While the numbers show that $5000 inflation-adjusted is more achievable now than in the past, I suspect most of that progress was made in the 25 years immediately following then. Also, the numbers are per household, and a lot more households have multiple wage earners now.
Median average salary in 1947 was $36,000 [1]A value of $5,000 then would represent 13.8% of that median salary.$86,000 today (the inflation adjusted amount of $5,000) represents 102.7% of the current median salary of $83,730 [2]
Edit: I can’t read, see below for the correct maths
Or put another way:
1.5 months of work vs 1 year of work.
The first link says the median salary was $3000 not $36000. So $5000 would represent 166.7% of that salary.
You are in fact correct, I put my misreading down to too much Christmas spirit.
While the numbers show that $5000 inflation-adjusted is more achievable now than in the past, I suspect most of that progress was made in the 25 years immediately following then. Also, the numbers are per household, and a lot more households have multiple wage earners now.
Where did you get that? That’s not what your link says at all. $36k was the median salary around 20 years ago, not 80 years ago.
You are in fact correct, I put my misreading down to too much Christmas spirit.