According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices for apparel are 205.92% higher in 2026 versus 1920 (a $1,120,228,335,562,775 difference in value).
Between 1920 and 2026:Apparel experienced an average inflation rate of 1.06% per year. In other words, apparel costing $544,000,000,000,000 in the year 1920 would cost $1,664,228,335,562,775 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 $544,000,000,000,000 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 | $544,000,000,000,000.00 | 28.26% |
| 1921 | $435,158,417,733,613.63 | -20.01% |
| 1922 | $338,791,515,383,145.50 | -22.15% |
| 1923 | $336,816,357,729,791.75 | -0.58% |
| 1924 | $335,360,978,406,268.00 | -0.43% |
| 1925 | $329,123,638,448,308.81 | -1.86% |
| 1926 | $324,445,633,479,839.50 | -1.42% |
| 1927 | $318,104,337,855,914.44 | -1.95% |
| 1928 | $312,282,820,561,819.25 | -1.83% |
| 1929 | $309,060,194,916,873.75 | -1.03% |
| 1930 | $305,109,879,610,166.25 | -1.28% |
| 1931 | $282,031,721,765,717.63 | -7.56% |
| 1932 | $248,038,218,994,840.53 | -12.05% |
| 1933 | $231,197,401,108,350.88 | -6.79% |
| 1934 | $255,390,719,733,161.97 | 10.46% |
| 1935 | $259,185,465,022,270.00 | 1.49% |
| 1936 | $262,072,233,900,248.47 | 1.11% |
| 1937 | $274,131,091,152,302.72 | 4.60% |
| 1938 | $274,235,046,818,268.72 | 0.04% |
| 1939 | $269,764,953,181,731.38 | -1.63% |
| 1940 | $272,051,977,832,983.03 | 0.85% |
| 1941 | $284,630,613,414,867.19 | 4.62% |
| 1942 | $333,073,953,755,016.31 | 17.02% |
| 1943 | $347,523,791,324,288.25 | 4.34% |
| 1944 | $371,849,417,160,328.75 | 7.00% |
| 1945 | $390,977,259,698,070.00 | 5.14% |
| 1946 | $429,025,033,441,620.56 | 9.73% |
| 1947 | $497,219,950,315,306.75 | 15.90% |
| 1948 | $530,277,852,092,490.00 | 6.65% |
| 1949 | $509,382,763,233,327.13 | -3.94% |
| 1950 | $502,521,689,279,572.06 | -1.35% |
| 1951 | $547,950,315,306,707.63 | 9.04% |
| 1952 | $542,024,842,346,646.25 | -1.08% |
| 1953 | $538,594,305,369,768.94 | -0.63% |
| 1954 | $536,619,147,716,415.25 | -0.37% |
| 1955 | $534,955,857,060,959.25 | -0.31% |
| 1956 | $545,767,246,321,421.75 | 2.02% |
| 1957 | $555,123,256,258,360.50 | 1.71% |
| 1958 | $557,306,325,243,646.25 | 0.39% |
| 1959 | $561,672,463,214,217.63 | 0.78% |
| 1960 | $570,092,872,157,462.25 | 1.50% |
| 1961 | $574,562,965,793,999.63 | 0.78% |
| 1962 | $577,785,591,438,945.13 | 0.56% |
| 1963 | $584,854,576,724,632.13 | 1.22% |
| 1964 | $589,844,448,690,999.50 | 0.85% |
| 1965 | $595,458,054,653,162.50 | 0.95% |
| 1966 | $611,467,227,211,924.50 | 2.69% |
| 1967 | $636,416,587,043,761.00 | 4.08% |
| 1968 | $670,410,089,814,638.00 | 5.34% |
| 1969 | $708,977,641,888,018.50 | 5.75% |
