According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices for apparel are 197.56% higher in 2026 versus 1920 (a $16,200,304,223.20 difference in value).
Between 1920 and 2026:Apparel experienced an average inflation rate of 1.03% per year. In other words, apparel costing $8,200,000,000 in the year 1920 would cost $24,400,304,223.20 in 2026 for an equivalent purchase. Compared to the overall inflation rate of 2.66% 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 $8,200,000,000 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 | $8,200,000,000.00 | 28.26% |
| 1921 | $6,559,373,208.48 | -20.01% |
| 1922 | $5,106,783,871.58 | -22.15% |
| 1923 | $5,077,011,274.60 | -0.58% |
| 1924 | $5,055,073,571.57 | -0.43% |
| 1925 | $4,961,054,844.26 | -1.86% |
| 1926 | $4,890,540,798.78 | -1.42% |
| 1927 | $4,794,955,092.68 | -1.95% |
| 1928 | $4,707,204,280.53 | -1.83% |
| 1929 | $4,658,627,938.09 | -1.03% |
| 1930 | $4,599,082,744.12 | -1.28% |
| 1931 | $4,251,213,453.09 | -7.56% |
| 1932 | $3,738,811,389.26 | -12.05% |
| 1933 | $3,484,960,825.53 | -6.79% |
| 1934 | $3,849,639,525.39 | 10.46% |
| 1935 | $3,906,839,730.12 | 1.49% |
| 1936 | $3,950,353,525.70 | 1.11% |
| 1937 | $4,132,123,065.16 | 4.60% |
| 1938 | $4,133,690,043.95 | 0.04% |
| 1939 | $4,066,309,956.05 | -1.63% |
| 1940 | $4,100,783,489.39 | 0.85% |
| 1941 | $4,290,387,922.80 | 4.62% |
| 1942 | $5,020,600,038.22 | 17.02% |
| 1943 | $5,238,410,089.81 | 4.34% |
| 1944 | $5,605,083,126.31 | 7.00% |
| 1945 | $5,893,407,223.39 | 5.14% |
| 1946 | $6,466,921,459.97 | 9.73% |
| 1947 | $7,494,859,545.19 | 15.90% |
| 1948 | $7,993,158,799.92 | 6.65% |
| 1949 | $7,678,196,063.44 | -3.94% |
| 1950 | $7,574,775,463.41 | -1.35% |
| 1951 | $8,259,545,193.96 | 9.04% |
| 1952 | $8,170,227,403.02 | -1.08% |
| 1953 | $8,118,517,103.00 | -0.63% |
| 1954 | $8,088,744,506.02 | -0.37% |
| 1955 | $8,063,672,845.40 | -0.31% |
| 1956 | $8,226,638,639.40 | 2.02% |
| 1957 | $8,367,666,730.36 | 1.71% |
| 1958 | $8,400,573,284.92 | 0.39% |
| 1959 | $8,466,386,394.04 | 0.78% |
| 1960 | $8,593,311,675.90 | 1.50% |
| 1961 | $8,660,691,763.81 | 0.78% |
| 1962 | $8,709,268,106.25 | 0.56% |
| 1963 | $8,815,822,663.86 | 1.22% |
| 1964 | $8,891,037,645.71 | 0.85% |
| 1965 | $8,975,654,500.29 | 0.95% |
| 1966 | $9,216,969,233.71 | 2.69% |
| 1967 | $9,593,044,142.94 | 4.08% |
| 1968 | $10,105,446,206.76 | 5.34% |
| 1969 | $10,686,795,337.28 | 5.75% |
| 1970 | $11,127,116,376.84 | 4.12% |
| 1971 | $11,487,521,498.18 | 3.24% |
| 1972 | $11,725,702,274.03 | 2.07% |
| 1973 | $12,155,054,462.07 | 3.66% |
| 1974 | $13,056,067,265.43 | 7.41% |
| 1975 | $13,637,416,395.95 | 4.45% |
| 1976 | $14,148,251,480.99 | 3.75% |
| 1977 | $14,781,310,911.52 | 4.47% |
| 1978 | $15,299,980,890.50 | 3.51% |
| 1979 | $15,970,647,811.96 | 4.38% |
| 1980 | $17,100,439,518.44 | 7.07% |
| 1981 | $17,915,268,488.44 | 4.76% |
| 1982 | $18,385,362,124.98 | 2.62% |
| 1983 | $18,839,785,973.63 | 2.47% |
| 1984 | $19,186,088,285.88 | 1.84% |
| 1985 | $19,748,633,670.93 | 2.93% |
| 1986 | $19,916,300,401.30 | 0.85% |
| 1987 | $20,792,241,544.05 | 4.40% |
| 1988 | $21,694,821,326.20 | 4.34% |
| 1989 | $22,298,108,159.76 | 2.78% |
| 1990 | $23,332,314,160.14 | 4.64% |
| 1991 | $24,201,987,387.73 | 3.73% |
| 1992 | $24,797,439,327.35 | 2.46% |
| 1993 | $25,132,772,788.08 | 1.35% |
| 1994 | $25,084,196,445.63 | -0.19% |
| 1995 | $24,813,109,115.23 | -1.08% |
| 1996 | $24,764,532,772.79 | -0.20% |
| 1997 | $24,980,775,845.60 | 0.87% |
| 1998 | $25,013,682,400.15 | 0.13% |
| 1999 | $24,687,750,812.15 | -1.30% |
| 2000 | $24,364,953,181.73 | -1.31% |
| 2001 | $23,930,900,057.33 | -1.78% |
| 2002 | $23,321,345,308.62 | -2.55% |
| 2003 | $22,729,027,326.58 | -2.54% |
| 2004 | $22,645,977,450.79 | -0.37% |
| 2005 | $22,478,310,720.43 | -0.74% |
| 2006 | $22,461,073,953.76 | -0.08% |
| 2007 | $22,376,128,033.63 | -0.38% |
| 2008 | $22,358,953,946.11 | -0.08% |
| 2009 | $22,579,192,814.83 | 0.99% |
| 2010 | $22,471,055,608.64 | -0.48% |
| 2011 | $22,961,378,941.33 | 2.18% |
| 2012 | $23,742,470,858.02 | 3.40% |
| 2013 | $23,958,102,809.10 | 0.91% |
| 2014 | $23,977,454,997.13 | 0.08% |
| 2015 | $23,674,385,629.66 | -1.26% |
| 2016 | $23,701,243,646.09 | 0.11% |
| 2017 | $23,619,760,749.09 | -0.34% |
| 2018 | $23,627,736,671.13 | 0.03% |
| 2019 | $23,326,359,640.74 | -1.28% |
| 2020 | $22,203,211,924.33 | -4.81% |
| 2021 | $22,751,153,067.07 | 2.47% |
| 2022 | $23,895,940,760.56 | 5.03% |
| 2023 | $24,553,680,107.01 | 2.75% |
| 2024 | $24,723,665,965.99 | 0.69% |
| 2025 | $24,816,174,695.55 | 0.37% |
| 2026 | $24,400,304,223.20 | -1.68%* |
* 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 | 131.975 | 129.763 |