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Started By
Message
Minimum wage in the 1970s would be the equivalent of making almost $56,000 a year now
Posted on 4/22/26 at 8:45 am
Posted on 4/22/26 at 8:45 am
In relation to buying power relative to major expenses like home prices. Specifically, around $27 an hour
The math is based on the following:
In 1971:
minimum wage = $1.60 per hour
annual gross income = $3,328.
The median home price = $25,200
Time it took to equal price of house = 7.57 years
To maintain that exact same 7.57-year ratio:
today:
The median home price = $420,000
A worker would need an annual salary of $55,482 ($420,000 ÷ 7.57).
When you divide that $55,482 salary by 2,080 working hours, today's minimum wage would need to be $26.67 per hour just to match the home-buying power of a minimum-wage worker in 1971.
For the average salary, it would be around 137,000 dollars a year.
210,000 dollars today is equivalent to 6 dollars an hour in 1971.
The math is based on the following:
In 1971:
minimum wage = $1.60 per hour
annual gross income = $3,328.
The median home price = $25,200
Time it took to equal price of house = 7.57 years
To maintain that exact same 7.57-year ratio:
today:
The median home price = $420,000
A worker would need an annual salary of $55,482 ($420,000 ÷ 7.57).
When you divide that $55,482 salary by 2,080 working hours, today's minimum wage would need to be $26.67 per hour just to match the home-buying power of a minimum-wage worker in 1971.
For the average salary, it would be around 137,000 dollars a year.
210,000 dollars today is equivalent to 6 dollars an hour in 1971.
47
Posted on 4/22/26 at 8:47 am to theunknownknight
So this is based just on real state prices?
Posted on 4/22/26 at 8:48 am to theunknownknight
Inflation is taxation without legislation
Posted on 4/22/26 at 8:49 am to PotatoChip
quote:
So this is based just on real state prices?
The true measure of buying power across decades is home prices and large expenditures
So our parents/grandparents had 2.5 times the buying power for every dollar
Posted on 4/22/26 at 8:49 am to theunknownknight
nb4: becomes a boomer bashing frenzy by page 2, then an all out boomer v. young'n' cat fight for another 4-5 pages 
Posted on 4/22/26 at 8:50 am to theunknownknight
Get a better degree or trade, save your money, don't spend on stupid shite, build equity in a smaller house then upgrade to a larger one.
There, I solved this problem.
Downvote if you don't like the truth.
There, I solved this problem.
Downvote if you don't like the truth.
This post was edited on 4/22/26 at 8:54 am
Posted on 4/22/26 at 8:50 am to theunknownknight
Our buying power will continue to drop as welfare is available to more people and it will become even more necessary as the cost of living increases. Politicians don’t care and the people that vote for them don’t care. At some point it will collapse and I hope my kids aren’t alive to experience it
Posted on 4/22/26 at 8:50 am to theunknownknight
quote:
today:
The median home price = $420,000
Seems kinda high no?
Yup, that's accurate.......and amazing.
This post was edited on 4/22/26 at 8:51 am
Posted on 4/22/26 at 8:51 am to theunknownknight
Take it to the poors board, baw. This one’s chock full of crypto trading CPAs and upper management types who fire and hire many, many people. Nobody’s gonna relate.
Posted on 4/22/26 at 8:51 am to theunknownknight
Now do it in comparison to a television
Posted on 4/22/26 at 8:55 am to Techdave
quote:
Get a better degree or trade, save your money, don't spend on stupid shite, build equity in a smaller house then upgrade to a larger one.
There, I solved this problem.
Found the geezer
We were lied to for a generation being told to get our degrees. Most guidance counselors would talk with distain about jobs like plumbing and ditch digging, etc. They would say go get an accounting degree or a law degree, or a medical degree
Now, a lot of those are starting to be phased out for the younger generation who are graduating or have just started their careers.
And the “small house” is now close to 250k - 300k in areas where these jobs exist.
Young people are screwed, in general, compared to last generations when it comes to opportunity.
This post was edited on 4/22/26 at 8:57 am
Posted on 4/22/26 at 8:55 am to idlewatcher
quote:
Seems kinda high no? Yup, that's accurate.......and amazing.
Almost all new builds in my area (that are starting around 3 bedrooms and just over 1,000 sq ft) are starting at 300K. It’s wild.
This post was edited on 4/22/26 at 8:56 am
Posted on 4/22/26 at 8:56 am to cubsfan5150
quote:
Now do it in comparison to a television
Cut the cost on keeping people distracted while increasing the costs of their necessities. Sounds like ancient Rome.
Posted on 4/22/26 at 8:56 am to theunknownknight
Kids today have it too easy with their internets and tik tok. I never even graduated college, put food on the table for my family and bought a house in 75 working at the local grocery.
Fast forward 50 years I’m fixing to move into the biggest house yet. It’s got 5 bedrooms in case one of my loser millennial kids needs to move back in with me AGAIN.
Fast forward 50 years I’m fixing to move into the biggest house yet. It’s got 5 bedrooms in case one of my loser millennial kids needs to move back in with me AGAIN.
Posted on 4/22/26 at 8:57 am to Techdave
quote:
Get a better degree or trade, save your money, don't spend on stupid shite, build equity in a smaller house then upgrade to a larger one.
Just go work at the local plant, buy a small starter house for $150k in a nice neighborhood, tell your wife to stay home so you save on childcare costs, but a used truck for $5k, and make your coffee at home
Its so simple
Posted on 4/22/26 at 8:58 am to theunknownknight
quote:
Found the geezer
We were lied to for a generation being told to get our degrees. Most guidance counselors would talk with distain about jobs like plumbing and ditch digging, etc. They would say go get an accounting degree or a law degree, or a medical degree
Now, a lot of those are starting to be phased out for the younger generation who've are graduating or have just started their careers.
And the “small house” is now close to 250k - 300k in areas where these jobs exist.
Young people are screwed, in general, compared to last generations when it comes to opportunity.
F off. I'm barely 40. I completely funded my way through college using the military. My parents didn't have a dime to give me.
I got an engineering degree while working in the National Guard. I volunteered to go to Afghanistan to come back with money in the bank.
Took me a while to save up for that first downpayment on a house. Now I'm looking to upgrade.
F you if you can't save money and want shite handed to you.
This post was edited on 4/22/26 at 9:01 am
Posted on 4/22/26 at 8:59 am to 777Tiger
quote:
nb4: becomes a boomer bashing frenzy by page 2, then an all out boomer v. young'n' cat fight for another 4-5 pages
These millenials are just jealous us boomers all bought houses for 5 grand and they can’t afford one now
You know what us boomers didn’t have? Avocado toast and Starbucks
Posted on 4/22/26 at 8:59 am to Techdave
quote:
build equity in a smaller house then upgrade to a larger one
This is incredibly expensive fyi.
People seem to ignore the transaction costs of getting in and out of real estate.
Posted on 4/22/26 at 9:00 am to Techdave
quote:
F off. I'm barely 40. I completely funded my way through college using the military.
And there it is.
Wants to tell folks to pull themselves up by their bootstraps while being subsidized by the tax payer for their education.
Posted on 4/22/26 at 9:00 am to Techdave
quote:
F off. I'm barely 40
News flash: you aren't young. You fall under “past generations” compared to young people today
Get over yourself.
This post was edited on 4/22/26 at 9:01 am
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