Today's Cost of Living

A new study from finance website Student Loan Hero shows that while wages have increased 67 percent from 1970 to today, college costs, living costs, and home prices have all surged, and income levels have not kept pace.

In April 2018, the median home value sits at about $210,200, according to data from Zillow. Adjusting for inflation, this is an 114 percent increase from 1960. As CNBC reports, the cost of rent has skyrocketed 750 percent, and adjusted for inflation, that's a 46 percent rise since 1960. Translated to today's dollars, rent prices in 1960 were an average of $589; in 1980, it rose to about $740 on average per month. Even 18 years ago, in 2000, the rental cost adjusted for inflation was an average $857 per month.

Attending a public university in 1987 cost around $1,490 per year, the equivalent of $3,190 in today's dollars, Student Loan Hero reports, citing data from College Board. For the 2017-2018 school year, students forked over an average of $9,970 in tuition and fees. That's an increase of 212 percent. To attend a private university, students paid an average of $7,050 in 1987, or $15,160 in today's dollars. In 2017-2018, that price had grown to $34,740, an increase of 129 percent.

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