vitrine
corridors
walkthrough
methodology
vitrine · corridor · pairwise
1970s ↔ 1990s
Fact families the measure guard certifies comparable for this pair. Everything else renders as the gap it is. Every value links to its placard.
A median home — affordability
1970s ↔ 1990s
not comparable for this pair — the hours axis needs a structured price and a verified wage anchor in both rooms — not yet curated for this pair
Budget composition
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.
Infant mortality
deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
People in poverty
% below the official poverty line
⚠ The official poverty series begins in 1959 — earlier decades have no line.
Homeownership
% of occupied housing units owner-occupied
Complete plumbing
% of homes with complete plumbing
Telephone
% of households
⚠ 1910s–1930s sources counted telephones per 1,000 population, not households — those decades render as gaps rather than a unit splice.
⚠ The 2020s point counts cell phones (92.7%); the landline share is on the placard.
Air conditioning
% of households with AC
⚠ The 1980s source bridges 1978 central-AC and 1993 total-AC figures — no single-decade datum, so the decade renders as a gap.
Women's unpaid home production
hours per week, prime-age women
⚠ The 2020s source (ATUS) measures all-adult household activities, a concept splice from Ramey's women's series — flagged, not smoothed, so the chart renders it as a gap and the placard carries both figures.
Men's unpaid home production
hours per week, prime-age men
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.
1970s · Tier A
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.
1990s · Tier A
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.
Consumer Price Index
CPI-U level, 1982–84 = 100