Been looking at some old housing data and it's actually wild how much rent has crushed people's budgets over the last few decades. Back in 1980, median monthly rent was around $243, and by mid-decade it hit $432. Sounds cheap now, but here's the thing - wages didn't keep up at all.

Fast forward to 2022 and average rent was sitting at $1,388 per month. That's a roughly 9% yearly increase since 1980, which absolutely demolishes wage growth. When you adjust for inflation, the average annual income in 1980 was $29,300. Compare that to 2023 salaries averaging around $59,384, and you can see the math just doesn't work - rent has massively outpaced income growth.

The average cost of a house in 1980 reflected this broader affordability crisis too. By 2022, over half of all renters in the U.S. were cost-burdened, meaning they spent more than 30% of their income on housing. Even worse, more than 12 million people were spending at least half their paycheck just on rent. The middle class squeeze on housing is real and it's been building for decades.