According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices for apparel are 542.10% higher in 2026 versus 1935 (a $224,429,154,757,497.19 difference in value).
Between 1935 and 2026:Apparel experienced an average inflation rate of 2.06% per year. This rate of change indicates significant inflation. In other words, apparel costing $41,400,000,000,000 in the year 1935 would cost $265,829,154,757,497.19 in 2026 for an equivalent purchase. Compared to the overall inflation rate of 3.54% during this same period, inflation for apparel was lower.
In the year 1935: Pricing changed by 1.49%, which is below the average yearly change for apparel during the 1935-2026 time period. Compared to inflation for all items in 1935 (2.55%), inflation for apparel was lower.
Below are calculations of equivalent buying power for Apparel, over time, for $41,400,000,000,000 beginning in 1935. Each of the amounts below is equivalent in terms of what it could buy at the time:
| Year | USD Value | Inflation Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1935 | $41,400,000,000,000.00 | 1.49% |
| 1936 | $41,861,106,997,408.36 | 1.11% |
| 1937 | $43,787,282,487,967.41 | 4.60% |
| 1938 | $43,803,887,449,092.92 | 0.04% |
| 1939 | $43,089,874,120,696.03 | -1.63% |
| 1940 | $43,455,183,265,457.24 | 0.85% |
| 1941 | $45,464,383,561,643.83 | 4.62% |
| 1942 | $53,202,295,446,131.06 | 17.02% |
| 1943 | $55,510,385,042,576.82 | 4.34% |
| 1944 | $59,395,945,945,945.94 | 7.00% |
| 1945 | $62,451,258,793,039.61 | 5.14% |
| 1946 | $68,528,674,564,975.93 | 9.73% |
| 1947 | $79,421,529,063,309.88 | 15.90% |
| 1948 | $84,701,906,701,221.77 | 6.65% |
| 1949 | $81,364,309,514,994.44 | -3.94% |
| 1950 | $80,268,382,080,710.84 | -1.35% |
| 1951 | $87,524,750,092,558.31 | 9.04% |
| 1952 | $86,578,267,308,404.27 | -1.08% |
| 1953 | $86,030,303,591,262.50 | -0.63% |
| 1954 | $85,714,809,329,877.83 | -0.37% |
| 1955 | $85,449,129,951,869.67 | -0.31% |
| 1956 | $87,176,045,908,922.61 | 2.02% |
| 1957 | $88,670,492,410,218.42 | 1.71% |
| 1958 | $89,019,196,593,854.13 | 0.39% |
| 1959 | $89,716,604,961,125.50 | 0.78% |
| 1960 | $91,061,606,812,291.72 | 1.50% |
| 1961 | $91,775,620,140,688.59 | 0.78% |
| 1962 | $92,290,373,935,579.41 | 0.56% |
| 1963 | $93,419,511,292,114.02 | 1.22% |
| 1964 | $94,216,549,426,138.44 | 0.85% |
| 1965 | $95,113,217,326,915.94 | 0.95% |
| 1966 | $97,670,381,340,244.36 | 2.69% |
| 1967 | $101,655,572,010,366.52 | 4.08% |
| 1968 | $107,085,394,298,407.98 | 5.34% |
| 1969 | $113,245,834,875,971.84 | 5.75% |
| 1970 | $117,911,828,952,239.88 | 4.12% |
| 1971 | $121,730,970,011,106.98 | 3.24% |
| 1972 | $124,254,924,102,184.34 | 2.07% |
| 1973 | $128,804,683,450,573.84 | 3.66% |
| 1974 | $138,352,536,097,741.56 | 7.41% |
| 1975 | $144,512,976,675,305.41 | 4.45% |
| 1976 | $149,926,194,002,221.34 | 3.75% |
| 1977 | $156,634,598,296,927.03 | 4.47% |
| 1978 | $162,130,840,429,470.53 | 3.51% |
| 1979 | $169,237,763,791,188.44 | 4.38% |
| 1980 | $181,209,940,762,680.47 | 7.07% |
| 1981 | $189,844,520,547,945.16 | 4.76% |
| 1982 | $194,826,008,885,597.88 | 2.62% |
| 1983 | $199,641,447,611,995.53 | 2.47% |
| 1984 | $203,311,144,020,733.03 | 1.84% |
| 1985 | $209,272,325,064,790.81 | 2.93% |
| 1986 | $211,049,055,905,220.25 | 0.85% |
| 1987 | $220,331,229,174,379.84 | 4.40% |
| 1988 | $229,895,686,782,673.03 | 4.34% |
| 1989 | $236,288,596,815,994.09 | 2.78% |
| 1990 | $247,247,871,158,830.03 | 4.64% |
| 1991 | $256,463,624,583,487.56 | 3.73% |
| 1992 | $262,773,509,811,181.00 | 2.46% |
| 1993 | $266,326,971,492,039.91 | 1.35% |
| 1994 | $265,812,217,697,149.16 | -0.19% |
| 1995 | $262,939,559,422,436.09 | -1.08% |
| 1996 | $262,424,805,627,545.38 | -0.20% |
| 1997 | $264,716,290,262,865.56 | 0.87% |
| 1998 | $265,064,994,446,501.25 | 0.13% |
| 1999 | $261,611,162,532,395.38 | -1.30% |
| 2000 | $258,190,540,540,540.56 | -1.31% |
| 2001 | $253,590,966,308,774.47 | -1.78% |
| 2002 | $247,131,636,430,951.47 | -2.55% |
| 2003 | $240,854,961,125,509.03 | -2.54% |
| 2004 | $239,974,898,185,857.03 | -0.37% |
| 2005 | $238,198,167,345,427.59 | -0.74% |
| 2006 | $238,015,512,773,047.00 | -0.08% |
| 2007 | $237,115,357,830,433.16 | -0.38% |
| 2008 | $236,933,367,456,497.56 | -0.08% |
| 2009 | $239,267,194,742,687.88 | 0.99% |
| 2010 | $238,121,286,375,416.47 | -0.48% |
| 2011 | $243,317,144,761,199.53 | 2.18% |
| 2012 | $251,594,219,733,432.03 | 3.40% |
| 2013 | $253,879,228,433,913.38 | 0.91% |
| 2014 | $254,084,299,703,813.38 | 0.08% |
| 2015 | $250,872,734,172,528.63 | -1.26% |
| 2016 | $251,157,343,206,219.84 | 0.11% |
| 2017 | $250,293,885,227,693.41 | -0.34% |
| 2018 | $250,378,404,479,822.25 | 0.03% |
| 2019 | $247,184,772,306,553.13 | -1.28% |
| 2020 | $235,283,000,370,233.19 | -4.81% |
| 2021 | $241,089,423,176,601.19 | 2.47% |
| 2022 | $253,220,509,626,064.41 | 5.03% |
| 2023 | $260,190,442,058,496.81 | 2.75% |
| 2024 | $261,991,748,241,392.03 | 0.69% |
| 2025 | $262,332,315,994,076.25 | 0.13% |
| 2026 | $265,829,154,757,497.19 | 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 |