According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices for apparel are 197.56% higher in 2026 versus 1920 (a $205,467,273,074.72 difference in value).
Between 1920 and 2026: Apparel experienced an average inflation rate of 1.03% per year. In other words, apparel costing $104,000,000,000 in the year 1920 would cost $309,467,273,074.72 in 2026 for an equivalent purchase. Compared to the overall inflation rate of 2.66% 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 $104,000,000,000 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 | $104,000,000,000.00 | 28.26% |
| 1921 | $83,192,050,449.07 | -20.01% |
| 1922 | $64,768,966,176.19 | -22.15% |
| 1923 | $64,391,362,507.17 | -0.58% |
| 1924 | $64,113,128,224.73 | -0.43% |
| 1925 | $62,920,695,585.71 | -1.86% |
| 1926 | $62,026,371,106.44 | -1.42% |
| 1927 | $60,814,064,590.10 | -1.95% |
| 1928 | $59,701,127,460.35 | -1.83% |
| 1929 | $59,085,037,263.52 | -1.03% |
| 1930 | $58,329,829,925.47 | -1.28% |
| 1931 | $53,917,829,161.09 | -7.56% |
| 1932 | $47,419,071,278.43 | -12.05% |
| 1933 | $44,199,503,153.07 | -6.79% |
| 1934 | $48,824,696,419.58 | 10.46% |
| 1935 | $49,550,162,430.73 | 1.49% |
| 1936 | $50,102,044,716.22 | 1.11% |
| 1937 | $52,407,414,485.00 | 4.60% |
| 1938 | $52,427,288,362.32 | 0.04% |
| 1939 | $51,572,711,637.68 | -1.63% |
| 1940 | $52,009,936,938.66 | 0.85% |
| 1941 | $54,414,676,094.02 | 4.62% |
| 1942 | $63,675,902,923.75 | 17.02% |
| 1943 | $66,438,371,870.82 | 4.34% |
| 1944 | $71,088,859,163.00 | 7.00% |
| 1945 | $74,745,652,589.34 | 5.14% |
| 1946 | $82,019,491,687.37 | 9.73% |
| 1947 | $95,056,755,207.34 | 15.90% |
| 1948 | $101,376,648,194.15 | 6.65% |
| 1949 | $97,381,998,853.43 | -3.94% |
| 1950 | $96,070,322,950.51 | -1.35% |
| 1951 | $104,755,207,338.05 | 9.04% |
| 1952 | $103,622,396,330.98 | -1.08% |
| 1953 | $102,966,558,379.51 | -0.63% |
| 1954 | $102,588,954,710.49 | -0.37% |
| 1955 | $102,270,972,673.42 | -0.31% |
| 1956 | $104,337,855,914.39 | 2.02% |
| 1957 | $106,126,504,872.92 | 1.71% |
| 1958 | $106,543,856,296.58 | 0.39% |
| 1959 | $107,378,559,143.89 | 0.78% |
| 1960 | $108,988,343,206.57 | 1.50% |
| 1961 | $109,842,919,931.21 | 0.78% |
| 1962 | $110,459,010,128.03 | 0.56% |
| 1963 | $111,810,433,785.59 | 1.22% |
| 1964 | $112,764,379,896.81 | 0.85% |
| 1965 | $113,837,569,271.93 | 0.95% |
| 1966 | $116,898,146,378.75 | 2.69% |
| 1967 | $121,667,876,934.84 | 4.08% |
| 1968 | $128,166,634,817.50 | 5.34% |
| 1969 | $135,539,843,302.12 | 5.75% |
| 1970 | $141,124,402,828.21 | 4.12% |
| 1971 | $145,695,394,611.12 | 3.24% |
| 1972 | $148,716,223,963.31 | 2.07% |
| 1973 | $154,161,666,348.18 | 3.66% |
| 1974 | $165,589,145,805.47 | 7.41% |
| 1975 | $172,962,354,290.08 | 4.45% |
| 1976 | $179,441,238,295.43 | 3.75% |
| 1977 | $187,470,284,731.51 | 4.47% |
| 1978 | $194,048,538,123.45 | 3.51% |
| 1979 | $202,554,557,615.13 | 4.38% |
| 1980 | $216,883,623,160.71 | 7.07% |
| 1981 | $227,218,039,365.56 | 4.76% |
| 1982 | $233,180,202,560.67 | 2.62% |
| 1983 | $238,943,626,982.61 | 2.47% |
| 1984 | $243,335,753,869.67 | 1.84% |
| 1985 | $250,470,475,826.49 | 2.93% |
| 1986 | $252,596,980,699.41 | 0.85% |
| 1987 | $263,706,478,119.63 | 4.40% |
| 1988 | $275,153,831,454.23 | 4.34% |
| 1989 | $282,805,274,221.29 | 2.78% |
| 1990 | $295,922,033,250.53 | 4.64% |
| 1991 | $306,952,035,161.48 | 3.73% |
| 1992 | $314,504,108,541.95 | 2.46% |
| 1993 | $318,757,118,287.79 | 1.35% |
| 1994 | $318,141,028,090.96 | -0.19% |
| 1995 | $314,702,847,315.12 | -1.08% |
| 1996 | $314,086,757,118.29 | -0.20% |
| 1997 | $316,829,352,188.04 | 0.87% |
| 1998 | $317,246,703,611.70 | 0.13% |
| 1999 | $313,112,937,129.75 | -1.30% |
| 2000 | $309,018,918,402.45 | -1.31% |
| 2001 | $303,513,854,385.63 | -1.78% |
| 2002 | $295,782,916,109.31 | -2.55% |
| 2003 | $288,270,590,483.47 | -2.54% |
| 2004 | $287,217,274,985.67 | -0.37% |
| 2005 | $285,090,770,112.75 | -0.74% |
| 2006 | $284,872,157,462.26 | -0.08% |
| 2007 | $283,794,794,572.90 | -0.38% |
| 2008 | $283,576,976,877.51 | -0.08% |
| 2009 | $286,370,250,334.42 | 0.99% |
| 2010 | $284,998,754,060.77 | -0.48% |
| 2011 | $291,217,489,012.04 | 2.18% |
| 2012 | $301,124,020,638.26 | 3.40% |
| 2013 | $303,858,864,895.85 | 0.91% |
| 2014 | $304,104,307,280.72 | 0.08% |
| 2015 | $300,260,500,668.83 | -1.26% |
| 2016 | $300,601,138,926.05 | 0.11% |
| 2017 | $299,567,697,305.56 | -0.34% |
| 2018 | $299,668,855,341.10 | 0.03% |
| 2019 | $295,846,512,516.72 | -1.28% |
| 2020 | $281,601,712,210.97 | -4.81% |
| 2021 | $288,551,209,631.19 | 2.47% |
| 2022 | $303,070,468,182.69 | 5.03% |
| 2023 | $311,412,528,186.51 | 2.75% |
| 2024 | $313,568,446,397.86 | 0.69% |
| 2025 | $314,741,727,846.01 | 0.37% |
| 2026 | $309,467,273,074.72 | -1.68%* |
* 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 | 131.975 | 129.763 |