| 1970 | $738,189,184,024,460.50 | 4.12% |
| 1971 | $762,098,987,196,637.00 | 3.24% |
| 1972 | $777,900,248,423,466.50 | 2.07% |
| 1973 | $806,384,100,898,146.50 | 3.66% |
| 1974 | $866,158,608,828,588.00 | 7.41% |
| 1975 | $904,726,160,901,968.13 | 4.45% |
| 1976 | $938,615,708,006,879.50 | 3.75% |
| 1977 | $980,613,797,057,137.63 | 4.47% |
| 1978 | $1,015,023,122,491,878.50 | 3.51% |
| 1979 | $1,059,516,147,525,320.13 | 4.38% |
| 1980 | $1,134,468,182,686,795.50 | 7.07% |
| 1981 | $1,188,525,128,989,107.50 | 4.76% |
| 1982 | $1,219,711,828,778,903.00 | 2.62% |
| 1983 | $1,249,858,971,909,039.00 | 2.47% |
| 1984 | $1,272,833,174,087,522.00 | 1.84% |
| 1985 | $1,310,153,258,169,310.25 | 2.93% |
| 1986 | $1,321,276,514,427,670.75 | 0.85% |
| 1987 | $1,379,387,731,702,656.50 | 4.40% |
| 1988 | $1,439,266,195,299,063.75 | 4.34% |
| 1989 | $1,479,289,126,695,968.00 | 2.78% |
| 1990 | $1,547,899,866,233,518.00 | 4.64% |
| 1991 | $1,605,595,260,844,640.00 | 3.73% |
| 1992 | $1,645,098,413,911,714.25 | 2.46% |
| 1993 | $1,667,344,926,428,435.00 | 1.35% |
| 1994 | $1,664,122,300,783,490.00 | -0.19% |
| 1995 | $1,646,137,970,571,374.00 | -1.08% |
| 1996 | $1,642,915,344,926,428.75 | -0.20% |
| 1997 | $1,657,261,226,829,734.50 | 0.87% |
| 1998 | $1,659,444,295,815,020.25 | 0.13% |
| 1999 | $1,637,821,517,294,095.25 | -1.30% |
| 2000 | $1,616,406,650,105,102.75 | -1.31% |
| 2001 | $1,587,610,930,632,524.50 | -1.78% |
| 2002 | $1,547,172,176,571,756.25 | -2.55% |
| 2003 | $1,507,876,934,836,614.00 | -2.54% |
| 2004 | $1,502,367,284,540,416.75 | -0.37% |
| 2005 | $1,491,244,028,282,056.75 | -0.74% |
| 2006 | $1,490,100,515,956,430.50 | -0.08% |
| 2007 | $1,484,465,079,304,414.50 | -0.38% |
| 2008 | $1,483,325,725,205,427.50 | -0.08% |
| 2009 | $1,497,936,694,056,947.00 | 0.99% |
| 2010 | $1,490,762,713,548,634.00 | -0.48% |
| 2011 | $1,523,291,480,986,050.25 | 2.18% |
| 2012 | $1,575,110,261,800,115.00 | 3.40% |
| 2013 | $1,589,415,600,993,694.00 | 0.91% |
| 2014 | $1,590,699,453,468,374.00 | 0.08% |
| 2015 | $1,570,593,388,113,892.75 | -1.26% |
| 2016 | $1,572,375,188,228,549.75 | 0.11% |
| 2017 | $1,566,969,493,598,318.75 | -0.34% |
| 2018 | $1,567,498,627,938,085.50 | 0.03% |
| 2019 | $1,547,504,834,702,847.25 | -1.28% |
| 2020 | $1,472,993,571,565,068.25 | -4.81% |
| 2021 | $1,509,344,788,840,053.75 | 2.47% |
| 2022 | $1,585,291,679,724,823.75 | 5.03% |
| 2023 | $1,628,927,070,514,045.75 | 2.75% |
| 2024 | $1,640,204,181,158,035.75 | 0.69% |
| 2025 | $1,642,336,311,866,998.00 | 0.13% |
| 2026 | $1,664,228,335,562,775.00 | 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 |