According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices for apparel are 501.40% higher in 2024 versus 1940 (a $25,069,820,999,781.71 difference in value).
Between 1940 and 2024: Apparel experienced an average inflation rate of 2.16% per year. This rate of change indicates significant inflation. In other words, apparel costing $5,000,000,000,000 in the year 1940 would cost $30,069,820,999,781.71 in 2024 for an equivalent purchase. Compared to the overall inflation rate of 3.76% during this same period, inflation for apparel was lower.
In the year 1940: Pricing changed by 0.90%, which is below the average yearly change for apparel during the 1940-2024 time period. Compared to inflation for all items in 1940 (0.72%), inflation for apparel was higher.
Below are calculations of equivalent buying power for Apparel, over time, for $5,000,000,000,000 beginning in 1940. Each of the amounts below is equivalent in terms of what it could buy at the time:
Year | USD Value | Inflation Rate |
---|---|---|
1940 | $5,000,000,000,000.00 | 0.90% |
1941 | $5,229,459,473,074.40 | 4.59% |
1942 | $6,119,842,829,076.62 | 17.03% |
1943 | $6,384,313,132,839.66 | 4.32% |
1944 | $6,832,149,513,878.40 | 7.01% |
1945 | $7,184,776,585,562.44 | 5.16% |
1946 | $7,882,978,187,496.85 | 9.72% |
1947 | $9,136,567,427,333.64 | 15.90% |
1948 | $9,743,085,990,630.20 | 6.64% |
1949 | $9,358,722,482,494.58 | -3.94% |
1950 | $9,233,539,872,046.75 | -1.34% |
1951 | $10,067,502,896,579.52 | 9.03% |
1952 | $9,959,951,639,715.88 | -1.07% |
1953 | $9,894,715,631,454.34 | -0.65% |
1954 | $9,861,216,059,644.35 | -0.34% |
1955 | $9,829,479,623,192.79 | -0.32% |
1956 | $10,026,950,783,335.85 | 2.01% |
1957 | $10,199,738,048,461.04 | 1.72% |
1958 | $10,238,527,026,346.28 | 0.38% |
1959 | $10,319,631,252,833.61 | 0.79% |
1960 | $10,474,787,164,374.59 | 1.50% |
1961 | $10,557,654,526,220.34 | 0.79% |
1962 | $10,615,837,993,048.21 | 0.55% |
1963 | $10,746,310,009,571.31 | 1.23% |
1964 | $10,837,993,048,209.16 | 0.85% |
1965 | $10,942,018,034,355.95 | 0.96% |
1966 | $11,234,698,503,853.71 | 2.67% |
1967 | $11,693,113,697,042.97 | 4.08% |
1968 | $12,317,263,613,923.74 | 5.34% |
1969 | $13,026,044,028,008.67 | 5.75% |
1970 | $13,563,800,312,326.84 | 4.13% |
1971 | $14,002,821,016,573.48 | 3.24% |
1972 | $14,291,975,215,354.39 | 2.06% |
1973 | $14,815,626,416,805.20 | 3.66% |
1974 | $15,914,059,745,101.00 | 7.41% |
1975 | $16,622,840,159,185.94 | 4.45% |
1976 | $17,245,226,940,708.28 | 3.74% |
1977 | $18,017,480,227,696.34 | 4.48% |
1978 | $18,650,445,821,369.20 | 3.51% |
1979 | $19,466,777,492,317.77 | 4.38% |
1980 | $20,843,786,207,243.97 | 7.07% |
1981 | $21,838,194,549,392.98 | 4.77% |
1982 | $22,411,213,540,879.56 | 2.62% |
1983 | $22,964,838,043,423.51 | 2.47% |
1984 | $23,387,990,529,444.37 | 1.84% |
