vitrine · corridor · pairwise
2000s ↔ 2020s
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
⚠ Price and anchor years differ by more than 3 years in: 2020s — the hours axis is not strictly inflation-free there.
Budget composition
Inspect the folded categories
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%
2020s
housing:
housing 31.3%
apparel:
apparel 2.5%
food:
food 13.5%
health:
healthcare 7.0%
transport:
transportation 17.9%
other:
insurance/pensions 14.8% + entertainment 4.6% + education 2.4% + cash contributions 2.0%
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.
2000s · Tier A
74.3 male, 79.7 female (77.0 total, all races)
2020s · Tier A
76.5 male, 81.4 female (79.0 total)
Infant mortality
deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
2000s · Tier A
6.9 per 1,000 live births
2020s · Tier A
5.525 per 1,000 live births (552.5 per 100,000)
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
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.
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.
Internet at home
% of households
⚠ 1990s–2010s sources report within-decade ranges; the placards carry them and the chart renders the gaps.
2000s · Tier A
Internet: 46% (2000) → 79% (2009). Broadband: ~5% (2000) → 63% (2009). — see the placard
2020s · Tier A
96%
Vehicle at home
% of households with a vehicle
2000s · Tier A
89.7% (10.3% with no vehicle); avg 1.9 vehicles per household
2020s · Tier A
91.5% (8.5% with no vehicle)
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.
2000s · Tier C
29.3
2020s · Tier C
Ramey 2005: women 29.3, men 16.8 hrs/week (ages 18–64) → ATUS 2024: household activities 2.01 hrs/day, all adults 15+ — see the placard
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.
2000s · Tier C
16.8
2020s · Tier C
Ramey 2005: women 29.3, men 16.8 hrs/week (ages 18–64) → ATUS 2024: household activities 2.01 hrs/day, all adults 15+ — see the placard
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.
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.
2020s · Tier A
Food 13.5% of expenditure for 4-person families (~$14,800 of $109,622/yr). Down from 42.54% in 1901.
Consumer Price Index
CPI-U level, 1982–84 = 100
2000s · Tier A
CPI 172.2 (2000) → 313.7 (2024) = 1.8x. $1 in 2000 = $1.82 in 2024. Real median family income grew 1.14x.
2020s · Tier A
313.7
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
2000s · Tier A
14.5% of national health expenditures paid out of pocket
2020s · Tier A
10.5% 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.
2000s · Tier A
5.4% of total expenditures ($2,066)
2020s · Tier A
7.9% of total expenditures ($6,197)
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.
2000s · Tier A
85.2% — expenditures $38,045 vs income $44,649
2020s · Tier A
75.4% — expenditures $78,535 vs income $104,207
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.