According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices for apparel are 206.98% higher in 2025 versus 1920 (a $17,158,499,791.87 difference in value).
Between 1920 and 2025: Apparel experienced an average inflation rate of 1.07% per year. In other words, apparel costing $8,289,808,707 in the year 1920 would cost $25,448,308,498.87 in 2025 for an equivalent purchase. Compared to the overall inflation rate of 2.68% during this same period, inflation for apparel was lower.
In the year 1920: Pricing changed by 13.43%, which is significantly above the average yearly change for apparel during the 1920-2025 time period. Compared to inflation for all items in 1920 (15.62%), inflation for apparel was lower.
Below are calculations of equivalent buying power for Apparel, over time, for $8,289,808,707 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 | $8,289,808,707.00 | 13.43% |
| 1921 | $6,125,355,148.57 | -26.11% |
| 1922 | $5,202,436,025.00 | -15.07% |
| 1923 | $5,248,920,933.64 | 0.89% |
| 1924 | $5,183,067,313.07 | -1.25% |
| 1925 | $5,093,971,238.18 | -1.72% |
| 1926 | $5,003,583,915.83 | -1.77% |
| 1927 | $4,893,827,881.55 | -2.19% |
| 1928 | $4,835,721,745.75 | -1.19% |
| 1929 | $4,777,615,609.95 | -1.20% |
| 1930 | $4,661,403,338.36 | -2.43% |
| 1931 | $4,183,641,777.36 | -10.25% |
| 1932 | $3,718,792,690.99 | -11.11% |
| 1933 | $3,692,967,741.75 | -0.69% |
| 1934 | $4,002,867,132.66 | 8.39% |
| 1935 | $4,028,692,081.91 | 0.65% |
| 1936 | $4,073,885,743.08 | 1.12% |
| 1937 | $4,288,232,821.80 | 5.26% |
| 1938 | $4,234,000,428.39 | -1.26% |
| 1939 | $4,187,515,519.75 | -1.10% |
| 1940 | $4,225,146,160.08 | 0.90% |
| 1941 | $4,419,046,122.39 | 4.59% |
| 1942 | $5,171,446,085.91 | 17.03% |
| 1943 | $5,394,931,223.59 | 4.32% |
| 1944 | $5,773,366,056.73 | 7.01% |
| 1945 | $6,071,346,240.30 | 5.16% |
| 1946 | $6,661,347,003.77 | 9.72% |
| 1947 | $7,720,666,556.38 | 15.90% |
| 1948 | $8,233,192,472.12 | 6.64% |
| 1949 | $7,908,394,072.03 | -3.94% |
| 1950 | $7,802,611,106.86 | -1.34% |
| 1951 | $8,507,334,241.01 | 9.03% |
| 1952 | $8,416,450,285.02 | -1.07% |
| 1953 | $8,361,323,951.06 | -0.65% |
| 1954 | $8,333,015,833.62 | -0.34% |
| 1955 | $8,306,197,617.10 | -0.32% |
| 1956 | $8,473,066,519.90 | 2.01% |
| 1957 | $8,619,076,809.85 | 1.72% |
| 1958 | $8,651,854,630.04 | 0.38% |
| 1959 | $8,720,390,072.26 | 0.79% |
| 1960 | $8,851,501,353.04 | 1.50% |
| 1961 | $8,921,526,696.17 | 0.79% |
| 1962 | $8,970,693,426.46 | 0.55% |
| 1963 | $9,080,946,094.39 | 1.23% |
| 1964 | $9,158,420,942.12 | 0.85% |
| 1965 | $9,246,325,096.27 | 0.96% |
| 1966 | $9,493,648,648.63 | 2.67% |
| 1967 | $9,881,022,887.28 | 4.08% |
| 1968 | $10,408,447,812.20 | 5.34% |
| 1969 | $11,007,387,981.19 | 5.75% |
| 1970 | $11,461,807,761.13 | 4.13% |
| 1971 | $11,832,793,089.68 | 3.24% |
| 1972 | $12,077,136,840.21 | 2.06% |
| 1973 | $12,519,637,412.82 | 3.66% |
| 1974 | $13,447,845,684.65 | 7.41% |
| 1975 | $14,046,785,853.63 | 4.45% |
| 1976 | $14,572,720,877.64 | 3.74% |
| 1977 | $15,225,297,479.66 | 4.48% |
