vitrine · corridor · pairwise
1980s ↔ 1990s
Fact families the measure guard certifies comparable for this pair. Everything else renders as the gap it is. Every value links to its record.
A median home — affordability
A new car — affordability
Budget composition
Inspect the folded categories
1980s
housing:
housing 29.5%
apparel:
apparel 6.0%
food:
food 15.0%
health:
healthcare 4.1%
transport:
transportation 20.6%
other:
insurance/pensions 9.8% + entertainment 5.3% + cash contributions 2.6% + education 1.5%
1990s
housing:
housing 31.3%
apparel:
apparel 5.7%
food:
food 15.0%
health:
healthcare 4.3%
transport:
transportation 18.7%
other:
insurance/pensions 10.1% + entertainment 6.0% + cash contributions 2.1% + education 1.8%
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.
1980s · Tier A
70.0 male, 77.5 female (73.7 total, all races)
1990s · Tier A
71.8 male, 78.8 female (75.4 total, all races)
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.
1980s · Tier A
13.0% (29.3 million people in poverty)
1990s · Tier A
13.5% (33.6 million people in poverty)
Homeownership
% of occupied housing units owner-occupied
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.
Complete plumbing
% of homes with complete plumbing
1980s · Tier A
97.3% of homes had complete plumbing (2.7% lacked)
1990s · Tier A
98.9% of homes had complete plumbing (1.1% lacked)
Household landline telephone
% of households
⚠ The 1900s source combines several technologies in one headline percentage, so its 5% is not plotted as a telephone datum.
⚠ 1910s–1930s sources counted telephones per 1,000 population, not households — those decades render as gaps rather than a unit splice.
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.
1980s · Tier A
Central AC 23% (1978 RECS) → total AC 68% (1993 RECS) — see the placard
1990s · Tier A
68%
Cable television
% of households with TV
⚠ The 2010s source reports subscriber counts amid cord-cutting, not a share.
1980s · Tier C
More than 52 million cable customers (50.5% penetration, 1988)
1990s · Tier A
59.3% of TV households (55.2M subscribers)
Home computer
% of households
Vehicle at home
% of households with a vehicle
1980s · Tier A
87.1% (12.9% with no vehicle); avg 1.7 vehicles per household
1990s · Tier A
88.5% (11.5% with no vehicle); avg 1.8 vehicles per household
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.
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.
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.
1980s · Tier A
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.
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
1980s · Tier A
CPI 82.4 (1980) → 313.7 (2024) = 3.8x. $1 in 1980 = $3.81 in 2024. Real median family income grew 1.32x.
1990s · Tier A
CPI 130.7 (1990) → 313.7 (2024) = 2.4x. $1 in 1990 = $2.40 in 2024. Real median family income grew 1.25x.
Median home size
median sq ft, new single-family houses completed
⚠ 1970s–2020s: median square feet of new single-family houses completed (Census C-25/H-150 / Characteristics of New Housing). The 2020s point is 2024; the series is conceptually consistent across the whole span.
Number of families
families in the United States
⚠ CPS/F-8 counts all families (related persons living together). The 1940s point is 1947 — the first postwar CPS tabulation.
Heart disease mortality
age-adjusted deaths per 100,000
Cancer 5-year relative survival
% surviving 5 years after diagnosis (SEER)
⚠ Different source family (SEER/NCI, not CDC NCHS) and different unit (% surviving, not deaths per 100,000) — not grouped with the mortality arcs.
Healthcare spending as share of GDP
% of GDP (national health expenditures)
Out-of-pocket share of health spending
% of total NHE paid out of pocket
1980s · Tier A
21.8% of national health expenditures paid out of pocket
1990s · Tier A
18.6% of national health expenditures paid out of pocket
Healthcare share of household budget
% of total expenditures (CEX, consumer units)
⚠ Different population from the NHE arcs (consumer units, not national health spending) and different concept (family budget share, not GDP share). The trend is the same direction.
1980s · Tier A
4.7% of total expenditures ($1,108)
1990s · Tier A
5.2% of total expenditures ($1,770)
Median gross rent
USD/month, nominal (specified renter-occupied units)
⚠ Nominal dollars — the CPI arc and affordability dashboard provide deflation context. No 2010s or 2020s point: Census Historical Housing Tables end at 2000; ACS rent data (Table B25064) would extend the arc in a future curation pass.
Expenditure-to-income ratio
% (total expenditures ÷ income before taxes, all CUs)
⚠ The aggregate ratio hides inequality — the bottom quintile spent 221.8% of income in 2012 (see us-2010s-cex-quintile-q1-ratio). The falling aggregate reflects high-income households pulling the ratio down, not broad-based affordability improvement.
1980s · Tier A
93.5% — expenditures $23,490 vs income $25,127
1990s · Tier A
88.9% — expenditures $33,797 vs income $38,014
Apparel's share of spending
% of total expenditures
⚠ Population changes mid-series: 1970s–1990s are 4-person CUs (CEX Table 4), 2000s–2020s are all consumer units (multi-year tables). Every placard names the measured population.