vitrine · the affordability view
Affordability over time
Five ratios, each computed at build from the underlying series — never authored. A metric's line runs only across the years both its numerator and denominator cover; the gaps are the honest shape of the record. Ember bands mark NBER recessions.
⚠ Each room is a statistical composite, assembled from separate distributions with separate sources. The family at the median income did not also have the median house, the median car, and the median diet. No single family described here ever existed; each fact tells you, in its provenance drawer, which real population it was measured from.
A median home, in years of median income
years of 4-person median family income
⚠ Pre-2005 home values are decennial census points only — the gaps between them are unknown, not interpolated.
0 1.5 3 years of 4-person median family income 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 1950: 2.00109 years of 4-person median family income 1960: 1.89039 years of 4-person median family income 1970: 1.52193 years of 4-person median family income 1980: 1.93999 years of 4-person median family income 1990: 1.90832 years of 4-person median family income 2000: 1.90841 years of 4-person median family income 2010: 2.40669 years of 4-person median family income 2014: 2.1724 years of 4-person median family income 2019: 2.2561 years of 4-person median family income 2024: 2.57756 years of 4-person median family income Home values are decennial (1940–2000) then ACS (2005+); the line is sparse because that is the honest shape of the record before ACS.
A new car, in hours of work
hours of average hourly earnings (total private)
⚠ Pre-1970 car prices are wholesale averages; 1970+ are transaction prices — the jump at 1970 partly reflects methodology, not only real price change.
0 1,000 2,000 hours of average hourly earnings (total private) 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 1970: 1040.77 hours of average hourly earnings (total private) 1980: 1103.89 hours of average hourly earnings (total private) 1990: 1474.18 hours of average hourly earnings (total private) 2000: 1501.25 hours of average hourly earnings (total private) 2010: 1307.34 hours of average hourly earnings (total private) 2020: 1108.64 hours of average hourly earnings (total private) The price line has only six transcribed points (the BEA transaction series' decade years); early-decade gaps render as gaps.
One manufacturing wage, as share of family income
% of median (all) family income
⚠ Manufacturing wages skew urban, industrial, male — they stand in for 'the worker' where no broader wage series exists (see the manufacturing-wage-proxy assumption).
0 50 100 % of median (all) family income 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 1947: 75.8483 % of median (all) family income 1948: 78.9165 % of median (all) family income 1949: 82.1883 % of median (all) family income 1950: 83.5567 % of median (all) family income 1951: 82.574 % of median (all) family income 1952: 83.209 % of median (all) family income 1953: 81.1494 % of median (all) family income 1954: 82.5049 % of median (all) family income 1955: 83.5457 % of median (all) family income 1956: 80.9935 % of median (all) family income 1957: 80.6466 % of median (all) family income 1958: 79.6884 % of median (all) family income 1959: 80.3574 % of median (all) family income 1960: 78.9685 % of median (all) family income 1961: 79.4741 % of median (all) family income 1962: 80.2103 % of median (all) family income 1963: 79.0256 % of median (all) family income 1964: 77.6695 % of median (all) family income 1965: 76.7929 % of median (all) family income 1966: 74.2224 % of median (all) family income 1967: 71.9744 % of median (all) family income 1968: 70.8795 % of median (all) family income 1969: 68.7926 % of median (all) family income 1970: 67.8871 % of median (all) family income 1971: 69.5481 % of median (all) family income 1972: 70.0901 % of median (all) family income 1973: 69.6674 % of median (all) family income 1974: 69.5258 % of median (all) family income 1975: 70.2793 % of median (all) family income 1976: 71.0533 % of median (all) family income 1977: 72.7026 % of median (all) family income 1978: 71.9567 % of median (all) family income 1979: 70.0646 % of median (all) family income 1980: 70.2148 % of median (all) family income 1981: 72.7675 % of median (all) family income 1982: 72.3132 % of median (all) family income 1983: 73.698 % of median (all) family income 1984: 