| 1978 | $15,760,171,909.17 | 3.51% |
| 1979 | $16,449,996,034.15 | 4.38% |
| 1980 | $17,613,608,651.00 | 7.07% |
| 1981 | $18,453,912,768.67 | 4.77% |
| 1982 | $18,938,130,566.98 | 2.62% |
| 1983 | $19,405,959,455.19 | 2.47% |
| 1984 | $19,763,535,675.48 | 1.84% |
| 1985 | $20,341,617,231.61 | 2.92% |
| 1986 | $20,514,445,738.08 | 0.85% |
| 1987 | $21,417,325,694.31 | 4.40% |
| 1988 | $22,347,023,867.05 | 4.34% |
| 1989 | $22,968,312,549.80 | 2.78% |
| 1990 | $24,033,591,706.08 | 4.64% |
| 1991 | $24,929,022,157.71 | 3.73% |
| 1992 | $25,542,861,335.87 | 2.46% |
| 1993 | $25,888,518,348.82 | 1.35% |
| 1994 | $25,837,861,717.61 | -0.20% |
| 1995 | $25,559,250,245.97 | -1.08% |
| 1996 | $25,508,593,614.76 | -0.20% |
| 1997 | $25,732,078,752.44 | 0.88% |
| 1998 | $25,764,856,572.64 | 0.13% |
| 1999 | $25,429,628,866.12 | -1.30% |
| 2000 | $25,097,380,961.43 | -1.31% |
| 2001 | $24,650,410,686.07 | -1.78% |
| 2002 | $24,021,672,498.73 | -2.55% |
| 2003 | $23,412,303,023.33 | -2.54% |
| 2004 | $23,325,888,770.09 | -0.37% |
| 2005 | $23,153,060,263.62 | -0.74% |
| 2006 | $23,136,671,353.52 | -0.07% |
| 2007 | $23,048,424,522.16 | -0.38% |
| 2008 | $23,030,739,398.26 | -0.08% |
| 2009 | $23,257,591,712.02 | 0.98% |
| 2010 | $23,146,206,719.40 | -0.48% |
| 2011 | $23,651,268,231.54 | 2.18% |
| 2012 | $24,455,829,626.20 | 3.40% |
| 2013 | $24,677,929,156.03 | 0.91% |
| 2014 | $24,697,864,030.31 | 0.08% |
| 2015 | $24,385,699,990.00 | -1.26% |
| 2016 | $24,413,352,551.03 | 0.11% |
| 2017 | $24,329,426,432.33 | -0.34% |
| 2018 | $24,337,635,786.39 | 0.03% |
| 2019 | $24,027,214,930.15 | -1.28% |
| 2020 | $22,870,321,766.44 | -4.81% |
| 2021 | $23,434,726,032.14 | 2.47% |
| 2022 | $24,613,908,113.59 | 5.03% |
| 2023 | $25,291,410,757.97 | 2.75% |
| 2024 | $25,466,503,913.83 | 0.69% |
| 2025 | $25,448,308,498.87 | -0.07%* |
* 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 | 1913 | 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 |
| CPI | 14.900 | 15.000 | 15.450 | 17.350 | 21.200 | 29.550 | 37.733 | 42.800 | 31.625 | 26.860 | 27.100 | 26.760 | 26.300 | 25.833 | 25.267 | 24.967 | 24.667 | 24.067 | 21.600 | 19.200 | 19.067 | 20.667 | 20.800 | 21.033 | 22.140 | 21.860 | 21.620 | 21.814 | 22.815 | 26.700 | 27.854 | 29.808 | 31.346 | 34.392 | 39.862 | 42.508 | 40.831 | 40.285 | 43.923 | 43.454 | 43.169 | 43.023 | 42.885 | 43.746 | 44.500 | 44.669 | 45.023 | 45.700 | 46.062 | 46.315 | 46.885 | 47.285 | 47.738 | 49.015 | 51.015 | 53.738 | 56.831 | 59.177 | 61.092 | 62.354 | 64.638 | 69.431 | 72.523 | 75.238 | 78.608 | 81.369 | 84.931 | 90.938 | 95.277 | 97.777 | 100.192 | 102.038 | 105.023 | 105.915 | 110.577 | 115.377 | 118.585 | 124.085 | 128.708 | 131.877 | 133.662 | 133.400 | 131.962 | 131.700 | 132.854 | 133.023 | 131.292 | 129.577 | 127.269 | 124.023 | 120.877 | 120.431 | 119.538 | 119.454 | 118.998 | 118.907 | 120.078 | 119.503 | 122.111 | 126.265 | 127.411 | 127.514 | 125.903 | 126.045 | 125.612 | 125.654 | 124.052 | 118.079 | 120.993 | 127.081 | 130.579 | 131.483 | 131.389 |