Fashion statistics
Reference, maintained weekly from official sources
What clothes actually cost compared with everything else, how few people still make them in America, what shoppers spend, and what the big labels earn. Counted from US federal statistics and from company filings. No market-size estimates, no survey percentages, no forecasts. Quote any of it with credit.
Have clothes really got cheaper?
Yes, and by a wide margin. Set 1990 at 100 for both lines. By 2025 the price of everything Americans buy had reached 243. Apparel reached 105. Clothes spent most of two decades costing less in plain dollars than they did in 1990, while everything else more than doubled.
| Year | Apparel | Index | All items | Index |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 100.0 | 100.0 | ||
| 1995 | 104.8 | 114.7 | ||
| 2000 | 102.3 | 130.1 | ||
| 2005 | 94.0 | 147.6 | ||
| 2010 | 94.5 | 164.3 | ||
| 2015 | 99.9 | 177.2 | ||
| 2020 | 93.5 | 195.3 | ||
| 2025 | 104.8 | 242.9 |
Both lines are the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ own index, rebased by us so 1990 equals 100. That rebasing is the only way to compare two indexes that start from different points, and it is arithmetic on their published numbers, not a different measurement. These are prices, not quality: the index adjusts for changes in a garment, but it cannot tell you whether a shirt lasts as long as it used to.
Who still makes clothes in America?
Almost nobody, by the standards of a generation ago. 938,600 people worked in US apparel manufacturing in 1990. The latest count is 71,400, a fall of 92 percent. This counts the people who make the clothes, not those who design, sell or ship them.
| Year | US apparel manufacturing jobs | People |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 877,000 | |
| 1995 | 749,400 | |
| 2000 | 459,900 | |
| 2005 | 239,600 | |
| 2010 | 155,200 | |
| 2015 | 135,400 | |
| 2020 | 91,900 | |
| 2025 | 75,200 |
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, All Employees: Apparel Manufacturing
What do shoppers actually spend?
US clothing and accessory stores took $27.3 billion in August 2026, up 3.3 percent on the same month a year earlier. That is one month, not a year, and it counts those stores only: clothing bought from a department store, a supermarket or an online marketplace is recorded elsewhere, so this is a floor for what Americans spend on clothes, not the total.
What do the big labels earn?
Revenue for the most recent full year each company has reported to the SEC. These are filed figures, not estimates. Fiscal years end on different dates, so the year differs by company and is shown beside each one. The ordering is by size and is nothing more than that.
| Company | Revenue | Latest year | Five years earlier | FY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TJX | $60.37B | $32.14BFY2021 | 2026 | |
| Nike | $46.40B | $44.54BFY2021 | 2026 | |
| Gap | $15.37B | $13.80BFY2021 | 2026 | |
| Lululemon | $11.10B | $4.40BFY2021 | 2026 | |
| PVH | $8.95B | $7.13BFY2021 | 2026 | |
| Ralph Lauren | $8.11B | $4.40BFY2021 | 2026 | |
| Tapestry | $8.00B | $5.75BFY2021 | 2026 | |
| Levi Strauss | $6.28B | $4.45BFY2020 | 2025 | |
| Urban Outfitters | $6.17B | $3.45BFY2021 | 2026 | |
| Deckers | $5.47B | $2.55BFY2021 | 2026 | |
| Abercrombie & Fitch | $5.27B | $3.13BFY2021 | 2026 | |
| Crocs | $4.04B | $1.39BFY2020 | 2025 | |
| Capri | $3.47B | $4.06BFY2021 | 2026 |
Questions people ask about these numbers
Have clothes got cheaper over time?
Yes. With 1990 set at 100, apparel prices reached 105 by 2025 while prices across everything Americans buy reached 243. Clothes spent most of two decades costing less in plain dollars than they did in 1990. Both figures are the Bureau of Labor Statistics' own index, rebased to a common year.
How many people make clothes in the United States?
71,400 as of the latest monthly count, down from 938,600 in 1990, a fall of 92 percent. This counts apparel manufacturing jobs only. Design, retail and logistics employ far more people and are counted in different series.
How much do Americans spend on clothing?
US clothing and accessory stores took $27.3 billion in August 2026. Treat it as a floor rather than a total: it counts those stores only, so clothing bought at a department store, a supermarket or an online marketplace is recorded in a different category.
Which fashion company is the biggest?
Of the 13 listed clothing and footwear companies tracked here, TJX reported the largest revenue at $60.37B in its most recent annual report, followed by Nike at $46.40B. Every figure comes from that company's own Form 10-K filed with the SEC.
How big is the global fashion market?
This page does not say, because no primary source states it. Every widely quoted figure for the size of the fashion industry comes from a consultancy or a market research firm, each using its own definition of what counts, and none publishes a method anyone can check. We publish federal statistics and filed accounts instead.
Where does this data come from, and can I quote it?
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics for prices and employment, the US Census Bureau for retail sales, and the SEC for company revenue. All are primary sources, free to check, and every figure carries its own date. Quote any of it with credit to Fashion Trend Wire and a link to this page.
Method, and what these numbers are not
Prices. Both series are rebased here so 1990 equals 100, which is the only way to compare how two different price indexes have moved. The rebasing is our arithmetic on their published index.
Employment. Thousands of people employed making apparel in the United States. It counts manufacturing jobs only, not design, retail or logistics.
Retail sales. Millions of dollars taken by clothing and accessory stores in the month shown, not annualised. It counts those stores only, so clothing sold by a department store or an online marketplace is not here.
Company revenue. Revenue as the company reported it. Fiscal years end on different dates, so the year shown differs by company, and a restated year can differ from the figure published at the time. Only full year periods are counted: the raw data mixes quarterly rows, segment rows and restatements, so a row is used only when its start and end span a full year.
The current year is excluded from the price and employment tables. A part year set beside whole ones invents a change that has not happened.
This page states what the numbers are, never what they will be. No forecasts and no trend predictions.
Every figure is regenerated from the source by a script in our repository and refreshed weekly.
Citing this page
Free to quote with credit to Fashion Trend Wire and a link to this page. If you need a cut we do not show, or you think a figure is wrong, write to us and we will check it against the source and correct it in the open.