Yeah, whenever I see the old money comparisons I run to this calculator:
Easily calculate how the buying power of the U.S. dollar has changed from 1913 to 2024. Get inflation rates and U.S. inflation news.
www.usinflationcalculator.com
That was around $5300 in today's money. I think that is something that people need to play with a little bit. I have a niece who is 24 years old who is getting married this summer. She and her fiance just bought a house in Beech Grove for around $180,000. They both work in education but not sure of their incomes but I don't think it is great money. I compared that to myself at a year older than her. In 2004 my salary was equivalent to a $66,000 salary today and that was a little over 3 years out of college. The house I bought then would equate to almost a $190k house today. Different career paths but similar degree (at the time) to her now fiance. Difference being my house was a new build in Hamilton Co. and was 40% larger than there's is with a lower interest rate.
Anyways, just a long winded way of saying you have to put the dollars discussion into equal numbers. There has been 60%+ inflation in the 20 years since I built that first house and that doesn't seem like that long ago. I hear the starting wages now and there are quite a few industries that are really lagging inflation.