A recent tweet by user "Tenobrus" highlighted a perceived historical disparity in economic accessibility, stating, "> in the 1950s a whole blue collar family could afford this on a single income." This sentiment reflects a widespread discussion regarding the changing landscape of affordability, particularly for housing, for working-class families in the United States. Economic data indicates a significant shift in the price-to-income ratio for homes, making single-income homeownership a far greater challenge today than it was seventy years ago.
In 1960, the median home cost approximately $11,900, while the median income was around $5,600, resulting in a price-to-income ratio of 2.1. This ratio suggests that a median-income earner could purchase a median-priced home with just over two years of their income. New home buyers in the 1950s were often first-time purchasers in their early 20s, predominantly from single-income households.
By contrast, in 2019, the median home price surged to $240,500, with an estimated median income of $68,703, pushing the price-to-income ratio to 3.5. This indicates that housing has become significantly less affordable, as home prices have increased by 121% since 1960, while median household income has only risen by 29% when adjusted for inflation. The traditional benchmark for housing affordability suggests that a mortgage should ideally consume less than 30 percent of income, a threshold that is increasingly difficult to meet in many markets today.
While some consumer goods and technologies have become more accessible and affordable over time, the core cost of living, particularly housing, has outpaced wage growth for many blue-collar workers. The Economic Policy Institute notes that from 1973 to 2013, the hourly compensation of a typical worker rose by only 9 percent, while productivity increased by 74 percent, illustrating a disconnect between worker output and earnings. This wage stagnation, coupled with rising housing costs, has made it exceptionally challenging for a single blue-collar income to support a family and afford a home in the current economic climate.