U.S. shoe price indexes
BLS prices shoes in stores across the country every month and publishes four footwear indexes. Here they are side by side, with the same yardsticks for each.
Men’s shoes, September 2026. Overall inflation: +3.7%.
All footwear, against +24.4% for all items: shoes lost 15 points of ground.
+4.5% in 12 months
+9.9% over five years · +97% since 1978 · real price −60% since 1978
CUUR0000SEAE03 Women’s shoes+3.9% in 12 months
+10.3% over five years · +63% since 1978 · real price −67% since 1978
CUUR0000SEAE02 Boys’ and girls’ shoes+0.4% in 12 months
+7.4% over five years · +110% since 1978 · real price −58% since 1978
CUUR0000SEAE All footwear+3.4% in 12 months
+9.4% over five years · +84% since 1978 · real price −63% since 1978
The three shoe groups since 1978 (1978 = 100)
- Men’s shoes
- Women’s shoes
- Boys’ and girls’ shoes
The indexes measure how prices change for the same kinds of shoes, not what a pair costs. A $100 pair of men’s shoes from 1978 is about $210.98 at September 2026 prices; the same $100 in women’s shoes is about $173.82. Use the calculator for any year and price, or read how we calculate.