72.3391 % of median (all) family income 1985: 71.3691 % of median (all) family income 1986: 68.8822 % of median (all) family income 1987: 67.1893 % of median (all) family income 1988: 66.6089 % of median (all) family income 1989: 64.3741 % of median (all) family income 1990: 64.1636 % of median (all) family income 1991: 65.03 % of median (all) family income 1992: 66.1251 % of median (all) family income 1993: 67.7189 % of median (all) family income 1994: 67.1914 % of median (all) family income 1995: 65.2171 % of median (all) family income 1996: 64.6598 % of median (all) family income 1997: 63.914 % of median (all) family income 1998: 62.0411 % of median (all) family income 1999: 61.0287 % of median (all) family income 2000: 60.4842 % of median (all) family income 2001: 60.2342 % of median (all) family income 2002: 62.2349 % of median (all) family income 2003: 62.7548 % of median (all) family income 2004: 63.3275 % of median (all) family income 2005: 62.2217 % of median (all) family income 2006: 61.5322 % of median (all) family income 2007: 60.2797 % of median (all) family income 2008: 61.1989 % of median (all) family income 2009: 62.9106 % of median (all) family income 2010: 66.052 % of median (all) family income 2011: 66.8245 % of median (all) family income 2012: 66.3092 % of median (all) family income 2013: 64.0621 % of median (all) family income 2014: 64.0672 % of median (all) family income 2015: 61.2141 % of median (all) family income 2016: 61.2011 % of median (all) family income 2017: 59.7974 % of median (all) family income 2018: 59.9284 % of median (all) family income 2019: 55.6279 % of median (all) family income 2020: 57.2419 % of median (all) family income 2021: 57.9139 % of median (all) family income 2022: 57.6863 % of median (all) family income 2023: 55.3127 % of median (all) family income 2024: 55.5581 % of median (all) family income Weekly manufacturing earnings x 52 / median family income. The fall from near-parity in the 1950s traces the death of the single-earner family norm — one production wage stopped covering the median.
Food's share of spending
% of household expenditure
0 25 50 % of household expenditure 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 Food as share of family expenditure, 1901: 42.54% — Tier A A Food basket and expenditure breakdown, 1960-61 (CEX): Food $1,309/yr (24.3% of expenditure), housing $1,594 (29.6%), food away from home $274, local telephone $69/yr. Total expenditure: $5,393. — Tier A A Food expenditure and basket, 1960-61: Food $1,309/yr (24.3% of expenditure). Food away from home $274 (20.9% of food). Local telephone $69/yr. — Tier A A Food basket and expenditure breakdown, 1972-73 (CEX): Food $2,089/yr (17.1% of expenditure). Food at home $1,543 (74% of food), food away from home $546 (26%). Key items: beef $242, bakery $139, fresh milk $130, pork $134, poultry $69, other meats $61, fish $40, eggs $37, cereals $46. Total expenditure: $12,226. — Tier A A Food basket and expenditure breakdown, 1985 (CEX): Food $4,706/yr (15.0% of expenditure). Food at home $2,900 (62% of food), food away from home $1,806 (38%). Key items: meats/poultry/fish/eggs $832, cereals/bakery $410, dairy $404, fruits/vegetables $425, beef $290, fresh milk $202. Total expenditure: $31,408. — Tier A A Food basket and expenditure breakdown, 1996 (CEX): Food $6,535/yr (15.0% of expenditure). Food at home $4,046 (62% of food), food away from home $2,489 (38%). Key items: meats/poultry/fish/eggs $1,064, cereals/bakery $658, fruits/vegetables $638, dairy $448, beef $319. Total expenditure: $43,670. — Tier A A Food basket and expenditure breakdown, 2005 (CEX): Food $8,622/yr (13.9% of expenditure). Food at home $4,846 (56% of food), food away from home $3,776 (44%). Key items: meats/poultry/fish/eggs $1,140, fruits/vegetables $780, cereals/bakery $666, dairy $556, beef $344. Total expenditure: $62,215. — Tier A A Food basket and expenditure breakdown, 2013 (CEX): Food $9,588/yr (14.0% of expenditure). Food at home $5,794 (60% of food), food away from home $3,794 (40%). Key items: meats/poultry/fish/eggs $1,237, fruits/vegetables $1,066, cereals/bakery $822, dairy $615, beef $318. Total expenditure: $68,299. — Tier A A Food expenditure share, 2024 (CEX Table 1400): Food 13.5% of expenditure for 4-person families (~$14,800 of $109,622/yr). Down from 42.54% in 1901. — Tier A A No annual series exists for food share — the line is the decade survey points, and the gaps between surveys are unknown.
