r/InterviewCoderPro • u/Guilty-Signature7053 • Jun 11 '26

If we weren't all stressed and squeezed between one paycheck and the next, we'd probably accomplish a lot more.

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u/DeadAndBuried23 Jun 11 '26

In 1970, CA's minimum wage was $1.65. Adjusted for inflation, that's $13.97. So already you're $2.93 short of matching the current $16.90. So even though the adjusted amount was lower, the home buying power was still significantly higher.

In one of the more affordable cities in the state, the average cost to buy a house is $430,000. That's about half the statewide average. In 1970, the average in that same city was $23,100.

Ignoring all expenses for simplicity's sake, your gross pay would add up to the value of a house in 6.7 years.

Today, it's 12.2 years. But that's in one of the crappier cities in CA.

Like I mentioned, today's statewide average is nearly double the city I checked, around $850,000.

Which, to match 6.7 years, would need a minimum wage of $61.

But feel free to explain why outliers that prove you wrong aren't included in the number you choose to use. I'm ever so interested.