I wouldn't say 65k per year is doable for _most people_. It's easy to forget how privileged we are with developer salaries. Most people end school with student loan amounts roughly to one year's salary. Assuming you pay 25% of your income towards the loans, that's still a 3-5 year payoff assuming raises and low inflation.
Congratulations on your achievement though! Being debt free is not normal anymore and it comes with a surprising amount benefits in other areas of your life.
The average starting salary for a college graduate in the USA is less than that, and most graduates have non-negative other costs, so, no, your outlier description is not representative of what is doable generally in the USA.
Congratulations on your achievement though! Being debt free is not normal anymore and it comes with a surprising amount benefits in other areas of your life.