According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices for apparel are 786.44% higher in 2026 versus 1915 (a $7,864,352,159,468,439,552 difference in value).
Between 1915 and 2026:Apparel experienced an average inflation rate of 1.99% per year. In other words, apparel costing $1,000,000,000,000,000,000 in the year 1915 would cost $8,864,352,159,468,439,552 in 2026 for an equivalent purchase. Compared to the overall inflation rate of 3.18% during this same period, inflation for apparel was lower.
In the year 1915: Pricing changed by 0.33%, which is below the average yearly change for apparel during the 1915-2026 time period. Compared to inflation for all items in 1915 (0.92%), inflation for apparel was lower.
Below are calculations of equivalent buying power for Apparel, over time, for $1,000,000,000,000,000,000 beginning in 1915. Each of the amounts below is equivalent in terms of what it could buy at the time:
| Year | USD Value | Inflation Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1915 | $1,000,000,000,000,000,000.00 | 0.33% |
| 1916 | $1,049,280,177,187,153,792.00 | 4.93% |
| 1917 | $1,213,178,294,573,643,520.00 | 15.62% |
| 1918 | $1,528,239,202,657,807,360.00 | 25.97% |
| 1919 | $2,259,136,212,624,584,960.00 | 47.83% |
| 1920 | $2,897,563,676,633,443,840.00 | 28.26% |
| 1921 | $2,317,829,457,364,340,736.00 | -20.01% |
| 1922 | $1,804,540,420,819,490,816.00 | -22.15% |
| 1923 | $1,794,019,933,554,817,536.00 | -0.58% |
| 1924 | $1,786,267,995,570,321,408.00 | -0.43% |
| 1925 | $1,753,045,404,208,194,560.00 | -1.86% |
| 1926 | $1,728,128,460,686,600,192.00 | -1.42% |
| 1927 | $1,694,352,159,468,438,784.00 | -1.95% |
| 1928 | $1,663,344,407,530,454,016.00 | -1.83% |
| 1929 | $1,646,179,401,993,356,032.00 | -1.03% |
| 1930 | $1,625,138,427,464,008,960.00 | -1.28% |
| 1931 | $1,502,214,839,424,141,824.00 | -7.56% |
| 1932 | $1,321,151,716,500,553,984.00 | -12.05% |
| 1933 | $1,231,450,719,822,813,184.00 | -6.79% |
| 1934 | $1,360,314,104,500,151,040.00 | 10.46% |
| 1935 | $1,380,526,450,293,892,608.00 | 1.49% |
| 1936 | $1,395,902,547,065,337,856.00 | 1.11% |
| 1937 | $1,460,132,890,365,448,448.00 | 4.60% |
| 1938 | $1,460,686,600,221,484,288.00 | 0.04% |
| 1939 | $1,436,877,076,411,960,320.00 | -1.63% |
| 1940 | $1,449,058,693,244,739,840.00 | 0.85% |
| 1941 | $1,516,057,585,825,027,840.00 | 4.62% |
| 1942 | $1,774,086,378,737,541,376.00 | 17.02% |
| 1943 | $1,851,052,048,726,467,584.00 | 4.34% |
| 1944 | $1,980,620,155,038,759,680.00 | 7.00% |
| 1945 | $2,082,502,768,549,280,512.00 | 5.14% |
| 1946 | $2,285,160,575,858,250,240.00 | 9.73% |
| 1947 | $2,648,394,241,417,497,600.00 | 15.90% |
| 1948 | $2,824,473,975,636,766,720.00 | 6.65% |
| 1949 | $2,713,178,294,573,643,776.00 | -3.94% |
| 1950 | $2,676,633,444,075,304,960.00 | -1.35% |
| 1951 | $2,918,604,651,162,791,424.00 | 9.04% |
| 1952 | $2,887,043,189,368,770,560.00 | -1.08% |
| 1953 | $2,868,770,764,119,602,176.00 | -0.63% |
| 1954 | $2,858,250,276,854,928,384.00 | -0.37% |
| 1955 | $2,849,390,919,158,361,600.00 | -0.31% |
| 1956 | $2,906,976,744,186,046,464.00 | 2.02% |
| 1957 | $2,956,810,631,229,236,224.00 | 1.71% |
| 1958 | $2,968,438,538,205,980,672.00 | 0.39% |
| 1959 | $2,991,694,352,159,468,544.00 | 0.78% |
| 1960 | $3,036,544,850,498,338,304.00 | 1.50% |
