According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices for apparel are 282.44% higher in 2026 versus 1921 (a $1,412,209,746,774,964,224 difference in value).
Between 1921 and 2026:Apparel experienced an average inflation rate of 1.29% per year. In other words, apparel costing $500,000,000,000,000,000 in the year 1921 would cost $1,912,209,746,774,964,224 in 2026 for an equivalent purchase. Compared to the overall inflation rate of 2.81% during this same period, inflation for apparel was lower.
In the year 1921: Pricing changed by -20.01%, which is significantly below the average yearly change for apparel during the 1921-2026 time period. Compared to inflation for all items in 1921 (-10.94%), inflation for apparel was much lower.
Below are calculations of equivalent buying power for Apparel, over time, for $500,000,000,000,000,000 beginning in 1921. Each of the amounts below is equivalent in terms of what it could buy at the time:
| Year | USD Value | Inflation Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1921 | $500,000,000,000,000,000.00 | -20.01% |
| 1922 | $389,273,769,708,552,448.00 | -22.15% |
| 1923 | $387,004,300,047,778,304.00 | -0.58% |
| 1924 | $385,332,059,245,102,784.00 | -0.43% |
| 1925 | $378,165,312,947,921,664.00 | -1.86% |
| 1926 | $372,790,253,225,035,776.00 | -1.42% |
| 1927 | $365,504,061,156,235,072.00 | -1.95% |
| 1928 | $358,815,097,945,532,736.00 | -1.83% |
| 1929 | $355,112,279,025,322,560.00 | -1.03% |
| 1930 | $350,573,339,703,774,464.00 | -1.28% |
| 1931 | $324,056,378,404,204,544.00 | -7.56% |
| 1932 | $284,997,611,084,567,648.00 | -12.05% |
| 1933 | $265,647,396,082,178,688.00 | -6.79% |
| 1934 | $293,445,684,750,032,640.00 | 10.46% |
| 1935 | $297,805,873,056,709,248.00 | 1.49% |
| 1936 | $301,122,790,253,225,024.00 | 1.11% |
| 1937 | $314,978,499,761,108,416.00 | 4.60% |
| 1938 | $315,097,945,532,728,192.00 | 0.04% |
| 1939 | $309,961,777,353,081,664.00 | -1.63% |
| 1940 | $312,589,584,328,714,752.00 | 0.85% |
| 1941 | $327,042,522,694,696,640.00 | 4.62% |
| 1942 | $382,704,252,269,469,696.00 | 17.02% |
| 1943 | $399,307,214,524,605,888.00 | 4.34% |
| 1944 | $427,257,525,083,612,032.00 | 7.00% |
| 1945 | $449,235,547,061,634,112.00 | 5.14% |
| 1946 | $492,952,699,474,438,656.00 | 9.73% |
| 1947 | $571,309,125,656,951,744.00 | 15.90% |
| 1948 | $609,292,881,032,011,520.00 | 6.65% |
| 1949 | $585,284,280,936,454,912.00 | -3.94% |
| 1950 | $577,400,860,009,555,712.00 | -1.35% |
| 1951 | $629,598,662,207,357,952.00 | 9.04% |
| 1952 | $622,790,253,225,035,776.00 | -1.08% |
| 1953 | $618,848,542,761,586,304.00 | -0.63% |
| 1954 | $616,579,073,100,812,288.00 | -0.37% |
| 1955 | $614,667,940,754,897,280.00 | -0.31% |
| 1956 | $627,090,301,003,344,512.00 | 2.02% |
| 1957 | $637,840,420,449,116,160.00 | 1.71% |
| 1958 | $640,348,781,653,129,600.00 | 0.39% |
| 1959 | $645,365,504,061,156,224.00 | 0.78% |
| 1960 | $655,040,611,562,350,592.00 | 1.50% |
| 1961 | $660,176,779,741,996,928.00 | 0.78% |
| 1962 | $663,879,598,662,207,360.00 | 0.56% |
| 1963 | $672,001,911,132,345,984.00 | 1.22% |
