In the 1980s, it was possible for a McDonald’s worker to afford a house on their salary alone due to lower housing costs and higher relative purchasing power. For example, in 1980, the average home price was around $47,200, and minimum wage workers could feasibly save for a down payment with disciplined budgeting[5].

Today, this scenario is nearly impossible. Housing costs have skyrocketed while wages have stagnated. A full-time McDonald’s worker earning $8.75/hour would gross about $13,811 annually, far below the income needed to afford even modest housing without spending more than 30% of their income on rent[2][4].

Citations: [1] Is it possible to move out parents house with McDonald’s income? reddit.com/…/is_it_possible_to_move_out_parents_h… [2] Paycheck for a McDonald’s worker is very small. - Upworthy upworthy.com/heres-a-paycheck-for-a-mcdonalds-wor… [3] Mcdonald’s Real Estate: How They Really Make Their Money - wallstreetsurvivor.com/mcdonalds-beyond-the-burge… [4] [PDF] Unaccommodating: Rental Housing Wage in Canada policyalternatives.ca/…/Unaccommodating - Rental … [5] Could You Buy a House Working at McDonald’s in the 1980s? nasdaq.com/…/could-you-buy-house-working-mcdonald… [6] [PDF] Salaried-Employee-Handbook-Office.pdf - McDonald’s mcdonalds.com/…/Salaried-Employee-Handbook-Office… [7] How to work at McDonald’s and still become a millionaire - CNBC cnbc.com/…/how-to-work-at-mcdonalds-and-still-bec…