According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices for apparel are 207.04% higher in 2026 versus 1952 (a $2,070,391,254,315,305,472 difference in value).
Between 1952 and 2026:Apparel experienced an average inflation rate of 1.53% per year. In other words, apparel costing $1,000,000,000,000,000,000 in the year 1952 would cost $3,070,391,254,315,305,472 in 2026 for an equivalent purchase. Compared to the overall inflation rate of 3.45% during this same period, inflation for apparel was lower.
In the year 1952: Pricing changed by -1.08%, which is below the average yearly change for apparel during the 1952-2026 time period. Compared to inflation for all items in 1952 (2.28%), inflation for apparel was much lower.
Below are calculations of equivalent buying power for Apparel, over time, for $1,000,000,000,000,000,000 beginning in 1952. Each of the amounts below is equivalent in terms of what it could buy at the time:
| Year | USD Value | Inflation Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1952 | $1,000,000,000,000,000,000.00 | -1.08% |
| 1953 | $993,670,886,075,949,696.00 | -0.63% |
| 1954 | $990,026,850,786,344,576.00 | -0.37% |
| 1955 | $986,958,189,489,835,392.00 | -0.31% |
| 1956 | $1,006,904,487,917,146,240.00 | 2.02% |
| 1957 | $1,024,165,707,710,011,648.00 | 1.71% |
| 1958 | $1,028,193,325,661,680,384.00 | 0.39% |
| 1959 | $1,036,248,561,565,017,344.00 | 0.78% |
| 1960 | $1,051,783,659,378,595,968.00 | 1.50% |
| 1961 | $1,060,030,686,612,965,120.00 | 0.78% |
| 1962 | $1,065,976,217,874,952,064.00 | 0.56% |
| 1963 | $1,079,018,028,385,117,184.00 | 1.22% |
| 1964 | $1,088,224,012,274,645,120.00 | 0.85% |
| 1965 | $1,098,580,744,150,364,288.00 | 0.95% |
| 1966 | $1,128,116,609,129,267,584.00 | 2.69% |
| 1967 | $1,174,146,528,576,908,544.00 | 4.08% |
| 1968 | $1,236,862,293,824,319,232.00 | 5.34% |
| 1969 | $1,308,016,877,637,131,008.00 | 5.75% |
| 1970 | $1,361,910,241,657,077,504.00 | 4.12% |
| 1971 | $1,406,022,247,794,400,000.00 | 3.24% |
| 1972 | $1,435,174,530,111,238,912.00 | 2.07% |
| 1973 | $1,487,725,354,813,962,752.00 | 3.66% |
| 1974 | $1,598,005,370,157,268,992.00 | 7.41% |
| 1975 | $1,669,159,953,970,080,768.00 | 4.45% |
| 1976 | $1,731,683,927,886,459,392.00 | 3.75% |
| 1977 | $1,809,167,625,623,321,856.00 | 4.47% |
| 1978 | $1,872,650,556,194,860,032.00 | 3.51% |
| 1979 | $1,954,737,245,876,487,168.00 | 4.38% |
| 1980 | $2,093,018,795,550,441,216.00 | 7.07% |
| 1981 | $2,192,750,287,686,996,480.00 | 4.76% |
| 1982 | $2,250,287,686,996,547,584.00 | 2.62% |
| 1983 | $2,305,907,172,995,780,608.00 | 2.47% |
| 1984 | $2,348,293,057,153,817,088.00 | 1.84% |
| 1985 | $2,417,146,144,994,246,144.00 | 2.93% |
| 1986 | $2,437,667,817,414,653,440.00 | 0.85% |
| 1987 | $2,544,879,171,461,449,728.00 | 4.40% |
| 1988 | $2,655,350,978,135,788,544.00 | 4.34% |
| 1989 | $2,729,190,640,583,045,632.00 | 2.78% |
| 1990 | $2,855,772,919,064,058,368.00 | 4.64% |
| 1991 | $2,962,217,107,786,727,936.00 | 3.73% |
| 1992 | $3,035,097,813,578,827,264.00 | 2.46% |
| 1993 | $3,076,141,158,419,639,808.00 | 1.35% |
| 1994 | $3,070,195,627,157,652,992.00 | -0.19% |
| 1995 | $3,037,015,726,889,145,344.00 | -1.08% |
| 1996 | $3,031,070,195,627,158,528.00 | -0.20% |
| 1997 | $3,057,537,399,309,551,616.00 | 0.87% |
| 1998 | $3,061,565,017,261,220,352.00 | 0.13% |
| 1999 | $3,021,672,420,406,597,632.00 | -1.30% |
| 2000 | $2,982,163,406,214,039,552.00 | -1.31% |
| 2001 | $2,929,037,207,518,221,312.00 | -1.78% |
| 2002 | $2,854,430,379,746,835,456.00 | -2.55% |
| 2003 | $2,781,933,256,616,801,280.00 | -2.54% |
| 2004 | $2,771,768,316,072,114,176.00 | -0.37% |
| 2005 | $2,751,246,643,651,707,392.00 | -0.74% |
| 2006 | $2,749,136,939,010,357,248.00 | -0.08% |
| 2007 | $2,738,739,930,955,121,152.00 | -0.38% |
| 2008 | $2,736,637,897,967,012,352.00 | -0.08% |
| 2009 | $2,763,594,169,543,537,152.00 | 0.99% |
| 2010 | $2,750,358,649,789,029,888.00 | -0.48% |
| 2011 | $2,810,372,075,182,201,856.00 | 2.18% |
| 2012 | $2,905,974,299,961,641,984.00 | 3.40% |
| 2013 | $2,932,366,705,024,932,864.00 | 0.91% |
| 2014 | $2,934,735,327,963,176,448.00 | 0.08% |
| 2015 | $2,897,640,966,628,308,480.00 | -1.26% |
| 2016 | $2,900,928,270,042,193,920.00 | 0.11% |
| 2017 | $2,890,955,120,828,539,392.00 | -0.34% |
| 2018 | $2,891,931,338,703,491,072.00 | 0.03% |
| 2019 | $2,855,044,112,006,137,344.00 | -1.28% |
| 2020 | $2,717,575,757,575,758,336.00 | -4.81% |
| 2021 | $2,784,641,350,210,970,624.00 | 2.47% |
| 2022 | $2,924,758,342,922,900,480.00 | 5.03% |
| 2023 | $3,005,262,754,123,513,856.00 | 2.75% |
| 2024 | $3,026,068,277,713,847,808.00 | 0.69% |
| 2025 | $3,030,001,917,913,310,720.00 | 0.13% |
| 2026 | $3,070,391,254,315,305,472.00 | 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 |