According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices for apparel are 205.92% higher in 2026 versus 1920 (a $17,174,088,820.94 difference in value).
Between 1920 and 2026:Apparel experienced an average inflation rate of 1.06% per year. In other words, apparel costing $8,340,000,000 in the year 1920 would cost $25,514,088,820.94 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 $8,340,000,000 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 | $8,340,000,000.00 | 28.26% |
| 1921 | $6,671,362,507.17 | -20.01% |
| 1922 | $5,193,972,864.51 | -22.15% |
| 1923 | $5,163,691,954.90 | -0.58% |
| 1924 | $5,141,379,705.71 | -0.43% |
| 1925 | $5,045,755,780.62 | -1.86% |
| 1926 | $4,974,037,836.80 | -1.42% |
| 1927 | $4,876,820,179.63 | -1.95% |
| 1928 | $4,787,571,182.88 | -1.83% |
| 1929 | $4,738,165,488.25 | -1.03% |
| 1930 | $4,677,603,669.02 | -1.28% |
| 1931 | $4,323,795,146.19 | -7.56% |
| 1932 | $3,802,644,754.44 | -12.05% |
| 1933 | $3,544,460,156.70 | -6.79% |
| 1934 | $3,915,365,078.26 | 10.46% |
| 1935 | $3,973,541,871.85 | 1.49% |
| 1936 | $4,017,798,585.90 | 1.11% |
| 1937 | $4,202,671,507.74 | 4.60% |
| 1938 | $4,204,265,239.82 | 0.04% |
| 1939 | $4,135,734,760.18 | -1.63% |
| 1940 | $4,170,796,866.04 | 0.85% |
| 1941 | $4,363,638,448.31 | 4.62% |
| 1942 | $5,106,317,599.85 | 17.02% |
| 1943 | $5,327,846,359.64 | 4.34% |
| 1944 | $5,700,779,667.49 | 7.00% |
| 1945 | $5,994,026,371.11 | 5.14% |
| 1946 | $6,577,332,314.16 | 9.73% |
| 1947 | $7,622,820,561.82 | 15.90% |
| 1948 | $8,129,627,364.80 | 6.65% |
| 1949 | $7,809,287,215.75 | -3.94% |
| 1950 | $7,704,100,898.15 | -1.35% |
| 1951 | $8,400,561,819.22 | 9.04% |
| 1952 | $8,309,719,090.39 | -1.08% |
| 1953 | $8,257,125,931.59 | -0.63% |
| 1954 | $8,226,845,021.98 | -0.37% |
| 1955 | $8,201,345,308.62 | -0.31% |
| 1956 | $8,367,093,445.44 | 2.02% |
| 1957 | $8,510,529,333.08 | 1.71% |
| 1958 | $8,543,997,706.86 | 0.39% |
| 1959 | $8,610,934,454.42 | 0.78% |
| 1960 | $8,740,026,753.30 | 1.50% |
| 1961 | $8,808,557,232.94 | 0.78% |
| 1962 | $8,857,962,927.58 | 0.56% |
| 1963 | $8,966,336,709.34 | 1.22% |
| 1964 | $9,042,835,849.42 | 0.85% |
| 1965 | $9,128,897,382.00 | 0.95% |
| 1966 | $9,374,332,123.07 | 2.69% |
| 1967 | $9,756,827,823.43 | 4.08% |
| 1968 | $10,277,978,215.17 | 5.34% |
| 1969 | $10,869,252,818.65 | 5.75% |
| 1970 | $11,317,091,534.49 | 4.12% |
| 1971 | $11,683,649,914.01 | 3.24% |
| 1972 | $11,925,897,190.90 | 2.07% |
| 1973 | $12,362,579,782.15 | 3.66% |
| 1974 | $13,278,975,730.94 | 7.41% |
| 1975 | $13,870,250,334.42 | 4.45% |
| 1976 | $14,389,806,994.08 | 3.75% |
| 1977 | $15,033,674,756.35 | 4.47% |
| 1978 | $15,561,200,076.44 | 3.51% |
| 1979 | $16,243,317,408.75 | 4.38% |
| 1980 | $17,392,398,241.93 | 7.07% |
| 1981 | $18,221,138,926.05 | 4.76% |
| 1982 | $18,699,258,551.50 | 2.62% |
| 1983 | $19,161,440,856.11 | 2.47% |
| 1984 | $19,513,655,646.86 | 1.84% |
| 1985 | $20,085,805,465.32 | 2.93% |
| 1986 | $20,256,334,798.39 | 0.85% |
| 1987 | $21,147,231,033.82 | 4.40% |
| 1988 | $22,065,220,714.70 | 4.34% |
| 1989 | $22,678,807,567.36 | 2.78% |
| 1990 | $23,730,670,743.36 | 4.64% |
| 1991 | $24,615,192,050.45 | 3.73% |
| 1992 | $25,220,810,242.69 | 2.46% |
| 1993 | $25,561,868,908.85 | 1.35% |
| 1994 | $25,512,463,214.22 | -0.19% |
| 1995 | $25,236,747,563.54 | -1.08% |
| 1996 | $25,187,341,868.91 | -0.20% |
| 1997 | $25,407,276,896.62 | 0.87% |
| 1998 | $25,440,745,270.40 | 0.13% |
| 1999 | $25,109,248,996.75 | -1.30% |
| 2000 | $24,780,940,187.27 | -1.31% |
| 2001 | $24,339,476,399.77 | -1.78% |
| 2002 | $23,719,514,618.77 | -2.55% |
| 2003 | $23,117,083,890.69 | -2.54% |
| 2004 | $23,032,616,090.20 | -0.37% |
| 2005 | $22,862,086,757.12 | -0.74% |
| 2006 | $22,844,555,704.18 | -0.08% |
| 2007 | $22,758,159,487.87 | -0.38% |
| 2008 | $22,740,692,184.22 | -0.08% |
| 2009 | $22,964,691,228.74 | 0.99% |
| 2010 | $22,854,707,777.57 | -0.48% |
| 2011 | $23,353,402,484.23 | 2.18% |
| 2012 | $24,147,830,116.57 | 3.40% |
| 2013 | $24,367,143,588.76 | 0.91% |
| 2014 | $24,386,826,180.01 | 0.08% |
| 2015 | $24,078,582,457.48 | -1.26% |
| 2016 | $24,105,899,025.42 | 0.11% |
| 2017 | $24,023,024,957.00 | -0.34% |
| 2018 | $24,031,137,053.32 | 0.03% |
| 2019 | $23,724,614,561.44 | -1.28% |
| 2020 | $22,582,291,152.30 | -4.81% |
| 2021 | $23,139,587,387.73 | 2.47% |
| 2022 | $24,303,920,236.96 | 5.03% |
| 2023 | $24,972,889,279.57 | 2.75% |
| 2024 | $25,145,777,336.14 | 0.69% |
| 2025 | $25,178,464,781.20 | 0.13% |
| 2026 | $25,514,088,820.94 | 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 |