.77 | 0.95% |
| 1966 | $46,759,258,551.50 | 2.69% |
| 1967 | $48,667,150,773.93 | 4.08% |
| 1968 | $51,266,653,927.00 | 5.34% |
| 1969 | $54,215,937,320.85 | 5.75% |
| 1970 | $56,449,761,131.28 | 4.12% |
| 1971 | $58,278,157,844.45 | 3.24% |
| 1972 | $59,486,489,585.32 | 2.07% |
| 1973 | $61,664,666,539.27 | 3.66% |
| 1974 | $66,235,658,322.19 | 7.41% |
| 1975 | $69,184,941,716.03 | 4.45% |
| 1976 | $71,776,495,318.17 | 3.75% |
| 1977 | $74,988,113,892.60 | 4.47% |
| 1978 | $77,619,415,249.38 | 3.51% |
| 1979 | $81,021,823,046.05 | 4.38% |
| 1980 | $86,753,449,264.28 | 7.07% |
| 1981 | $90,887,215,746.23 | 4.76% |
| 1982 | $93,272,081,024.27 | 2.62% |
| 1983 | $95,577,450,793.04 | 2.47% |
| 1984 | $97,334,301,547.87 | 1.84% |
| 1985 | $100,188,190,330.59 | 2.93% |
| 1986 | $101,038,792,279.76 | 0.85% |
| 1987 | $105,482,591,247.85 | 4.40% |
| 1988 | $110,061,532,581.69 | 4.34% |
| 1989 | $113,122,109,688.52 | 2.78% |
| 1990 | $118,368,813,300.21 | 4.64% |
| 1991 | $122,780,814,064.59 | 3.73% |
| 1992 | $125,801,643,416.78 | 2.46% |
| 1993 | $127,502,847,315.12 | 1.35% |
| 1994 | $127,256,411,236.38 | -0.19% |
| 1995 | $125,881,138,926.05 | -1.08% |
| 1996 | $125,634,702,847.32 | -0.20% |
| 1997 | $126,731,740,875.22 | 0.87% |
| 1998 | $126,898,681,444.68 | 0.13% |
| 1999 | $125,245,174,851.90 | -1.30% |
| 2000 | $123,607,567,360.98 | -1.31% |
| 2001 | $121,405,541,754.25 | -1.78% |
| 2002 | $118,313,166,443.72 | -2.55% |
| 2003 | $115,308,236,193.39 | -2.54% |
| 2004 | $114,886,909,994.27 | -0.37% |
| 2005 | $114,036,308,045.10 | -0.74% |
| 2006 | $113,948,862,984.90 | -0.08% |
| 2007 | $113,517,917,829.16 | -0.38% |
| 2008 | $113,430,790,751.00 | -0.08% |
| 2009 | $114,548,100,133.77 | 0.99% |
| 2010 | $113,999,501,624.31 | -0.48% |
| 2011 | $116,486,995,604.82 | 2.18% |
| 2012 | $120,449,608,255.30 | 3.40% |
| 2013 | $121,543,545,958.34 | 0.91% |
| 2014 | $121,641,722,912.29 | 0.08% |
| 2015 | $120,104,200,267.53 | -1.26% |
| 2016 | $120,240,455,570.42 | 0.11% |
| 2017 | $119,827,078,922.22 | -0.34% |
| 2018 | $119,867,542,136.44 | 0.03% |
| 2019 | $118,338,605,006.69 | -1.28% |
| 2020 | $112,640,684,884.39 | -4.81% |
| 2021 | $115,420,483,852.47 | 2.47% |
| 2022 | $121,228,187,273.07 | 5.03% |
| 2023 | $124,565,011,274.60 | 2.75% |
| 2024 | $125,427,378,559.14 | 0.69% |
| 2025 | $125,590,423,848.65 | 0.13% |
| 2026 | $127,264,519,778.33 | 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 |