INFLATION, MADE PERSONAL
Standard of Living Time-Traveler
A dollar is not a dollar. Drag the slider and watch what your income actually buys across decades of your life.
Your Reality (Today)
That is $36.06/hour at 2,080 hours/year.
Quick jumps:
Equivalent Salary in 1985
$24,818
CPI-adjusted from 2025 back to 1985.
TELEPORT YOUR $75,000 TO 1985
TODAY'S PRICES
$36.06
per hour
1985 PRICES
$36.06
per hour — but worth 3.0× of today
What Your Nominal $75,000 Buys
Your income is held constant. Only the prices change.
Gallons of gas
Today
11
Then
30
Diff
+167%
Movie tickets
Today
3
Then
10
Diff
+232%
Big Macs
Today
6
Then
23
Diff
+256%
Pounds of ground beef
Today
7
Then
21
Diff
+216%
Months of median 1BR rent (from a full year of income)
Today
4.5
Then
18.1
Diff
+304%
The shareable truth
“If I teleported my $75,000 to 1985 at 1985's prices, it would cover 18.1 months of rent. Today it covers 4.5.”
Inflation is not an abstraction. It is a vote against your income, taken every day.