According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices for apparel are 205.92% higher in 2026 versus 1920 (a $16,268,021,784.83 difference in value).
Between 1920 and 2026:Apparel experienced an average inflation rate of 1.06% per year. In other words, apparel costing $7,900,000,000 in the year 1920 would cost $24,168,021,784.83 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 $7,900,000,000 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 | $7,900,000,000.00 | 28.26% |
| 1921 | $6,319,396,139.88 | -20.01% |
| 1922 | $4,919,950,315.31 | -22.15% |
| 1923 | $4,891,266,959.68 | -0.58% |
| 1924 | $4,870,131,855.53 | -0.43% |
| 1925 | $4,779,552,837.76 | -1.86% |
| 1926 | $4,711,618,574.43 | -1.42% |
| 1927 | $4,619,529,906.36 | -1.95% |
| 1928 | $4,534,989,489.78 | -1.83% |
| 1929 | $4,488,190,330.59 | -1.03% |
| 1930 | $4,430,823,619.34 | -1.28% |
| 1931 | $4,095,681,253.58 | -7.56% |
| 1932 | $3,602,025,606.73 | -12.05% |
| 1933 | $3,357,462,258.74 | -6.79% |
| 1934 | $3,708,799,054.95 | 10.46% |
| 1935 | $3,763,906,569.26 | 1.49% |
| 1936 | $3,805,828,396.71 | 1.11% |
| 1937 | $3,980,947,831.07 | 4.60% |
| 1938 | $3,982,457,481.37 | 0.04% |
| 1939 | $3,917,542,518.63 | -1.63% |
| 1940 | $3,950,754,825.15 | 0.85% |
| 1941 | $4,133,422,510.99 | 4.62% |
| 1942 | $4,836,919,549.02 | 17.02% |
| 1943 | $5,046,760,940.19 | 4.34% |
| 1944 | $5,400,019,109.50 | 7.00% |
| 1945 | $5,677,794,764.00 | 5.14% |
| 1946 | $6,230,326,772.41 | 9.73% |
| 1947 | $7,220,657,366.71 | 15.90% |
| 1948 | $7,700,726,160.90 | 6.65% |
| 1949 | $7,397,286,451.37 | -3.94% |
| 1950 | $7,297,649,531.82 | -1.35% |
| 1951 | $7,957,366,711.26 | 9.04% |
| 1952 | $7,871,316,644.37 | -1.08% |
| 1953 | $7,821,498,184.60 | -0.63% |
| 1954 | $7,792,814,828.97 | -0.37% |
| 1955 | $7,768,660,424.23 | -0.31% |
| 1956 | $7,925,664,055.04 | 2.02% |
| 1957 | $8,061,532,581.69 | 1.71% |
| 1958 | $8,093,235,237.91 | 0.39% |
| 1959 | $8,156,640,550.35 | 0.78% |
| 1960 | $8,278,922,224.35 | 1.50% |
| 1961 | $8,343,837,187.08 | 0.78% |
| 1962 | $8,390,636,346.26 | 0.56% |
| 1963 | $8,493,292,566.41 | 1.22% |
| 1964 | $8,565,755,780.62 | 0.85% |
| 1965 | $8,647,276,896.62 | 0.95% |
| 1966 | $8,879,763,042.23 | 2.69% |
| 1967 | $9,242,079,113.32 | 4.08% |
| 1968 | $9,735,734,760.18 | 5.34% |
| 1969 | $10,295,815,020.06 | 5.75% |
| 1970 | $10,720,026,753.30 | 4.12% |
| 1971 | $11,067,246,321.42 | 3.24% |
| 1972 | $11,296,713,166.44 | 2.07% |
| 1973 | $11,710,357,347.60 | 3.66% |
| 1974 | $12,578,406,267.92 | 7.41% |
| 1975 | $13,138,486,527.80 | 4.45% |
| 1976 | $13,630,632,524.36 | 3.75% |
| 1977 | $14,240,531,244.03 | 4.47% |
| 1978 | $14,740,225,492.07 | 3.51% |
| 1979 | $15,386,355,818.84 | 4.38% |
| 1980 | $16,474,813,682.40 | 7.07% |
| 1981 | $17,259,831,836.42 | 4.76% |
| 1982 | $17,712,726,925.28 | 2.62% |
| 1983 | $18,150,525,511.18 | 2.47% |
| 1984 | $18,484,158,226.64 | 1.84% |
| 1985 | $19,026,122,682.97 | 2.93% |
| 1986 | $19,187,655,264.67 | 0.85% |
| 1987 | $20,031,549,780.24 | 4.40% |
| 1988 | $20,901,108,350.85 | 4.34% |
| 1989 | $21,482,323,714.89 | 2.78% |
| 1990 | $22,478,692,910.38 | 4.64% |
| 1991 | $23,316,548,824.77 | 3.73% |
| 1992 | $23,890,215,937.32 | 2.46% |
| 1993 | $24,213,281,100.71 | 1.35% |
| 1994 | $24,166,481,941.52 | -0.19% |
| 1995 | $23,905,312,440.28 | -1.08% |
| 1996 | $23,858,513,281.10 | -0.20% |
| 1997 | $24,066,845,021.98 | 0.87% |
| 1998 | $24,098,547,678.20 | 0.13% |
| 1999 | $23,784,540,416.59 | -1.30% |
| 2000 | $23,473,552,455.57 | -1.31% |
| 2001 | $23,055,379,323.52 | -1.78% |
| 2002 | $22,468,125,358.30 | -2.55% |
| 2003 | $21,897,477,546.34 | -2.54% |
| 2004 | $21,817,466,080.64 | -0.37% |
| 2005 | $21,655,933,498.95 | -0.74% |
| 2006 | $21,639,327,345.69 | -0.08% |
| 2007 | $21,557,489,203.13 | -0.38% |
| 2008 | $21,540,943,435.89 | -0.08% |
| 2009 | $21,753,124,785.02 | 0.99% |
| 2010 | $21,648,943,818.08 | -0.48% |
| 2011 | $22,121,328,492.26 | 2.18% |
| 2012 | $22,873,843,875.41 | 3.40% |
| 2013 | $23,081,586,852.67 | 0.91% |
| 2014 | $23,100,231,033.82 | 0.08% |
| 2015 | $22,808,249,570.04 | -1.26% |
| 2016 | $22,834,124,976.11 | 0.11% |
| 2017 | $22,755,623,160.71 | -0.34% |
| 2018 | $22,763,307,280.72 | 0.03% |
| 2019 | $22,472,956,239.25 | -1.28% |
| 2020 | $21,390,899,292.95 | -4.81% |
| 2021 | $21,918,793,808.52 | 2.47% |
| 2022 | $23,021,699,025.42 | 5.03% |
| 2023 | $23,655,374,737.24 | 2.75% |
| 2024 | $23,819,141,601.38 | 0.69% |
| 2025 | $23,850,104,528.95 | 0.13% |
| 2026 | $24,168,021,784.83 | 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 |