[mytailorisrich]

No, that's not the case.

For instance, the median household income in the United States in 1976 was $12,686. That's $72,857.55 today based on inflation (Google/Census Bureau Data + online inflation calculator).

However, Google's AI overview says "As of early 2026, the median household income in the United States is estimated to be approximately $84,000."

So the the median household income in the US today is about $11,000 ahead of inflation since 1976. People in the US are richer now that they were then.

[autoexec]

> in real terms average hourly earnings peaked more than 45 years ago: The $4.03-an-hour rate recorded in January 1973 had the same purchasing power that $23.68 would today. (https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2018/08/07/for-most-...)

[s1artibartfast]

The key terms in this discussion are disposable income and discretionary income.

Housing share if income has outpaced inflation, as have many other categories.

You can simultaneously make more and have less if your income doubles but rent goes from 25% to 50%

[abustamam]

I remember reading in a personal finance book, it's not about what you earn, it's about what you keep. I think the concept applies here too, even if the context is slightly different.

[galaxyLogic]

Ok, but, what about median household size? Shouldn't we calculate the "richness" based not on how much each household makes but how much each member of a household gets from it? My guess is that households are smaller these days, but don't know.

[mytailorisrich]

Well if today's households are smaller that makes them even richer (more money split over fewer people).

[rfrey]

Now what about the change in the number of earners per household? Houses don't earn wages, people do.

[abustamam]

I'd be curious to know if in '76, most households were dual income or single. My intuition is that many families could afford to have a parent stay at home with the kids back then.

Additionally, let's not ignore the fact that housing appears to have gotten more expensive disproportionately to income rising. And if two parents are working they often have to pay $1000+ for daycare

[mytailorisrich]

Most replies don't like my comment because it hurts the narrative that people want to believe even after I quoted hard data. Especially since the 70s in the US were rife with economic and social issues. Very interesting how the mind works.

[abustamam]

I wouldn't say people didn't like your comment. You don't seem to have been downvoted as far as I can tell. You did cite hard data but multiple other commenters explained why the data you provided doesn't tell the whole story. Just because people disagree with you doesn't mean they don't like your comment. They're just trying to understand more.