Just looked into something that kinda blew my mind about the housing market. The rent situation in America has gotten absolutely wild when you compare it to the 1980s.

So back in 1980, the median monthly rent was sitting at around $243. That was actually considered a heavy burden for renters - about 35% of them were struggling with costs. Fast forward just five years to 1985 and rent had already jumped to $432. But here's where it gets crazy: by August 2022, the national average hit $1,388 per month.

That's not just inflation. Rent has been climbing almost 9% every single year since 1980, which completely outpaces wage growth. To put it in perspective, milk was like $1.59 a gallon back in 1987, apples were under $0.40 a pound. The cost of living was real, but rent wasn't eating people alive the way it does now.

When you look at actual salaries, the gap becomes even more obvious. In 1980, the average annual income adjusted for 2022 inflation was around $29,300. Compare that to Q4 2023 when the average salary hit $59,384 - yeah, salaries roughly doubled, but rent went up way more than that.

The real kicker? By 2022, half of all renters in the U.S. were spending more than 30% of their income on housing. Some 12 million people were literally spending half their paycheck on rent. That's not a sustainable situation, and it shows how much was rent in 1980 versus today tells a much bigger story about wealth and access in this country.

The housing market has become a completely different beast. What used to be an affordable necessity is now a major financial squeeze for most people.