According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices for apparel are 205.92% higher in 2026 versus 1920 (a $2,059,243,263,902,159,872 difference in value).
Between 1920 and 2026:Apparel experienced an average inflation rate of 1.06% per year. In other words, apparel costing $1,000,000,000,000,000,000 in the year 1920 would cost $3,059,243,263,902,159,872 in 2026 for an equivalent purchase. Compared to the overall inflation rate of 2.67% during this same period, inflation for apparel was lower.
In the year 1920: Pricing changed by 28.26%, which is significantly above the average yearly change for apparel during the 1920-2026 time period. Compared to inflation for all items in 1920 (15.63%), inflation for apparel was much higher.
Below are calculations of equivalent buying power for Apparel, over time, for $1,000,000,000,000,000,000 beginning in 1920. Each of the amounts below is equivalent in terms of what it could buy at the time:
| Year | USD Value | Inflation Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1920 | $1,000,000,000,000,000,000.00 | 28.26% |
| 1921 | $799,923,562,010,319,232.00 | -20.01% |
| 1922 | $622,778,520,924,899,840.00 | -22.15% |
| 1923 | $619,147,716,415,058,432.00 | -0.58% |
| 1924 | $616,472,386,776,227,968.00 | -0.43% |
| 1925 | $605,006,688,324,097,024.00 | -1.86% |
| 1926 | $596,407,414,484,998,912.00 | -1.42% |
| 1927 | $584,750,621,058,666,112.00 | -1.95% |
| 1928 | $574,049,302,503,344,192.00 | -1.83% |
| 1929 | $568,125,358,303,076,736.00 | -1.03% |
| 1930 | $560,863,749,283,393,856.00 | -1.28% |
| 1931 | $518,440,665,010,510,336.00 | -7.56% |
| 1932 | $455,952,608,446,397,952.00 | -12.05% |
| 1933 | $424,995,222,625,645,056.00 | -6.79% |
| 1934 | $469,468,234,803,606,592.00 | 10.46% |
| 1935 | $476,443,869,526,231,616.00 | 1.49% |
| 1936 | $481,750,429,963,691,968.00 | 1.11% |
| 1937 | $503,917,446,971,144,576.00 | 4.60% |
| 1938 | $504,108,541,945,346,944.00 | 0.04% |
| 1939 | $495,891,458,054,653,184.00 | -1.63% |
| 1940 | $500,095,547,487,101,120.00 | 0.85% |
| 1941 | $523,218,039,365,564,800.00 | 4.62% |
| 1942 | $612,268,297,343,779,968.00 | 17.02% |
| 1943 | $638,830,498,757,882,880.00 | 4.34% |
| 1944 | $683,546,722,721,192,448.00 | 7.00% |
| 1945 | $718,708,197,974,393,344.00 | 5.14% |
| 1946 | $788,648,958,532,390,784.00 | 9.73% |
| 1947 | $914,007,261,609,019,904.00 | 15.90% |
| 1948 | $974,775,463,405,312,512.00 | 6.65% |
| 1949 | $936,365,373,590,674,816.00 | -3.94% |
| 1950 | $923,753,105,293,330,944.00 | -1.35% |
| 1951 | $1,007,261,609,019,683,200.00 | 9.04% |
| 1952 | $996,369,195,490,158,720.00 | -1.08% |
| 1953 | $990,063,061,341,487,104.00 | -0.63% |
| 1954 | $986,432,256,831,645,568.00 | -0.37% |
| 1955 | $983,374,737,244,410,624.00 | -0.31% |
| 1956 | $1,003,248,614,561,437,184.00 | 2.02% |
| 1957 | $1,020,447,162,239,633,280.00 | 1.71% |
| 1958 | $1,024,460,156,697,879,168.00 | 0.39% |
| 1959 | $1,032,486,145,614,370,432.00 | 0.78% |
| 1960 | $1,047,964,838,524,746,752.00 | 1.50% |
| 1961 | $1,056,181,922,415,440,512.00 | 0.78% |
| 1962 | $1,062,105,866,615,708,032.00 | 0.56% |
| 1963 | $1,075,100,324,861,456,384.00 | 1.22% |
