Purchasing Power: The Modern Depression No One Is Talking About
Donald Trump says the economy is doing great and the stock market seems to agree with him
Donald Trump says the economy is doing great and the stock market seems to agree with him. But just out of curiosity, let’s take a look at some of today’s numbers versus what they were during the Great Depression, but not in the way we usually do.
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Let’s focus on purchasing power. Specifically, how many hours or years of your life does it actually take to buy the basics?
The Cost of Living in Hours
When you stop looking at dollar signs and start looking at the clock, the “booming” economy looks a little different.
Housing: In 1930, it took an average of 3.5 years of work to purchase a home. Today, that figure has climbed to roughly 6.5 years.
Rent: To afford the average monthly rent in 1930, it took 65 hours of work. Today, it takes 71 hours.
Transportation: To buy a brand new Ford in 1930 required 19 weeks of work. Today, the average worker needs 39 weeks to drive off the lot in a new vehicle.
Healthcare: This is the most staggering jump. Annual healthcare in 1930 cost about 50 hours of work. Today, it is roughly 460 hours.
Education: College tuition for one year took 120 hours of work in 1930. Today, you are looking at 870 hours.
Where We Have Gained Ground
To be fair, some things were significantly more expensive in 1930. Food and gas were much “heavier” on the wallet back then. A gallon of milk used to cost 40 minutes of labor; today, it is down to about 8 minutes.
However, the tide is turning on those “cheap” essentials. The numbers above were based on 2025 data, but 2026 is hitting hard. Gas is up 11% in April alone due to supply shocks, and food staples like beef are up 12% from last year as cattle supplies tighten.
The Unemployment Illusion
The big difference people point to is employment. When you compare our current 4.3% unemployment rate to the 25% of the 1930s, it does not seem to even compare. But when you start digging, the picture becomes more clear.
In the 1930s, you were generally either working or you were not. They often did not count part-time work in public reports the way we do now. Back then, you were often considered unemployed or “destitute” if you only had part-time hours. At the time, that part-time workforce was about 15% to 25%.
Today, the part-time workforce is about 17%, and those people are counted as “employed” in the official stats. If we calculated today’s unemployment the way they did in the 1930s, the rate would probably be around 12%.
Furthermore, our workforce participation is now coming down toward theirs. Back then, women generally did not participate in the workforce, or at least they were not recorded. Total participation was around 50%; today, we are at 61%.
The Bottom Line
We are doing a little better in terms of raw employment numbers and we have a better social safety net than our great-grandparents did. But paying for a place to live, staying healthy, getting around, and going to school are astronomically more expensive.
The stock market might be up, but the clock is ticking faster than ever for the average worker. You tell me how our economy is doing.
Sources
Housing Costs and Median Income: Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies
Historical Car Pricing: Insurance Centers of America Cost History
The Evolution of Healthcare Costs: Palmetto Promise Institute Healthcare Timeline
College Tuition Trends: TIME: Rising Cost of College
Gasoline Price Data: AAA Gas Price Reports
Beef and Commodity Inflation: Farm Progress Beef Outlook
Workforce Participation History: U.S. Department of Labor History
Understanding Modern Unemployment Stats: Montana Department of Labor & Industry