How Much the Middle Class Paid for Rent in the 1980s Compared to Now
Written by
Chris Adam
Edited by
Maria Concepcion
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The 1980s ushered in a difficult time for many renters in the United States. According to the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, “By 1980, the cost burden rate hit 35%, with more than half of those renters experiencing severe burdens.”
The shift came after rental housing was fairly affordable in the 1960s and the beginning of the 1970s. However, the 1970s brought a recession that many say created the first large gap in renter affordability.
Yearly Increases
If you’re a renter, you know the situation has not improved since then. In fact, average rent prices have increased almost 9% per year since 1980, according to iPropertyManagement. Of course, that consistently outpaces wage inflation by a significant margin.
In 1980, the median monthly rent, according to iPropertyManagement, was $243. By 1985, it had risen to $432. For comparison, the nationwide average monthly rent in August 2022 was $1,388.
Grocery Prices
To help put this in perspective, The People History reports that consumers were paying about $1.59 for a gallon of 2% milk in Iowa in 1987, $0.39 per pound for apples in Wyoming in 1986 and $1.39 per pound for ground beef in New York in 1980.
Rent Outpaces Salary
What does it look like when compared to average paychecks? According to Consumer Affairs, when adjusted for 2022 inflation, the average annual income in the U.S. for 1980 was $29,300. The national average salary in the fourth quarter of 2023 in the U.S. was $59,384, according to USA Today.
For many, rent prices have far outpaced their salaries. Half of all renters in the U.S. were cost-burdened in 2022, according to TIME. They were spending more than 30% of their income on housing. Further, over 12 million people in the U.S. were spending at least half their paycheck on rent.
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