According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices for apparel are 786.44% higher in 2026 versus 1915 (a $3,932,176,079,734,219,776 difference in value).
Between 1915 and 2026:Apparel experienced an average inflation rate of 1.99% per year. In other words, apparel costing $500,000,000,000,000,000 in the year 1915 would cost $4,432,176,079,734,219,776 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 $500,000,000,000,000,000 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 | $500,000,000,000,000,000.00 | 0.33% |
| 1916 | $524,640,088,593,576,896.00 | 4.93% |
| 1917 | $606,589,147,286,821,760.00 | 15.62% |
| 1918 | $764,119,601,328,903,680.00 | 25.97% |
| 1919 | $1,129,568,106,312,292,480.00 | 47.83% |
| 1920 | $1,448,781,838,316,721,920.00 | 28.26% |
| 1921 | $1,158,914,728,682,170,624.00 | -20.01% |
| 1922 | $902,270,210,409,745,408.00 | -22.15% |
| 1923 | $897,009,966,777,408,512.00 | -0.58% |
| 1924 | $893,133,997,785,160,704.00 | -0.43% |
| 1925 | $876,522,702,104,097,280.00 | -1.86% |
| 1926 | $864,064,230,343,300,096.00 | -1.42% |
| 1927 | $847,176,079,734,219,392.00 | -1.95% |
| 1928 | $831,672,203,765,227,008.00 | -1.83% |
| 1929 | $823,089,700,996,678,016.00 | -1.03% |
| 1930 | $812,569,213,732,004,480.00 | -1.28% |
| 1931 | $751,107,419,712,070,912.00 | -7.56% |
| 1932 | $660,575,858,250,276,992.00 | -12.05% |
| 1933 | $615,725,359,911,406,592.00 | -6.79% |
| 1934 | $680,157,052,250,075,520.00 | 10.46% |
| 1935 | $690,263,225,146,946,304.00 | 1.49% |
| 1936 | $697,951,273,532,668,928.00 | 1.11% |
| 1937 | $730,066,445,182,724,224.00 | 4.60% |
| 1938 | $730,343,300,110,742,016.00 | 0.04% |
| 1939 | $718,438,538,205,980,160.00 | -1.63% |
| 1940 | $724,529,346,622,369,920.00 | 0.85% |
| 1941 | $758,028,792,912,513,920.00 | 4.62% |
| 1942 | $887,043,189,368,770,688.00 | 17.02% |
| 1943 | $925,526,024,363,233,792.00 | 4.34% |
| 1944 | $990,310,077,519,379,840.00 | 7.00% |
| 1945 | $1,041,251,384,274,640,256.00 | 5.14% |
| 1946 | $1,142,580,287,929,125,120.00 | 9.73% |
| 1947 | $1,324,197,120,708,748,800.00 | 15.90% |
| 1948 | $1,412,236,987,818,383,360.00 | 6.65% |
| 1949 | $1,356,589,147,286,821,888.00 | -3.94% |
| 1950 | $1,338,316,722,037,652,480.00 | -1.35% |
| 1951 | $1,459,302,325,581,395,712.00 | 9.04% |
| 1952 | $1,443,521,594,684,385,280.00 | -1.08% |
| 1953 | $1,434,385,382,059,801,088.00 | -0.63% |
| 1954 | $1,429,125,138,427,464,192.00 | -0.37% |
| 1955 | $1,424,695,459,579,180,800.00 | -0.31% |
| 1956 | $1,453,488,372,093,023,232.00 | 2.02% |
| 1957 | $1,478,405,315,614,618,112.00 | 1.71% |
| 1958 | $1,484,219,269,102,990,336.00 | 0.39% |
| 1959 | $1,495,847,176,079,734,272.00 | 0.78% |
| 1960 | $1,518,272,425,249,169,152.00 | 1.50% |
| 1961 | $1,530,177,187,153,931,264.00 | 0.78% |
| 1962 | $1,538,759,689,922,480,640.00 | 0.56% |
| 1963 | $1,557,585,825,027,685,632.00 | 1.22% |
| 1964 | $1,570,874,861,572,535,808.00 | 0.85% |
| 1965 | $1,585,825,027,685,492,736.00 | 0.95% |
| 1966 | $1,628,460,686,600,221,696.00 | 2.69% |
