According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices for apparel are 188.04% higher in 2026 versus 1962 (a $940,178,121,626,484,608 difference in value).
Between 1962 and 2026:Apparel experienced an average inflation rate of 1.67% per year. In other words, apparel costing $500,000,000,000,000,000 in the year 1962 would cost $1,440,178,121,626,484,480 in 2026 for an equivalent purchase. Compared to the overall inflation rate of 3.78% during this same period, inflation for apparel was lower.
In the year 1962: Pricing changed by 0.56%, which is below the average yearly change for apparel during the 1962-2026 time period. Compared to inflation for all items in 1962 (1.20%), inflation for apparel was lower.
Below are calculations of equivalent buying power for Apparel, over time, for $500,000,000,000,000,000 beginning in 1962. Each of the amounts below is equivalent in terms of what it could buy at the time:
| Year | USD Value | Inflation Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1962 | $500,000,000,000,000,000.00 | 0.56% |
| 1963 | $506,117,308,384,310,976.00 | 1.22% |
| 1964 | $510,435,408,420,295,040.00 | 0.85% |
| 1965 | $515,293,270,960,777,216.00 | 0.95% |
| 1966 | $529,147,175,242,893,248.00 | 2.69% |
| 1967 | $550,737,675,422,814,144.00 | 4.08% |
| 1968 | $580,154,731,917,956,096.00 | 5.34% |
| 1969 | $613,530,046,779,417,088.00 | 5.75% |
| 1970 | $638,808,924,073,408,000.00 | 4.12% |
| 1971 | $659,499,820,079,165,312.00 | 3.24% |
| 1972 | $673,173,803,526,448,384.00 | 2.07% |
| 1973 | $697,822,957,898,524,672.00 | 3.66% |
| 1974 | $749,550,197,912,918,400.00 | 7.41% |
| 1975 | $782,925,512,774,379,264.00 | 4.45% |
| 1976 | $812,252,608,852,104,960.00 | 3.75% |
| 1977 | $848,596,617,488,305,152.00 | 4.47% |
| 1978 | $878,373,515,653,112,576.00 | 3.51% |
| 1979 | $916,876,574,307,305,088.00 | 4.38% |
| 1980 | $981,738,035,264,483,712.00 | 7.07% |
| 1981 | $1,028,517,452,320,978,688.00 | 4.76% |
| 1982 | $1,055,505,577,545,879,680.00 | 2.62% |
| 1983 | $1,081,594,098,596,617,472.00 | 2.47% |
| 1984 | $1,101,475,350,845,628,288.00 | 1.84% |
| 1985 | $1,133,771,140,698,092,800.00 | 2.93% |
| 1986 | $1,143,396,905,361,641,088.00 | 0.85% |
| 1987 | $1,193,684,778,697,373,184.00 | 4.40% |
| 1988 | $1,245,501,979,129,183,232.00 | 4.34% |
| 1989 | $1,280,136,739,834,472,960.00 | 2.78% |
| 1990 | $1,339,510,615,329,255,168.00 | 4.64% |
| 1991 | $1,389,438,646,995,322,368.00 | 3.73% |
| 1992 | $1,423,623,605,613,530,112.00 | 2.46% |
| 1993 | $1,442,875,134,940,626,176.00 | 1.35% |
| 1994 | $1,440,086,362,000,720,128.00 | -0.19% |
| 1995 | $1,424,523,209,787,693,568.00 | -1.08% |
| 1996 | $1,421,734,436,847,787,264.00 | -0.20% |
| 1997 | $1,434,148,974,451,241,472.00 | 0.87% |
| 1998 | $1,436,038,143,216,984,576.00 | 0.13% |
| 1999 | $1,417,326,376,394,386,432.00 | -1.30% |
| 2000 | $1,398,794,530,406,621,440.00 | -1.31% |
| 2001 | $1,373,875,494,782,296,064.00 | -1.78% |
| 2002 | $1,338,880,892,407,340,800.00 | -2.55% |
| 2003 | $1,304,875,854,623,965,440.00 | -2.54% |
| 2004 | $1,300,107,952,500,899,840.00 | -0.37% |
| 2005 | $1,290,482,187,837,351,680.00 | -0.74% |
| 2006 | $1,289,492,623,245,772,032.00 | -0.08% |
| 2007 | $1,284,615,869,017,632,256.00 | -0.38% |
| 2008 | $1,283,629,902,842,749,440.00 | -0.08% |
| 2009 | $1,296,273,839,510,615,552.00 | 0.99% |
| 2010 | $1,290,065,671,104,713,984.00 | -0.48% |
| 2011 | $1,318,215,185,318,459,904.00 | 2.18% |
| 2012 | $1,363,057,754,587,981,312.00 | 3.40% |
| 2013 | $1,375,437,207,628,643,328.00 | 0.91% |
| 2014 | $1,376,548,218,783,735,296.00 | 0.08% |
| 2015 | $1,359,148,974,451,241,472.00 | -1.26% |
| 2016 | $1,360,690,896,005,757,440.00 | 0.11% |
| 2017 | $1,356,012,954,300,108,288.00 | -0.34% |
| 2018 | $1,356,470,852,824,757,248.00 | 0.03% |
| 2019 | $1,339,168,765,743,073,024.00 | -1.28% |
| 2020 | $1,274,688,736,955,739,392.00 | -4.81% |
| 2021 | $1,306,146,095,717,884,416.00 | 2.47% |
| 2022 | $1,371,868,477,869,737,472.00 | 5.03% |
| 2023 | $1,409,629,363,080,244,736.00 | 2.75% |
| 2024 | $1,419,388,269,161,569,024.00 | 0.69% |
| 2025 | $1,421,233,357,322,778,112.00 | 0.13% |
| 2026 | $1,440,178,121,626,484,480.00 | 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 |