| 1961 | $3,060,354,374,307,862,528.00 | 0.78% |
| 1962 | $3,077,519,379,844,961,280.00 | 0.56% |
| 1963 | $3,115,171,650,055,371,264.00 | 1.22% |
| 1964 | $3,141,749,723,145,071,616.00 | 0.85% |
| 1965 | $3,171,650,055,370,985,472.00 | 0.95% |
| 1966 | $3,256,921,373,200,443,392.00 | 2.69% |
| 1967 | $3,389,811,738,648,948,736.00 | 4.08% |
| 1968 | $3,570,874,861,572,535,808.00 | 5.34% |
| 1969 | $3,776,301,218,161,683,968.00 | 5.75% |
| 1970 | $3,931,893,687,707,641,856.00 | 4.12% |
| 1971 | $4,059,246,954,595,792,384.00 | 3.24% |
| 1972 | $4,143,410,852,713,178,112.00 | 2.07% |
| 1973 | $4,295,127,353,266,887,680.00 | 3.66% |
| 1974 | $4,613,510,520,487,265,280.00 | 7.41% |
| 1975 | $4,818,936,877,076,411,392.00 | 4.45% |
| 1976 | $4,999,446,290,143,964,160.00 | 3.75% |
| 1977 | $5,223,145,071,982,281,728.00 | 4.47% |
| 1978 | $5,406,423,034,330,010,624.00 | 3.51% |
| 1979 | $5,643,410,852,713,179,136.00 | 4.38% |
| 1980 | $6,042,635,658,914,728,960.00 | 7.07% |
| 1981 | $6,330,564,784,053,156,864.00 | 4.76% |
| 1982 | $6,496,677,740,863,787,008.00 | 2.62% |
| 1983 | $6,657,253,599,114,063,872.00 | 2.47% |
| 1984 | $6,779,623,477,297,896,448.00 | 1.84% |
| 1985 | $6,978,405,315,614,618,624.00 | 2.93% |
| 1986 | $7,037,652,270,210,410,496.00 | 0.85% |
| 1987 | $7,347,176,079,734,219,776.00 | 4.40% |
| 1988 | $7,666,112,956,810,631,168.00 | 4.34% |
| 1989 | $7,879,291,251,384,274,944.00 | 2.78% |
| 1990 | $8,244,739,756,367,663,104.00 | 4.64% |
| 1991 | $8,552,048,726,467,332,096.00 | 3.73% |
| 1992 | $8,762,458,471,760,797,696.00 | 2.46% |
| 1993 | $8,880,952,380,952,380,416.00 | 1.35% |
| 1994 | $8,863,787,375,415,282,688.00 | -0.19% |
| 1995 | $8,767,995,570,321,153,024.00 | -1.08% |
| 1996 | $8,750,830,564,784,055,296.00 | -0.20% |
| 1997 | $8,827,242,524,916,943,872.00 | 0.87% |
| 1998 | $8,838,870,431,893,688,320.00 | 0.13% |
| 1999 | $8,723,698,781,838,316,544.00 | -1.30% |
| 2000 | $8,609,634,551,495,018,496.00 | -1.31% |
| 2001 | $8,456,256,921,373,200,384.00 | -1.78% |
| 2002 | $8,240,863,787,375,414,272.00 | -2.55% |
| 2003 | $8,031,561,461,794,019,328.00 | -2.54% |
| 2004 | $8,002,214,839,424,142,336.00 | -0.37% |
| 2005 | $7,942,967,884,828,349,440.00 | -0.74% |
| 2006 | $7,936,877,076,411,960,320.00 | -0.08% |
| 2007 | $7,906,860,465,116,278,784.00 | -0.38% |
| 2008 | $7,900,791,805,094,132,736.00 | -0.08% |
| 2009 | $7,978,615,725,359,910,912.00 | 0.99% |
| 2010 | $7,940,404,208,194,906,112.00 | -0.48% |
| 2011 | $8,113,665,559,246,953,472.00 | 2.18% |
| 2012 | $8,389,673,311,184,940,032.00 | 3.40% |
| 2013 | $8,465,869,324,473,975,808.00 | 0.91% |
| 2014 | $8,472,707,641,196,014,592.00 | 0.08% |
| 2015 | $8,365,614,617,940,197,376.00 | -1.26% |
| 2016 | $8,375,105,204,872,646,656.00 | 0.11% |
| 2017 | $8,346,312,292,358,806,528.00 | -0.34% |
| 2018 | $8,349,130,675,526,026,240.00 | 0.03% |
| 2019 | $8,242,635,658,914,728,960.00 | -1.28% |
| 2020 | $7,845,758,582,502,769,664.00 | -4.81% |
| 2021 | $8,039,379,844,961,240,064.00 | 2.47% |
| 2022 | $8,443,903,654,485,051,392.00 | 5.03% |
| 2023 | $8,676,323,366,555,924,480.00 | 2.75% |
| 2024 | $8,736,389,811,738,649,600.00 | 0.69% |
| 2025 | $8,747,746,400,885,936,128.00 | 0.13% |
| 2026 | $8,864,352,159,468,439,552.00 | 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 |