According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices for apparel are 205.92% higher in 2026 versus 1920 (a $128,290,855,341.10 difference in value).
Between 1920 and 2026:Apparel experienced an average inflation rate of 1.06% per year. In other words, apparel costing $62,300,000,000 in the year 1920 would cost $190,590,855,341.10 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 $62,300,000,000 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 | $62,300,000,000.00 | 28.26% |
| 1921 | $49,835,237,913.24 | -20.01% |
| 1922 | $38,799,101,853.62 | -22.15% |
| 1923 | $38,572,902,732.66 | -0.58% |
| 1924 | $38,406,229,696.16 | -0.43% |
| 1925 | $37,691,916,682.59 | -1.86% |
| 1926 | $37,156,181,922.42 | -1.42% |
| 1927 | $36,429,963,691.95 | -1.95% |
| 1928 | $35,763,271,545.96 | -1.83% |
| 1929 | $35,394,209,822.28 | -1.03% |
| 1930 | $34,941,811,580.36 | -1.28% |
| 1931 | $32,298,853,430.15 | -7.56% |
| 1932 | $28,405,847,506.21 | -12.05% |
| 1933 | $26,477,202,369.58 | -6.79% |
| 1934 | $29,247,871,028.26 | 10.46% |
| 1935 | $29,682,453,071.48 | 1.49% |
| 1936 | $30,013,051,786.74 | 1.11% |
| 1937 | $31,394,056,946.30 | 4.60% |
| 1938 | $31,405,962,163.20 | 0.04% |
| 1939 | $30,894,037,836.80 | -1.63% |
| 1940 | $31,155,952,608.45 | 0.85% |
| 1941 | $32,596,483,852.47 | 4.62% |
| 1942 | $38,144,314,924.52 | 17.02% |
| 1943 | $39,799,140,072.62 | 4.34% |
| 1944 | $42,584,960,825.53 | 7.00% |
| 1945 | $44,775,520,733.80 | 5.14% |
| 1946 | $49,132,830,116.57 | 9.73% |
| 1947 | $56,942,652,398.24 | 15.90% |
| 1948 | $60,728,511,370.15 | 6.65% |
| 1949 | $58,335,562,774.70 | -3.94% |
| 1950 | $57,549,818,459.77 | -1.35% |
| 1951 | $62,752,398,241.93 | 9.04% |
| 1952 | $62,073,800,879.04 | -1.08% |
| 1953 | $61,680,928,721.57 | -0.63% |
| 1954 | $61,454,729,600.61 | -0.37% |
| 1955 | $61,264,246,130.33 | -0.31% |
| 1956 | $62,502,388,687.18 | 2.02% |
| 1957 | $63,573,858,207.53 | 1.71% |
| 1958 | $63,823,867,762.28 | 0.39% |
| 1959 | $64,323,886,871.78 | 0.78% |
| 1960 | $65,288,209,440.09 | 1.50% |
| 1961 | $65,800,133,766.48 | 0.78% |
| 1962 | $66,169,195,490.16 | 0.56% |
| 1963 | $66,978,750,238.87 | 1.22% |
| 1964 | $67,550,200,649.72 | 0.85% |
| 1965 | $68,193,082,361.93 | 0.95% |
| 1966 | $70,026,485,763.42 | 2.69% |
| 1967 | $72,883,737,817.70 | 4.08% |
| 1968 | $76,776,743,741.64 | 5.34% |
| 1969 | $81,193,579,208.87 | 5.75% |
| 1970 | $84,538,945,155.74 | 4.12% |
| 1971 | $87,277,145,041.09 | 3.24% |
| 1972 | $89,086,738,008.79 | 2.07% |
| 1973 | $92,348,767,437.42 | 3.66% |
| 1974 | $99,194,267,150.77 | 7.41% |
| 1975 | $103,611,102,618.00 | 4.45% |
| 1976 | $107,492,203,325.05 | 3.75% |
| 1977 | $112,301,910,949.74 | 4.47% |
| 1978 | $116,242,537,741.26 | 3.51% |
| 1979 | $121,337,970,571.37 | 4.38% |
| 1980 | $129,921,631,951.08 | 7.07% |
| 1981 | $136,112,344,735.33 | 4.76% |
| 1982 | $139,683,909,803.17 | 2.62% |
| 1983 | $143,136,422,702.08 | 2.47% |
| 1984 | $145,767,475,635.39 | 1.84% |
| 1985 | $150,041,448,499.90 | 2.93% |
| 1986 | $151,315,306,707.43 | 0.85% |
| 1987 | $157,970,322,950.51 | 4.40% |
| 1988 | $164,827,727,880.76 | 4.34% |
| 1989 | $169,411,236,384.48 | 2.78% |
| 1990 | $177,268,679,533.73 | 4.64% |
| 1991 | $183,876,074,909.23 | 3.73% |
| 1992 | $188,400,057,328.49 | 2.46% |
| 1993 | $190,947,773,743.55 | 1.35% |
| 1994 | $190,578,712,019.87 | -0.19% |
| 1995 | $188,519,109,497.42 | -1.08% |
| 1996 | $188,150,047,773.74 | -0.20% |
| 1997 | $189,792,967,704.95 | 0.87% |
| 1998 | $190,042,977,259.70 | 0.13% |
| 1999 | $187,566,692,146.00 | -1.30% |
| 2000 | $185,114,217,466.08 | -1.31% |
| 2001 | $181,816,472,386.78 | -1.78% |
| 2002 | $177,185,343,015.48 | -2.55% |
| 2003 | $172,685,171,030.00 | -2.54% |
| 2004 | $172,054,194,534.68 | -0.37% |
| 2005 | $170,780,336,327.15 | -0.74% |
| 2006 | $170,649,378,941.33 | -0.08% |
| 2007 | $170,003,997,133.58 | -0.38% |
| 2008 | $169,873,515,956.43 | -0.08% |
| 2009 | $171,546,794,190.71 | 0.99% |
| 2010 | $170,725,215,172.94 | -0.48% |
| 2011 | $174,450,476,590.87 | 2.18% |
| 2012 | $180,384,870,055.42 | 3.40% |
| 2013 | $182,023,146,952.04 | 0.91% |
| 2014 | $182,170,176,380.66 | 0.08% |
| 2015 | $179,867,588,381.43 | -1.26% |
| 2016 | $180,071,643,798.97 | 0.11% |
| 2017 | $179,452,572,520.54 | -0.34% |
| 2018 | $179,513,170,074.53 | 0.03% |
| 2019 | $177,223,439,709.54 | -1.28% |
| 2020 | $168,690,256,449.46 | -4.81% |
| 2021 | $172,853,272,692.53 | 2.47% |
| 2022 | $181,550,866,997.90 | 5.03% |
| 2023 | $186,548,081,788.65 | 2.75% |
| 2024 | $187,839,559,717.18 | 0.69% |
| 2025 | $188,083,735,715.65 | 0.13% |
| 2026 | $190,590,855,341.10 | 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 |