> How did people afford existence in 1950 when they made 3x less?

Is this a serious question?

The average price of a home in 1950 was like $7,500 - $10,000.

The average price of a home in 2025 is like $410,000 - $530,000

Of all the (generally) rising numbers that factor into the US economy, wages is one of the major things that has risen the least since the 1950s, and especially so since 1980.

Inflation, at minimum, needs to be factored into such calculations.

Just one data point to illustrate: in 1950, a bottle of Coca-Cola cost 5 cents.