| 1964 | $677,735,308,170,090,880.00 | 0.85% |
| 1965 | $684,185,379,837,553,664.00 | 0.95% |
| 1966 | $702,580,028,666,985,216.00 | 2.69% |
| 1967 | $731,247,013,855,709,568.00 | 4.08% |
| 1968 | $770,305,781,175,346,304.00 | 5.34% |
| 1969 | $814,620,162,446,249,472.00 | 5.75% |
| 1970 | $848,184,424,271,380,992.00 | 4.12% |
| 1971 | $875,656,951,743,908,352.00 | 3.24% |
| 1972 | $893,812,709,030,100,224.00 | 2.07% |
| 1973 | $926,540,850,453,893,888.00 | 3.66% |
| 1974 | $995,222,169,135,212,672.00 | 7.41% |
| 1975 | $1,039,536,550,406,115,712.00 | 4.45% |
| 1976 | $1,078,475,871,954,132,608.00 | 3.75% |
| 1977 | $1,126,731,963,688,485,376.00 | 4.47% |
| 1978 | $1,166,268,514,094,600,960.00 | 3.51% |
| 1979 | $1,217,391,304,347,826,176.00 | 4.38% |
| 1980 | $1,303,511,705,685,618,688.00 | 7.07% |
| 1981 | $1,365,623,506,927,854,592.00 | 4.76% |
| 1982 | $1,401,457,238,413,760,000.00 | 2.62% |
| 1983 | $1,436,096,512,183,468,544.00 | 2.47% |
| 1984 | $1,462,494,027,711,419,136.00 | 1.84% |
| 1985 | $1,505,375,059,722,885,632.00 | 2.93% |
| 1986 | $1,518,155,757,286,191,872.00 | 0.85% |
| 1987 | $1,584,925,943,621,595,904.00 | 4.40% |
| 1988 | $1,653,726,708,074,533,888.00 | 4.34% |
| 1989 | $1,699,713,330,148,112,384.00 | 2.78% |
| 1990 | $1,778,547,539,417,104,640.00 | 4.64% |
| 1991 | $1,844,839,942,666,030,080.00 | 3.73% |
| 1992 | $1,890,229,335,881,510,144.00 | 2.46% |
| 1993 | $1,915,790,731,008,122,624.00 | 1.35% |
| 1994 | $1,912,087,912,087,912,192.00 | -0.19% |
| 1995 | $1,891,423,793,597,706,752.00 | -1.08% |
| 1996 | $1,887,720,974,677,496,576.00 | -0.20% |
| 1997 | $1,904,204,491,161,013,248.00 | 0.87% |
| 1998 | $1,906,712,852,365,026,304.00 | 0.13% |
| 1999 | $1,881,868,131,868,131,584.00 | -1.30% |
| 2000 | $1,857,262,302,914,477,056.00 | -1.31% |
| 2001 | $1,824,175,824,175,824,128.00 | -1.78% |
| 2002 | $1,777,711,419,015,766,272.00 | -2.55% |
| 2003 | $1,732,560,917,343,526,144.00 | -2.54% |
| 2004 | $1,726,230,291,447,682,816.00 | -0.37% |
| 2005 | $1,713,449,593,884,376,832.00 | -0.74% |
| 2006 | $1,712,135,690,396,559,872.00 | -0.08% |
| 2007 | $1,705,660,535,117,057,024.00 | -0.38% |
| 2008 | $1,704,351,409,460,104,960.00 | -0.08% |
| 2009 | $1,721,139,512,661,251,840.00 | 0.99% |
| 2010 | $1,712,896,559,961,777,408.00 | -0.48% |
| 2011 | $1,750,272,336,359,292,672.00 | 2.18% |
| 2012 | $1,809,812,470,138,557,184.00 | 3.40% |
| 2013 | $1,826,249,402,771,142,144.00 | 0.91% |
| 2014 | $1,827,724,558,050,644,992.00 | 0.08% |
| 2015 | $1,804,622,551,361,681,920.00 | -1.26% |
| 2016 | $1,806,669,851,887,243,008.00 | 0.11% |
| 2017 | $1,800,458,671,763,019,776.00 | -0.34% |
| 2018 | $1,801,066,650,740,563,968.00 | 0.03% |
| 2019 | $1,778,093,645,484,949,760.00 | -1.28% |
| 2020 | $1,692,479,694,218,824,192.00 | -4.81% |
| 2021 | $1,734,247,491,638,796,032.00 | 2.47% |
| 2022 | $1,821,510,989,010,988,800.00 | 5.03% |
| 2023 | $1,871,648,351,648,351,488.00 | 2.75% |
| 2024 | $1,884,605,828,953,654,784.00 | 0.69% |
| 2025 | $1,887,055,661,729,575,168.00 | 0.13% |
| 2026 | $1,912,209,746,774,964,224.00 | 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 |