An hour of work's real purchasing power
index, 2024 = 100
75 90 105 index, 2024 = 100 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 1964: 85.1601 index, 2024 = 100 1965: 86.9226 index, 2024 = 100 1966: 87.883 index, 2024 = 100 1967: 89.0183 index, 2024 = 100 1968: 90.5005 index, 2024 = 100 1969: 91.3003 index, 2024 = 100 1970: 91.3699 index, 2024 = 100 1971: 93.2559 index, 2024 = 100 1972: 97.1646 index, 2024 = 100 1973: 97.0641 index, 2024 = 100 1974: 93.737 index, 2024 = 100 1975: 91.7192 index, 2024 = 100 1976: 92.5954 index, 2024 = 100 1977: 93.4429 index, 2024 = 100 1978: 93.8511 index, 2024 = 100 1979: 90.9322 index, 2024 = 100 1980: 86.5201 index, 2024 = 100 1981: 85.1604 index, 2024 = 100 1982: 84.8772 index, 2024 = 100 1983: 85.7204 index, 2024 = 100 1984: 85.0715 index, 2024 = 100 1985: 84.5339 index, 2024 = 100 1986: 84.7966 index, 2024 = 100 1987: 83.8047 index, 2024 = 100 1988: 83.0642 index, 2024 = 100 1989: 82.3399 index, 2024 = 100 1990: 81.2527 index, 2024 = 100 1991: 80.3862 index, 2024 = 100 1992: 79.9425 index, 2024 = 100 1993: 79.6189 index, 2024 = 100 1994: 79.6457 index, 2024 = 100 1995: 79.5917 index, 2024 = 100 1996: 79.9028 index, 2024 = 100 1997: 81.1174 index, 2024 = 100 1998: 83.0888 index, 2024 = 100 1999: 84.2988 index, 2024 = 100 2000: 84.7173 index, 2024 = 100 2001: 85.4805 index, 2024 = 100 2002: 86.6005 index, 2024 = 100 2003: 86.9347 index, 2024 = 100 2004: 86.462 index, 2024 = 100 2005: 85.9306 index, 2024 = 100 2006: 86.4697 index, 2024 = 100 2007: 87.4317 index, 2024 = 100 2008: 87.3791 index, 2024 = 100 2009: 90.3163 index, 2024 = 100 2010: 90.9883 index, 2024 = 100 2011: 89.9902 index, 2024 = 100 2012: 89.4661 index, 2024 = 100 2013: 89.9998 index, 2024 = 100 2014: 90.6012 index, 2024 = 100 2015: 92.3832 index, 2024 = 100 2016: 93.4599 index, 2024 = 100 2017: 93.6521 index, 2024 = 100 2018: 94.1461 index, 2024 = 100 2019: 95.7496 index, 2024 = 100 2020: 99.3244 index, 2024 = 100 2021: 99.5786 index, 2024 = 100 2022: 98.0894 index, 2024 = 100 2023: 98.8337 index, 2024 = 100 2024: 100 index, 2024 = 100 Nominal hourly earnings / CPI-U, normalized so 2024 = 100. The line shows how much an hour of work in each year could buy compared with an hour in 2024.