According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices for apparel are 199.68% higher in 2026 versus 1920 (a $16,553,003,848.88 difference in value).
Between 1920 and 2026:Apparel experienced an average inflation rate of 1.04% per year. In other words, apparel costing $8,289,808,707 in the year 1920 would cost $24,842,812,555.88 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 $8,289,808,707 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 | $8,289,808,707.00 | 28.26% |
| 1921 | $6,631,213,309.29 | -20.01% |
| 1922 | $5,162,714,805.30 | -22.15% |
| 1923 | $5,132,616,130.46 | -0.58% |
| 1924 | $5,110,438,159.52 | -0.43% |
| 1925 | $5,015,389,712.66 | -1.86% |
| 1926 | $4,944,103,377.52 | -1.42% |
| 1927 | $4,847,470,789.88 | -1.95% |
| 1928 | $4,758,758,906.14 | -1.83% |
| 1929 | $4,709,650,541.93 | -1.03% |
| 1930 | $4,649,453,192.25 | -1.28% |
| 1931 | $4,297,773,938.87 | -7.56% |
| 1932 | $3,779,759,903.48 | -12.05% |
| 1933 | $3,523,129,096.96 | -6.79% |
| 1934 | $3,891,801,860.53 | 10.46% |
| 1935 | $3,949,628,538.00 | 1.49% |
| 1936 | $3,993,618,908.91 | 1.11% |
| 1937 | $4,177,379,239.51 | 4.60% |
| 1938 | $4,178,963,380.29 | 0.04% |
| 1939 | $4,110,845,326.71 | -1.63% |
| 1940 | $4,145,696,423.89 | 0.85% |
| 1941 | $4,337,377,458.39 | 4.62% |
| 1942 | $5,075,587,062.34 | 17.02% |
| 1943 | $5,295,782,630.90 | 4.34% |
| 1944 | $5,666,471,573.66 | 7.00% |
| 1945 | $5,957,953,477.36 | 5.14% |
| 1946 | $6,537,749,003.21 | 9.73% |
| 1947 | $7,576,945,355.55 | 15.90% |
| 1948 | $8,080,702,123.91 | 6.65% |
| 1949 | $7,762,289,826.93 | -3.94% |
| 1950 | $7,657,736,535.38 | -1.35% |
| 1951 | $8,350,006,056.68 | 9.04% |
| 1952 | $8,259,710,032.16 | -1.08% |
| 1953 | $8,207,433,386.39 | -0.63% |
| 1954 | $8,177,334,711.55 | -0.37% |
| 1955 | $8,151,988,459.05 | -0.31% |
| 1956 | $8,316,739,100.28 | 2.02% |
| 1957 | $8,459,311,770.57 | 1.71% |
| 1958 | $8,492,578,726.97 | 0.39% |
| 1959 | $8,559,112,639.77 | 0.78% |
| 1960 | $8,687,428,043.03 | 1.50% |
| 1961 | $8,755,546,096.62 | 0.78% |
| 1962 | $8,804,654,460.83 | 0.56% |
| 1963 | $8,912,376,033.94 | 1.22% |
| 1964 | $8,988,414,791.42 | 0.85% |
| 1965 | $9,073,958,393.60 | 0.95% |
| 1966 | $9,317,916,073.87 | 2.69% |
| 1967 | $9,698,109,861.31 | 4.08% |
| 1968 | $10,216,123,896.70 | 5.34% |
| 1969 | $10,803,840,126.46 | 5.75% |
| 1970 | $11,248,983,685.92 | 4.12% |
| 1971 | $11,613,336,065.55 | 3.24% |
| 1972 | $11,854,125,464.26 | 2.07% |
| 1973 | $12,288,180,038.26 | 3.66% |
| 1974 | $13,199,060,987.33 | 7.41% |
| 1975 | $13,786,777,217.09 | 4.45% |
| 1976 | $14,303,207,111.70 | 3.75% |
| 1977 | $14,943,199,987.22 | 4.47% |
| 1978 | $15,467,550,585.73 | 3.51% |
| 1979 | $16,145,562,840.00 | 4.38% |
| 1980 | $17,287,728,343.11 | 7.07% |
| 1981 | $18,111,481,549.23 | 4.76% |
| 1982 | $18,586,723,783.53 | 2.62% |
| 1983 | $19,046,124,610.03 | 2.47% |
| 1984 | $19,396,219,722.63 | 1.84% |
| 1985 | $19,964,926,263.01 | 2.93% |
| 1986 | $20,134,429,326.58 | 0.85% |
| 1987 | $21,019,964,023.16 | 4.40% |
| 1988 | $21,932,429,113.02 | 4.34% |
| 1989 | $22,542,323,313.70 | 2.78% |
| 1990 | $23,587,856,229.17 | 4.64% |
| 1991 | $24,467,054,362.62 | 3.73% |
| 1992 | $25,069,027,859.41 | 2.46% |
| 1993 | $25,408,033,986.54 | 1.35% |
| 1994 | $25,358,925,622.33 | -0.19% |
| 1995 | $25,084,869,267.22 | -1.08% |
| 1996 | $25,035,760,903.01 | -0.20% |
| 1997 | $25,254,372,330.78 | 0.87% |
| 1998 | $25,287,639,287.19 | 0.13% |
| 1999 | $24,958,138,004.74 | -1.30% |
| 2000 | $24,631,805,003.85 | -1.31% |
| 2001 | $24,192,998,007.51 | -1.78% |
| 2002 | $23,576,767,243.70 | -2.55% |
| 2003 | $22,977,962,028.48 | -2.54% |
| 2004 | $22,894,002,567.09 | -0.37% |
| 2005 | $22,724,499,503.52 | -0.74% |
| 2006 | $22,707,073,954.93 | -0.08% |
| 2007 | $22,621,197,683.19 | -0.38% |
| 2008 | $22,603,835,500.23 | -0.08% |
| 2009 | $22,826,486,487.00 | 0.99% |
| 2010 | $22,717,164,931.70 | -0.48% |
| 2011 | $23,212,858,423.49 | 2.18% |
| 2012 | $24,002,505,078.59 | 3.40% |
| 2013 | $24,220,498,691.47 | 0.91% |
| 2014 | $24,240,062,830.11 | 0.08% |
| 2015 | $23,933,674,161.66 | -1.26% |
| 2016 | $23,960,826,334.65 | 0.11% |
| 2017 | $23,878,451,014.03 | -0.34% |
| 2018 | $23,886,514,290.61 | 0.03% |
| 2019 | $23,581,836,494.20 | -1.28% |
| 2020 | $22,446,387,748.01 | -4.81% |
| 2021 | $23,000,330,096.31 | 2.47% |
| 2022 | $24,157,655,826.69 | 5.03% |
| 2023 | $24,822,598,919.51 | 2.75% |
| 2024 | $24,994,446,511.44 | 0.69% |
| 2025 | $25,026,937,238.86 | 0.13% |
| 2026 | $24,842,812,555.88 | -0.74%* |
* 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 | 130.685 |