What would those shoes cost today?
Pick the shoes, the year and what you paid. We scale it by the official BLS shoe price index, through September 2026.
A $60.00 pair of men’s shoes bought in 1995 costs about $72.21 at September 2026 shoe prices.
If it had kept pace with overall inflation it would cost $132.67.
Twelve months of shoe prices, ranked
Each figure compares September 2026 with the same month a year earlier, then ranks that change against every 12-month change since 1979. Overall inflation over the same 12 months was +3.7%.
Higher than 86% of the 572 twelve-month changes since 1979.
Higher than 81% of the 572 twelve-month changes since 1979.
Higher than 37% of the 572 twelve-month changes since 1979.
Higher than 81% of the 572 twelve-month changes since 1979.
Shoes fell far behind everything else
at September 2026 shoe prices, against $516.52 with overall inflation. Real price: -59.8% since 1978.
at September 2026 shoe prices, against $516.52 with overall inflation. Real price: -66.9% since 1978.
at September 2026 shoe prices, against $516.52 with overall inflation. Real price: -57.9% since 1978.
Shoe prices vs overall inflation, 1978 = 100
- Men’s shoes
- Women’s shoes
- Boys’ and girls’ shoes
- All items (overall inflation)
Year by year
The biggest one-year jumps in all-footwear prices since 1971 came in 1979 (+7.9%), 1980 (+7.7%), 1974 (+6.1%). The deepest drops: 2020 (−2.5%), 1999 (−1.8%), 2000 (−1.5%).
When shoes run cheaper
Across 2015–2025, all-footwear prices sat 1.5% below their yearly trend in December and 1.3% above it in October, a typical gap of about $2.84 on a $100 pair.
Month-by-month pattern for men’s, women’s and kids’ shoes →
Head to head
- Men’s vs women’s shoe prices+97% vs +63%Change 1978–2025
- Shoe prices vs overall inflation+157% vs +729%Change 1970–2025
- Shoes vs clothing prices+157% vs +122%Change 1970–2025
- Kids’ vs adults’ shoe prices+110% vs +97%Change 1978–2025
From the factory to the shelf
BLS also tracks what shoes cost before they reach a store: prices at U.S. factories, prices of imported pairs at the border and the margin shoe stores earn. See how each stage moved →
Explainers
Month-by-month BLS data on the 2020 shoe price drop, the 2021–2022 rise and the flat years after, compared with all items, apparel, factory and import prices.
Reading the dataWhen a Shoe Changes, How BLS Keeps the Price Index FairHow BLS replaces a discontinued shoe, when it uses hedonic quality adjustment for footwear, and what that means when you compare a 1985 pair with one from 2026.
HistoryShoe Prices in the Late 1970s and the 1977 Import DealsWhy 1979 to 1981 brought the steepest shoe price rises in the BLS men’s, women’s and kids’ series, set against 13.5% inflation and the 1977 footwear import limits.
BuyingBack-to-School Shoe Prices in the BLS DataHow the boys’ and girls’ footwear index moved since 1978, what July, August and September look like in the monthly data, and why kids’ shoes are tracked apart.
BuyingHow to Convert an Old Shoe Price Into Current DollarsBring a shoe price from an old receipt or catalog forward with the BLS footwear index, with worked 1990 and 2005 examples and the limits of the method.
Trade and costsFactory-Gate Shoe Prices and What the PPI ShowsWhat the BLS producer price index for footwear measures, why factory prices rose 79.9% from 2000 to 2025 while shelf prices rose 17.7%, and what margins show.