Shoe prices in 2021
What happened to U.S. shoe prices in 2021, how that year ranks, and what 2021 prices come to in September 2026 money.
at September 2026 shoe prices (all footwear). Overall inflation would make it $124.35.
Ranks 22nd of 78 years since 1948, largest rise first. All items: +4.7%.
Shoes measured against everything else. Shoes got relatively cheaper.
Each shoe group in 2021
- Men’s shoes +4.7% Average index 144.2 · $100 then = $112.19 now · 5th of 47 years
- Women’s shoes +3.2% Average index 124.5 · $100 then = $114.17 now · 9th of 47 years
- Boys’ and girls’ shoes +3.0% Average index 156.6 · $100 then = $107.07 now · 14th of 47 years
- All footwear +3.7% Average index 138.1 · $100 then = $111.84 now · 22nd of 78 years
2021 in context
All footwear rose 3.7% in 2021, while the consumer price index for all items rose 4.7% and clothing rose 2.5%. That left shoes 1.0% cheaper relative to everything else people bought.
Men’s shoes rose 4.7% and women’s rose 3.2%, so men’s shoes rose faster by 1.5 points. Men’s vs women’s over time →
Before the store: the producer price index for footwear made in the United States rose 3.0%, and the import price index for footwear rose 0.7%. Factory to store →
Ranked by yearly change, 2021 sits between 1976 (+4.0%) and 1960 (+3.5%).
Month by month in 2021 (January = 100)
- Men’s shoes
- Women’s shoes
- Boys’ and girls’ shoes
Neighboring years
Yearly figures are averages of the twelve monthly BLS CPI-U values; 2026 uses the months published so far. How we calculate