Linked Luxury reference
U.S. apparel &
size inclusion statistics.
A sourced snapshot of apparel spending, retail shifts and population data that helps put size-inclusive fashion in context.
Last updated October 13, 2026The numbers at a glance
A practical snapshot of the market and the people it serves.
These figures come from U.S. public agencies and their underlying surveys. Each statistic includes its source and reporting period, so it can be checked and cited with confidence.
$2,001
Average annual U.S. consumer-unit spending on apparel and services in 2024.
That was 2.5% of total annual consumer spending.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Expenditure Surveys, 2024−2.0%
Year-over-year change in average apparel and services spending from 2023 to 2024.
Average spending moved from $2,041 in 2023 to $2,001 in 2024.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Expenditure Surveys, 202452,909
U.S. clothing and clothing-accessory retail firms counted in 2022.
That is down from 56,731 firms in 2017.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Economic Census121,610
U.S. clothing and clothing-accessory retail establishments counted in 2022.
The Census Bureau reported 143,534 establishments in 2017.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Economic Census+33%
Growth in U.S. electronic-shopping and mail-order firms from 2017 to 2022.
The number of firms rose from 33,241 to 44,322.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics40.3%
U.S. adults age 20 and older with obesity during August 2021 to August 2023.
The estimate comes from measured-height-and-weight survey data.
Source: National Center for Health Statistics, NHANES, 2021–202341.3%
Women age 20 and older with obesity during August 2021 to August 2023.
The comparable estimate for men was 39.2%.
Source: National Center for Health Statistics, NHANES, 2021–202312.1%
Women age 20 and older with severe obesity during August 2021 to August 2023.
The estimate for men was 6.7%.
Source: National Center for Health Statistics, NHANES, 2021–2023Methodology & sources
How to read these figures.
This page brings together the latest available figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Census Bureau and National Center for Health Statistics. Spending and retail measures describe different parts of the apparel economy, while the health-survey measures describe adult population estimates, not clothing sizes.
Figures are reported as published by their sources. The National Center for Health Statistics notes that body mass index is a screening measure with limitations and does not directly measure body fat or body-fat distribution.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Consumer Expenditures, 2024 ↗
- U.S. Census Bureau: Clothing retail jobs and firm counts, July 2025 ↗
- National Center for Health Statistics: Adult obesity estimates, September 2024 ↗
Cite this page: Linked Luxury, “U.S. Apparel & Size Inclusion Statistics,” updated October 13, 2026, linkedluxury.com/apparel-size-inclusion-statistics.
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