According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices for apparel are 445.45% higher in 2026 versus 1930 (a $13,131,928,776,831.35 difference in value).
Between 1930 and 2026:Apparel experienced an average inflation rate of 1.78% per year. In other words, apparel costing $2,948,000,000,000 in the year 1930 would cost $16,079,928,776,831.35 in 2026 for an equivalent purchase. Compared to the overall inflation rate of 3.14% during this same period, inflation for apparel was lower.
In the year 1930: Pricing changed by -1.28%, which is significantly below the average yearly change for apparel during the 1930-2026 time period. Compared to inflation for all items in 1930 (-2.67%), inflation for apparel was higher.
Below are calculations of equivalent buying power for Apparel, over time, for $2,948,000,000,000 beginning in 1930. Each of the amounts below is equivalent in terms of what it could buy at the time:
| Year | USD Value | Inflation Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1930 | $2,948,000,000,000.00 | -1.28% |
| 1931 | $2,725,016,695,059.63 | -7.56% |
| 1932 | $2,396,568,313,458.26 | -12.05% |
| 1933 | $2,233,850,766,609.88 | -6.79% |
| 1934 | $2,467,608,858,603.07 | 10.46% |
| 1935 | $2,504,274,040,099.59 | 1.49% |
| 1936 | $2,532,166,269,165.25 | 1.11% |
| 1937 | $2,648,680,068,143.10 | 4.60% |
| 1938 | $2,649,684,497,444.63 | 0.04% |
| 1939 | $2,606,494,037,478.71 | -1.63% |
| 1940 | $2,628,591,482,112.44 | 0.85% |
| 1941 | $2,750,127,427,597.96 | 4.62% |
| 1942 | $3,218,191,482,112.44 | 17.02% |
| 1943 | $3,357,807,155,025.55 | 4.34% |
| 1944 | $3,592,843,611,584.33 | 7.00% |
| 1945 | $3,777,658,603,066.44 | 5.14% |
| 1946 | $4,145,279,727,427.60 | 9.73% |
| 1947 | $4,804,185,349,233.39 | 15.90% |
| 1948 | $5,123,593,867,120.95 | 6.65% |
| 1949 | $4,921,703,577,512.78 | -3.94% |
| 1950 | $4,855,411,243,611.59 | -1.35% |
| 1951 | $5,294,346,848,381.60 | 9.04% |
| 1952 | $5,237,094,378,194.21 | -1.08% |
| 1953 | $5,203,948,211,243.61 | -0.63% |
| 1954 | $5,184,864,054,514.48 | -0.37% |
| 1955 | $5,168,793,185,689.95 | -0.31% |
| 1956 | $5,273,253,833,049.40 | 2.02% |
| 1957 | $5,363,652,470,187.39 | 1.71% |
| 1958 | $5,384,745,485,519.59 | 0.39% |
| 1959 | $5,426,931,516,183.99 | 0.78% |
| 1960 | $5,508,290,289,608.18 | 1.50% |
| 1961 | $5,551,480,749,574.11 | 0.78% |
| 1962 | $5,582,618,057,921.64 | 0.56% |
| 1963 | $5,650,919,250,425.90 | 1.22% |
| 1964 | $5,699,131,856,899.49 | 0.85% |
| 1965 | $5,753,371,039,182.28 | 0.95% |
| 1966 | $5,908,053,151,618.40 | 2.69% |
| 1967 | $6,149,116,183,986.37 | 4.08% |
| 1968 | $6,477,564,565,587.74 | 5.34% |
| 1969 | $6,850,207,836,456.56 | 5.75% |
| 1970 | $7,132,452,470,187.39 | 4.12% |
| 1971 | $7,363,471,209,540.04 | 3.24% |
| 1972 | $7,516,144,463,373.08 | 2.07% |
| 1973 | $7,791,358,091,993.19 | 3.66% |
| 1974 | $8,368,904,940,374.79 | 7.41% |
| 1975 | $8,741,548,211,243.61 | 4.45% |
| 1976 | $9,068,992,163,543.44 | 3.75% |
| 1977 | $9,474,781,601,362.86 | 4.47% |
| 1978 | $9,807,247,700,170.36 | 3.51% |
| 1979 | $10,237,143,441,226.58 | 4.38% |
| 1980 | $10,961,336,967,632.03 | 7.07% |
| 1981 | $11,483,640,204,429.30 | 4.76% |
| 1982 | $11,784,968,994,889.27 | 2.62% |
| 1983 | $12,076,253,492,333.90 | 2.47% |
| 1984 | $12,298,232,367,972.75 | 1.84% |
| 1985 | $12,658,822,487,223.17 | 2.93% |
| 1986 | $12,766,296,422,487.23 | 0.85% |
| 1987 | $13,327,772,402,044.29 | 4.40% |
| 1988 | $13,906,323,679,727.43 | 4.34% |
| 1989 | $14,293,028,960,817.72 | 2.78% |
| 1990 | $14,955,952,299,829.64 | 4.64% |
| 1991 | $15,513,410,562,180.58 | 3.73% |
| 1992 | $15,895,093,696,763.20 | 2.46% |
| 1993 | $16,110,041,567,291.31 | 1.35% |
| 1994 | $16,078,904,258,943.78 | -0.19% |
| 1995 | $15,905,137,989,778.54 | -1.08% |
| 1996 | $15,874,000,681,431.01 | -0.20% |
| 1997 | $16,012,611,925,042.59 | 0.87% |
| 1998 | $16,033,704,940,374.79 | 0.13% |
| 1999 | $15,824,783,645,655.88 | -1.30% |
| 2000 | $15,617,871,209,540.04 | -1.31% |
| 2001 | $15,339,644,293,015.33 | -1.78% |
| 2002 | $14,948,921,294,718.91 | -2.55% |
| 2003 | $14,569,247,018,739.36 | -2.54% |
| 2004 | $14,516,012,265,758.10 | -0.37% |
| 2005 | $14,408,538,330,494.04 | -0.74% |
| 2006 | $14,397,489,608,177.17 | -0.08% |
| 2007 | $14,343,039,495,741.06 | -0.38% |
| 2008 | $14,332,030,950,596.26 | -0.08% |
| 2009 | $14,473,203,488,926.75 | 0.99% |
| 2010 | $14,403,887,822,827.94 | -0.48% |
| 2011 | $14,718,183,795,570.70 | 2.18% |
| 2012 | $15,218,861,669,505.97 | 3.40% |
| 2013 | $15,357,081,185,689.95 | 0.91% |
| 2014 | $15,369,485,887,563.89 | 0.08% |
| 2015 | $15,175,219,216,354.34 | -1.26% |
| 2016 | $15,192,435,134,582.62 | 0.11% |
| 2017 | $15,140,204,810,902.90 | -0.34% |
| 2018 | $15,145,317,356,047.70 | 0.03% |
| 2019 | $14,952,135,468,483.82 | -1.28% |
| 2020 | $14,232,200,722,316.87 | -4.81% |
| 2021 | $14,583,429,560,477.00 | 2.47% |
| 2022 | $15,317,235,475,298.13 | 5.03% |
| 2023 | $15,738,844,674,616.70 | 2.75% |
| 2024 | $15,847,805,165,247.02 | 0.69% |
| 2025 | $15,868,406,010,221.47 | 0.13% |
| 2026 | $16,079,928,776,831.35 | 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 |