A concise, source-backed reference for writers, researchers and shoppers looking for dependable context on U.S. apparel spending and clothing retail.
Last updated October 27, 2026. Figures below retain the source year shown with each statistic.
There is no single official U.S. measure for underwear sales. This page therefore separates household spending, retail-channel sales and men's clothing-store sales, so each number can be cited for what it actually measures.
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135.76M
The Bureau of Labor Statistics counted 135.760 million consumer units in its 2024 Consumer Expenditure Survey. A consumer unit is generally a household, although the survey has a specific definition.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Expenditures, 2024, 2024 data, released December 19, 202502
$2,001
In 2024, average spending on apparel and services was $2,001 per consumer unit. This is a broad spending category, not a measure of underwear spending alone.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Expenditures, 2024, 2024 data, released December 19, 202503
2.5%
Apparel and services represented 2.5% of average annual consumer-unit spending in 2024. BLS says this category includes clothing, footwear and dry cleaning.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, The Economics Daily, 2024 data, published February 12, 202604
−2.0%
Average spending in the category moved from $2,041 in 2023 to $2,001 in 2024, a 2.0% decrease in nominal dollars. This describes the full apparel-and-services category.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Expenditures, 2024, 2023–2024 comparison, released December 19, 202505
$278.36B
Census estimated $278.363 billion in 2024 sales for clothing and clothing accessories stores, up 5.5% from 2023. This is a retail-channel figure, not total U.S. apparel spending across every channel.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Monthly Retail Trade Survey, 2024 data, table released December 202506
$10.8B
The Census Bureau reported $10.8 billion in 2022 sales for men's clothing stores, up 27.9% from 2021. This store classification is broader than underwear and should not be used as an underwear-market estimate.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Annual Retail Trade Survey, 2022 data, published April 2024Each number is taken from a named public source and is linked directly where it appears. “Apparel and services” is the Bureau of Labor Statistics category, while clothing-store figures are retail classifications from the Census Bureau. They are related measures, not interchangeable market-size estimates.
We review this page roughly monthly and will update a figure when its source publishes a newer comparable release. Stable section links are provided for individual statistics so that citations can point to the relevant number.
Chaotic Nova, “U.S. Apparel & Men's Clothing Statistics,” updated October 27, 2026, https://chaoticnova.com/underwear-statistics.