1985 | $24,072,087,048,511.41 | 2.92% |
1986 | $24,276,610,750,088.16 | 0.85% |
1987 | $25,345,070,777,290.82 | 4.40% |
1988 | $26,445,267,240,945.05 | 4.34% |
1989 | $27,180,494,685,406.28 | 2.78% |
1990 | $28,441,136,466,676.74 | 4.64% |
1991 | $29,500,780,817,087.30 | 3.73% |
1992 | $30,227,192,584,756.44 | 2.46% |
1993 | $30,636,239,987,909.93 | 1.35% |
1994 | $30,576,293,385,723.65 | -0.20% |
1995 | $30,246,587,073,699.06 | -1.08% |
1996 | $30,186,640,471,512.78 | -0.20% |
1997 | $30,451,110,775,275.81 | 0.88% |
1998 | $30,489,899,753,161.05 | 0.13% |
1999 | $30,093,194,297,516.50 | -1.30% |
2000 | $29,700,015,112,588.79 | -1.31% |
2001 | $29,171,074,505,062.72 | -1.78% |
2002 | $28,427,031,383,809.39 | -2.55% |
2003 | $27,705,909,022,215.51 | -2.54% |
2004 | $27,603,647,171,427.14 | -0.37% |
2005 | $27,399,123,469,850.39 | -0.74% |
2006 | $27,379,728,980,907.76 | -0.07% |
2007 | $27,275,298,473,628.53 | -0.38% |
2008 | $27,254,370,056,924.09 | -0.08% |
2009 | $27,522,825,046,597.15 | 0.98% |
2010 | $27,391,013,047,201.65 | -0.48% |
2011 | $27,988,698,302,352.53 | 2.18% |
2012 | $28,940,809,027,253.04 | 3.40% |
2013 | $29,203,639,615,132.74 | 0.91% |
2014 | $29,227,230,366,228.41 | 0.08% |
2015 | $28,857,818,245,932.20 | -1.26% |
2016 | $28,890,542,038,184.48 | 0.11% |
2017 | $28,791,224,623,444.67 | -0.34% |
2018 | $28,800,939,499,269.56 | 0.03% |
2019 | $28,433,590,247,342.71 | -1.28% |
2020 | $27,064,533,272,882.98 | -4.81% |
2021 | $27,732,444,209,359.73 | 2.47% |
2022 | $29,127,877,688,781.42 | 5.03% |
2023 | $29,929,628,230,315.85 | 2.75% |
2024 | $30,069,820,999,781.71 | 0.47%* |
* 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 | 1913 | 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 |
CPI | 14.900 | 15.000 | 15.450 | 17.350 | 21.200 | 29.550 | 37.733 | 42.800 | 31.625 | 26.860 | 27.100 | 26.760 | 26.300 | 25.833 | 25.267 | 24.967 | 24.667 | 24.067 | 21.600 | 19.200 | 19.067 | 20.667 | 20.800 | 21.033 | 22.140 | 21.860 | 21.620 | 21.814 | 22.815 | 26.700 | 27.854 | 29.808 | 31.346 | 34.392 | 39.862 | 42.508 | 40.831 | 40.285 | 43.923 | 43.454 | 43.169 | 43.023 | 42.885 | 43.746 | 44.500 | 44.669 | 45.023 | 45.700 | 46.062 | 46.315 | 46.885 | 47.285 | 47.738 | 49.015 | 51.015 | 53.738 | 56.831 | 59.177 | 61.092 | 62.354 | 64.638 | 69.431 | 72.523 | 75.238 | 78.608 | 81.369 | 84.931 | 90.938 | 95.277 | 97.777 | 100.192 | 102.038 | 105.023 | 105.915 | 110.577 | 115.377 | 118.585 | 124.085 | 128.708 | 131.877 | 133.662 | 133.400 | 131.962 | 131.700 | 132.854 | 133.023 | 131.292 | 129.577 | 127.269 | 124.023 | 120.877 | 120.431 | 119.538 | 119.454 | 118.998 | 118.907 | 120.078 | 119.503 | 122.111 | 126.265 | 127.411 | 127.514 | 125.903 | 126.045 | 125.612 | 125.654 | 124.052 | 118.079 | 120.993 | 127.081 | 130.579 | 131.190 |