| 1964 | $1,084,272,883,623,160,704.00 | 0.85% |
| 1965 | $1,094,592,012,230,078,336.00 | 0.95% |
| 1966 | $1,124,020,638,257,214,080.00 | 2.69% |
| 1967 | $1,169,883,432,065,736,960.00 | 4.08% |
| 1968 | $1,232,371,488,629,849,088.00 | 5.34% |
| 1969 | $1,303,267,724,058,857,472.00 | 5.75% |
| 1970 | $1,356,965,411,809,669,888.00 | 4.12% |
| 1971 | $1,400,917,255,876,170,752.00 | 3.24% |
| 1972 | $1,429,963,691,954,901,760.00 | 2.07% |
| 1973 | $1,482,323,714,886,298,624.00 | 3.66% |
| 1974 | $1,592,203,325,052,551,424.00 | 7.41% |
| 1975 | $1,663,099,560,481,559,296.00 | 4.45% |
| 1976 | $1,725,396,522,071,469,568.00 | 3.75% |
| 1977 | $1,802,598,891,649,149,952.00 | 4.47% |
| 1978 | $1,865,851,328,110,070,784.00 | 3.51% |
| 1979 | $1,947,639,977,068,603,648.00 | 4.38% |
| 1980 | $2,085,419,453,468,373,760.00 | 7.07% |
| 1981 | $2,184,788,840,053,506,816.00 | 4.76% |
| 1982 | $2,242,117,332,314,159,872.00 | 2.62% |
| 1983 | $2,297,534,874,832,792,064.00 | 2.47% |
| 1984 | $2,339,766,864,131,473,920.00 | 1.84% |
| 1985 | $2,408,369,959,870,055,424.00 | 2.93% |
| 1986 | $2,428,817,122,109,688,832.00 | 0.85% |
| 1987 | $2,535,639,212,688,706,560.00 | 4.40% |
| 1988 | $2,645,709,917,829,161,472.00 | 4.34% |
| 1989 | $2,719,281,482,896,999,936.00 | 2.78% |
| 1990 | $2,845,404,165,870,437,888.00 | 4.64% |
| 1991 | $2,951,461,876,552,647,168.00 | 3.73% |
| 1992 | $3,024,077,966,749,475,328.00 | 2.46% |
| 1993 | $3,064,972,291,228,741,120.00 | 1.35% |
| 1994 | $3,059,048,347,028,473,344.00 | -0.19% |
| 1995 | $3,025,988,916,491,496,960.00 | -1.08% |
| 1996 | $3,020,064,972,291,229,696.00 | -0.20% |
| 1997 | $3,046,436,078,731,130,368.00 | 0.87% |
| 1998 | $3,050,449,073,189,374,976.00 | 0.13% |
| 1999 | $3,010,701,318,555,322,368.00 | -1.30% |
| 2000 | $2,971,335,753,869,673,984.00 | -1.31% |
| 2001 | $2,918,402,446,015,670,272.00 | -1.78% |
| 2002 | $2,844,066,501,051,022,336.00 | -2.55% |
| 2003 | $2,771,832,600,802,599,424.00 | -2.54% |
| 2004 | $2,761,704,567,169,884,160.00 | -0.37% |
| 2005 | $2,741,257,404,930,251,264.00 | -0.74% |
| 2006 | $2,739,155,360,214,027,264.00 | -0.08% |
| 2007 | $2,728,796,101,662,526,464.00 | -0.38% |
| 2008 | $2,726,701,700,745,271,296.00 | -0.08% |
| 2009 | $2,753,560,099,369,387,008.00 | 0.99% |
| 2010 | $2,740,372,635,199,694,848.00 | -0.48% |
| 2011 | $2,800,168,163,577,297,920.00 | 2.18% |
| 2012 | $2,895,423,275,367,857,664.00 | 3.40% |
| 2013 | $2,921,719,854,767,819,776.00 | 0.91% |
| 2014 | $2,924,079,877,699,216,896.00 | 0.08% |
| 2015 | $2,887,120,198,738,772,992.00 | -1.26% |
| 2016 | $2,890,395,566,596,598,272.00 | 0.11% |
| 2017 | $2,880,458,627,938,085,888.00 | -0.34% |
| 2018 | $2,881,431,301,356,774,912.00 | 0.03% |
| 2019 | $2,844,678,004,968,469,504.00 | -1.28% |
| 2020 | $2,707,708,771,259,316,224.00 | -4.81% |
| 2021 | $2,774,530,861,838,333,952.00 | 2.47% |
| 2022 | $2,914,139,117,141,219,840.00 | 5.03% |
| 2023 | $2,994,351,232,562,583,552.00 | 2.75% |
| 2024 | $3,015,081,215,364,036,096.00 | 0.69% |
| 2025 | $3,019,000,573,284,922,880.00 | 0.13% |
| 2026 | $3,059,243,263,902,159,872.00 | 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 |