According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices for apparel are 319.15% higher in 2025 versus 1945 (a $67,277,725,276.07 difference in value).
Between 1945 and 2025: Apparel experienced an average inflation rate of 1.81% per year. In other words, apparel costing $21,080,000,000 in the year 1945 would cost $88,357,725,276.07 in 2025 for an equivalent purchase. Compared to the overall inflation rate of 3.67% during this same period, inflation for apparel was lower.
In the year 1945: Pricing changed by 5.16%, which is significantly above the average yearly change for apparel during the 1945-2025 time period. Compared to inflation for all items in 1945 (2.27%), inflation for apparel was higher.
Below are calculations of equivalent buying power for Apparel, over time, for $21,080,000,000 beginning in 1945. Each of the amounts below is equivalent in terms of what it could buy at the time:
| Year | USD Value | Inflation Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1945 | $21,080,000,000.00 | 5.16% |
| 1946 | $23,128,510,429.45 | 9.72% |
| 1947 | $26,806,517,791.41 | 15.90% |
| 1948 | $28,586,031,901.84 | 6.64% |
| 1949 | $27,458,316,564.42 | -3.94% |
| 1950 | $27,091,033,128.83 | -1.34% |
| 1951 | $29,537,865,030.67 | 9.03% |
| 1952 | $29,222,311,656.44 | -1.07% |
| 1953 | $29,030,910,429.45 | -0.65% |
| 1954 | $28,932,623,312.88 | -0.34% |
| 1955 | $28,839,509,202.45 | -0.32% |
| 1956 | $29,418,885,889.57 | 2.01% |
| 1957 | $29,925,840,490.80 | 1.72% |
| 1958 | $30,039,646,625.77 | 0.38% |
| 1959 | $30,277,604,907.98 | 0.79% |
| 1960 | $30,732,829,447.85 | 1.50% |
| 1961 | $30,975,960,736.20 | 0.79% |
| 1962 | $31,146,669,938.65 | 0.55% |
| 1963 | $31,529,472,392.64 | 1.23% |
| 1964 | $31,798,468,711.66 | 0.85% |
| 1965 | $32,103,676,073.62 | 0.96% |
| 1966 | $32,962,395,092.02 | 2.67% |
| 1967 | $34,307,376,687.12 | 4.08% |
| 1968 | $36,138,620,858.90 | 5.34% |
| 1969 | $38,218,169,325.15 | 5.75% |
| 1970 | $39,795,936,196.32 | 4.13% |
| 1971 | $41,084,014,723.93 | 3.24% |
| 1972 | $41,932,387,730.06 | 2.06% |
| 1973 | $43,468,770,552.15 | 3.66% |
| 1974 | $46,691,553,374.23 | 7.41% |
| 1975 | $48,771,101,840.49 | 4.45% |
| 1976 | $50,597,173,006.13 | 3.74% |
| 1977 | $52,862,949,693.25 | 4.48% |
| 1978 | $54,720,058,895.71 | 3.51% |
| 1979 | $57,115,160,736.20 | 4.38% |
| 1980 | $61,155,278,527.61 | 7.07% |
| 1981 | $64,072,853,987.73 | 4.77% |
| 1982 | $65,754,080,981.60 | 2.62% |
| 1983 | $67,378,404,907.98 | 2.47% |
| 1984 | $68,619,926,380.37 | 1.84% |
| 1985 | $70,627,052,760.74 | 2.92% |
| 1986 | $71,227,121,472.39 | 0.85% |
| 1987 | $74,361,963,190.18 | 4.40% |
| 1988 | $77,589,919,018.40 | 4.34% |
| 1989 | $79,747,062,576.69 | 2.78% |
| 1990 | $83,445,761,963.19 | 4.64% |
| 1991 | $86,554,738,650.31 | 3.73% |
| 1992 | $88,686,017,177.91 | 2.46% |
| 1993 | $89,886,154,601.23 | 1.35% |
| 1994 | $89,710,272,392.64 | -0.20% |
| 1995 | $88,742,920,245.40 | -1.08% |
| 1996 | $88,567,038,036.81 | -0.20% |
| 1997 | $89,342,988,957.06 | 0.88% |
| 1998 | $89,456,795,092.02 | 0.13% |
| 1999 | $88,292,868,711.66 | -1.30% |
| 2000 | $87,139,288,343.56 | -1.31% |
| 2001 | $85,587,386,503.07 | -1.78% |
| 2002 | $83,404,377,914.11 | -2.55% |
| 2003 | $81,288,618,404.91 | -2.54% |
| 2004 | $80,988,584,049.08 | -0.37% |
| 2005 | $80,388,515,337.42 | -0.74% |
| 2006 | $80,331,612,269.94 | -0.07% |
| 2007 | $80,025,215,116.56 | -0.38% |
| 2008 | $79,963,811,533.74 | -0.08% |
| 2009 | $80,751,453,447.85 | 0.98% |
| 2010 | $80,364,719,509.20 | -0.48% |
| 2011 | $82,118,316,858.90 | 2.18% |
| 2012 | $84,911,791,901.84 | 3.40% |
| 2013 | $85,682,931,926.38 | 0.91% |
| 2014 | $85,752,146,748.47 | 0.08% |
| 2015 | $84,668,298,503.07 | -1.26% |
| 2016 | $84,764,309,496.93 | 0.11% |
| 2017 | $84,472,914,061.35 | -0.34% |
| 2018 | $84,501,417,325.15 | 0.03% |
| 2019 | $83,423,621,496.93 | -1.28% |
| 2020 | $79,406,833,963.19 | -4.81% |
| 2021 | $81,366,472,147.24 | 2.47% |
| 2022 | $85,460,647,852.76 | 5.03% |
| 2023 | $87,812,968,932.52 | 2.75% |
| 2024 | $88,420,900,613.50 | 0.69% |
| 2025 | $88,357,725,276.07 | -0.07%* |
* 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 | 2025 |
| 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 | 131.483 | 131.389 |