| 1967 | $1,694,905,869,324,474,368.00 | 4.08% |
| 1968 | $1,785,437,430,786,267,904.00 | 5.34% |
| 1969 | $1,888,150,609,080,841,984.00 | 5.75% |
| 1970 | $1,965,946,843,853,820,928.00 | 4.12% |
| 1971 | $2,029,623,477,297,896,192.00 | 3.24% |
| 1972 | $2,071,705,426,356,589,056.00 | 2.07% |
| 1973 | $2,147,563,676,633,443,840.00 | 3.66% |
| 1974 | $2,306,755,260,243,632,640.00 | 7.41% |
| 1975 | $2,409,468,438,538,205,696.00 | 4.45% |
| 1976 | $2,499,723,145,071,982,080.00 | 3.75% |
| 1977 | $2,611,572,535,991,140,864.00 | 4.47% |
| 1978 | $2,703,211,517,165,005,312.00 | 3.51% |
| 1979 | $2,821,705,426,356,589,568.00 | 4.38% |
| 1980 | $3,021,317,829,457,364,480.00 | 7.07% |
| 1981 | $3,165,282,392,026,578,432.00 | 4.76% |
| 1982 | $3,248,338,870,431,893,504.00 | 2.62% |
| 1983 | $3,328,626,799,557,031,936.00 | 2.47% |
| 1984 | $3,389,811,738,648,948,736.00 | 1.84% |
| 1985 | $3,489,202,657,807,309,312.00 | 2.93% |
| 1986 | $3,518,826,135,105,205,248.00 | 0.85% |
| 1987 | $3,673,588,039,867,109,888.00 | 4.40% |
| 1988 | $3,833,056,478,405,315,584.00 | 4.34% |
| 1989 | $3,939,645,625,692,137,472.00 | 2.78% |
| 1990 | $4,122,369,878,183,831,552.00 | 4.64% |
| 1991 | $4,276,024,363,233,666,048.00 | 3.73% |
| 1992 | $4,381,229,235,880,398,848.00 | 2.46% |
| 1993 | $4,440,476,190,476,191,232.00 | 1.35% |
| 1994 | $4,431,893,687,707,641,344.00 | -0.19% |
| 1995 | $4,383,997,785,160,576,512.00 | -1.08% |
| 1996 | $4,375,415,282,392,027,648.00 | -0.20% |
| 1997 | $4,413,621,262,458,471,936.00 | 0.87% |
| 1998 | $4,419,435,215,946,844,160.00 | 0.13% |
| 1999 | $4,361,849,390,919,158,272.00 | -1.30% |
| 2000 | $4,304,817,275,747,509,248.00 | -1.31% |
| 2001 | $4,228,128,460,686,600,192.00 | -1.78% |
| 2002 | $4,120,431,893,687,707,136.00 | -2.55% |
| 2003 | $4,015,780,730,897,009,664.00 | -2.54% |
| 2004 | $4,001,107,419,712,071,680.00 | -0.37% |
| 2005 | $3,971,483,942,414,174,720.00 | -0.74% |
| 2006 | $3,968,438,538,205,980,160.00 | -0.08% |
| 2007 | $3,953,430,232,558,139,392.00 | -0.38% |
| 2008 | $3,950,395,902,547,066,368.00 | -0.08% |
| 2009 | $3,989,307,862,679,955,456.00 | 0.99% |
| 2010 | $3,970,202,104,097,453,056.00 | -0.48% |
| 2011 | $4,056,832,779,623,476,736.00 | 2.18% |
| 2012 | $4,194,836,655,592,470,016.00 | 3.40% |
| 2013 | $4,232,934,662,236,987,904.00 | 0.91% |
| 2014 | $4,236,353,820,598,007,296.00 | 0.08% |
| 2015 | $4,182,807,308,970,098,688.00 | -1.26% |
| 2016 | $4,187,552,602,436,323,328.00 | 0.11% |
| 2017 | $4,173,156,146,179,403,264.00 | -0.34% |
| 2018 | $4,174,565,337,763,013,120.00 | 0.03% |
| 2019 | $4,121,317,829,457,364,480.00 | -1.28% |
| 2020 | $3,922,879,291,251,383,808.00 | -4.81% |
| 2021 | $4,019,689,922,480,620,032.00 | 2.47% |
| 2022 | $4,221,951,827,242,525,696.00 | 5.03% |
| 2023 | $4,338,161,683,277,962,240.00 | 2.75% |
| 2024 | $4,368,194,905,869,324,288.00 | 0.69% |
| 2025 | $4,373,873,200,442,968,064.00 | 0.13% |
| 2026 | $4,432,176,079,734,219,776.00 | 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 |