According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices for apparel are 511.73% higher in 2026 versus 1940 (a $12,793,293,975,850,398 difference in value).
Between 1940 and 2026:Apparel experienced an average inflation rate of 2.13% per year. This rate of change indicates significant inflation. In other words, apparel costing $2,500,000,025,000,000 in the year 1940 would cost $15,293,294,000,850,402 in 2026 for an equivalent purchase. Compared to the overall inflation rate of 3.73% during this same period, inflation for apparel was lower.
In the year 1940: Pricing changed by 0.85%, which is below the average yearly change for apparel during the 1940-2026 time period. Compared to inflation for all items in 1940 (0.72%), inflation for apparel was higher.
Below are calculations of equivalent buying power for Apparel, over time, for $2,500,000,025,000,000 beginning in 1940. Each of the amounts below is equivalent in terms of what it could buy at the time:
| Year | USD Value | Inflation Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1940 | $2,500,000,025,000,000.00 | 0.85% |
| 1941 | $2,615,590,396,809,323.50 | 4.62% |
| 1942 | $3,060,756,622,124,570.00 | 17.02% |
| 1943 | $3,193,542,255,855,942.00 | 4.34% |
| 1944 | $3,417,080,660,842,567.50 | 7.00% |
| 1945 | $3,592,854,449,379,060.00 | 5.14% |
| 1946 | $3,942,491,441,794,039.00 | 9.73% |
| 1947 | $4,569,163,209,619,793.00 | 15.90% |
| 1948 | $4,872,946,170,242,644.00 | 6.65% |
| 1949 | $4,680,932,412,113,107.00 | -3.94% |
| 1950 | $4,617,883,118,398,930.00 | -1.35% |
| 1951 | $5,035,345,866,173,099.00 | 9.04% |
| 1952 | $4,980,894,203,419,946.00 | -1.08% |
| 1953 | $4,949,369,556,562,859.00 | -0.63% |
| 1954 | $4,931,219,002,311,808.00 | -0.37% |
| 1955 | $4,915,934,325,047,765.00 | -0.31% |
| 1956 | $5,015,284,727,264,043.00 | 2.02% |
| 1957 | $5,101,261,036,874,283.00 | 1.71% |
| 1958 | $5,121,322,175,783,340.00 | 0.39% |
| 1959 | $5,161,444,453,601,452.00 | 0.78% |
| 1960 | $5,238,823,132,250,668.00 | 1.50% |
| 1961 | $5,279,900,702,397,784.00 | 0.78% |
| 1962 | $5,309,514,764,596,866.00 | 0.56% |
| 1963 | $5,374,474,642,969,049.00 | 1.22% |
| 1964 | $5,420,328,674,761,176.00 | 0.85% |
| 1965 | $5,471,914,460,527,321.00 | 0.95% |
| 1966 | $5,619,029,479,193,734.00 | 2.69% |
| 1967 | $5,848,299,638,154,376.00 | 4.08% |
| 1968 | $6,160,680,229,738,250.00 | 5.34% |
| 1969 | $6,515,093,683,798,243.00 | 5.75% |
| 1970 | $6,783,530,828,247,994.00 | 4.12% |
| 1971 | $7,003,248,063,918,609.00 | 3.24% |
| 1972 | $7,148,452,497,927,014.00 | 2.07% |
| 1973 | $7,410,202,596,073,748.00 | 3.66% |
| 1974 | $7,959,495,685,250,287.00 | 7.41% |
| 1975 | $8,313,909,139,310,278.00 | 4.45% |
| 1976 | $8,625,334,438,565,149.00 | 3.75% |
| 1977 | $9,011,272,539,482,232.00 | 4.47% |
| 1978 | $9,327,474,300,382,116.00 | 3.51% |
| 1979 | $9,736,339,417,195,262.00 | 4.38% |
| 1980 | $10,425,105,186,406,190.00 | 7.07% |
| 1981 | $10,921,857,197,487,580.00 | 4.76% |
| 1982 | $11,208,444,896,188,382.00 | 2.62% |
| 1983 | $11,485,479,671,599,160.00 | 2.47% |
| 1984 | $11,696,599,276,308,752.00 | 1.84% |
| 1985 | $12,039,549,222,420,710.00 | 2.93% |
| 1986 | $12,141,765,501,623,998.00 | 0.85% |
| 1987 | $12,675,773,913,536,492.00 | 4.40% |
| 1988 | $13,226,022,295,042,032.00 | 4.34% |
| 1989 | $13,593,809,841,708,062.00 | 2.78% |
| 1990 | $14,224,302,778,849,826.00 | 4.64% |
| 1991 | $14,754,490,021,446,312.00 | 3.73% |
| 1992 | $15,117,501,106,467,330.00 | 2.46% |
| 1993 | $15,321,933,664,873,902.00 | 1.35% |
| 1994 | $15,292,319,602,674,818.00 | -0.19% |
| 1995 | $15,127,054,029,757,358.00 | -1.08% |
| 1996 | $15,097,439,967,558,274.00 | -0.20% |
| 1997 | $15,229,270,308,960,642.00 | 0.87% |
| 1998 | $15,249,331,447,869,702.00 | 0.13% |
| 1999 | $15,050,630,643,437,144.00 | -1.30% |
| 2000 | $14,853,840,423,662,592.00 | -1.31% |
| 2001 | $14,589,224,448,528,848.00 | -1.78% |
| 2002 | $14,217,615,732,546,808.00 | -2.55% |
| 2003 | $13,856,515,232,183,798.00 | -2.54% |
| 2004 | $13,805,884,738,746,654.00 | -0.37% |
| 2005 | $13,703,668,459,543,370.00 | -0.74% |
| 2006 | $13,693,160,243,924,340.00 | -0.08% |
| 2007 | $13,641,373,846,769,104.00 | -0.38% |
| 2008 | $13,630,903,842,843,236.00 | -0.08% |
| 2009 | $13,765,170,179,684,564.00 | 0.99% |
| 2010 | $13,699,245,456,060,086.00 | -0.48% |
| 2011 | $13,998,165,978,728,314.00 | 2.18% |
| 2012 | $14,474,350,545,966,278.00 | 3.40% |
| 2013 | $14,605,808,323,360,332.00 | 0.91% |
| 2014 | $14,617,606,183,623,522.00 | 0.08% |
| 2015 | $14,432,843,094,271,112.00 | -1.26% |
| 2016 | $14,449,216,804,790,216.00 | 0.11% |
| 2017 | $14,399,541,603,682,078.00 | -0.34% |
| 2018 | $14,404,404,041,636,706.00 | 0.03% |
| 2019 | $14,220,672,667,999,618.00 | -1.28% |
| 2020 | $13,535,957,338,263,662.00 | -4.81% |
| 2021 | $13,870,003,959,869,318.00 | 2.47% |
| 2022 | $14,567,911,876,668,800.00 | 5.03% |
| 2023 | $14,968,895,831,767,672.00 | 2.75% |
| 2024 | $15,072,525,943,617,882.00 | 0.69% |
| 2025 | $15,092,118,989,285,726.00 | 0.13% |
| 2026 | $15,293,294,000,850,402.00 | 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 |