vitrinethe median family's century

vitrine · corridor · pairwise

1900s ↔ 2000s

Fact families the measure guard certifies comparable for this pair. Everything else renders as the gap it is. Every value links to its record.

Rooms 1900s 2000s all corridors

A new car — affordability

⚠ Share-of-income mixes income concepts across decades (family income (period cost-of-living survey), total money income); a step between points may reflect the concept change, not affordability.
⚠ Price and anchor years differ by more than 3 years in: 1900s — the hours axis is not strictly inflation-free there.
1900s · Tier C
$650 (Oldsmobile Curved Dash, best-selling) to $750 (Ford Model A) ≈ 2,600 hours of work
2000s · Tier A
$21,030 ≈ 1,501 hours of work

Budget composition

’00srent: 12.95% — 1900s (rent 12.95%)12.95clothing: 14.04% — 1900s (clothing 14.04%)14.04food: 42.54% — 1900s (food 42.54%)42.54other: 30.47% — 1900s (fuel & light 5.25% + furniture 3.42% + tobacco 1.42% + liquor/sickness/amusements 14.51% + misc 5.87%)30.47rent 12.95% · clothing 14.04% · food 42.54% · other 30.47%’00shousing: 32.3% — 2000s (housing 32.3%)32.3apparel: 4.6% — 2000s (apparel 4.6%)4.6food: 13.9% — 2000s (food 13.9%)13.9healthcare: 4.5% — 2000s (healthcare 4.5%)4.5transportation: 18.6% — 2000s (transportation 18.6%)18.6other: 22.2% — 2000s (insurance/pensions 12.1% + entertainment 5.1% + cash contributions 2.6% + education 2.4%)22.2housing 32.3% · apparel 4.6% · food 13.9% · healthcare 4.5% · transportation 18.6% · other 22.2%
Inspect the folded categories
1900s
housing: rent 12.95%
apparel: clothing 14.04%
food: food 42.54%
other: fuel & light 5.25% + furniture 3.42% + tobacco 1.42% + liquor/sickness/amusements 14.51% + misc 5.87%
2000s
housing: housing 32.3%
apparel: apparel 4.6%
food: food 13.9%
health: healthcare 4.5%
transport: transportation 18.6%
other: insurance/pensions 12.1% + entertainment 5.1% + cash contributions 2.6% + education 2.4%

Life expectancy at birth

years (all races, both sexes)

⚠ Decades before the 1960s published white-only male/female life tables with no all-races total — the placard carries the sexed figures and the chart renders the gap rather than a spliced concept.
1900s · Tier A
48.2 years (white male), 51.1 years (white female) — see the placard
2000s · Tier A
74.3 male, 79.7 female (77.0 total, all races)

Infant mortality

deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births

1900s · Tier A
~100 per 1,000 live births
2000s · Tier A
6.9 per 1,000 live births

Homeownership

% of occupied housing units owner-occupied

1900s · Tier A
~46.5% (national, all households)
2000s · Tier A
66.2%

Average family size

persons per family

⚠ The 1900s datum (5.31) is from the 1901 BLS wage-earner survey — 0.7 persons above the Census 1900 national average of 4.61; the survey over-sampled larger families, not by design.
⚠ The 1940s point is 1947 (first postwar CPS tabulation), not 1940. The 1960s uptick (3.7 vs 3.54 in 1950) reflects the baby boom's peak family-composition effect.
1900s · Tier A
5.31
2000s · Tier A
3.14

Women's unpaid home production

hours per week, prime-age women

⚠ From 2010s onward the source is ATUS (all adults 15+, hrs/day, narrower 'household activities'), not Ramey (prime-age women 18-64, hrs/week, broader 'home production') — a concept splice. ATUS facts remain available in their rooms, but render as linked gaps on this weekly axis rather than as a false decline.
1900s · Tier C
46.8
2000s · Tier C
29.3

Men's unpaid home production

hours per week, prime-age men

⚠ From 2010s onward the source is ATUS (all adults 15+, hrs/day, narrower 'household activities'), not Ramey (prime-age men 18-64, hrs/week, broader 'home production') — a concept splice. ATUS facts remain available in their rooms, but render as linked gaps on this weekly axis rather than as a false rise or decline.
1900s · Tier C
3.9
2000s · Tier C
16.8

Food's share of spending

% of household expenditure

⚠ Populations differ across the century — 1901 wage-earner families vs modern consumer units; every placard names who was measured.
⚠ The 1950s point is the nearest available survey (CEX 1960–61), stated plainly rather than back-cast.
1900s · Tier A
42.54%
2000s · Tier A
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.