3 Reasons the Simpsons Live Better Than You Do — on One Income

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Homer, Marge, and the gang had it good — and on an income that wouldn’t go very far today. 

There’s a reason The Simpsons has managed to retain its popularity for more than 30 years. Many of us can relate to the antics and dynamics of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, Maggie, and the many colorful characters that reside in Springfield.

But have you ever noticed that the Simpson family manage to enjoy a pretty cushy middle-class existence despite Homer’s relatively meager salary? Not only do the Simpsons own their own home, but they also have two cars and enough money to pay for extras, like Lisa’s saxophone and other music supplies which, even back in the early 1990s, couldn’t have been cheap.

In the 1996 episode “Much Apu About Nothing,” Homer’s paycheck is shown as grossing $479.60 per week, which translates to an annual income of about $25,000. And although that was not a particularly high income at the time, the Simpsons managed to make it work.

The Simpsons premiered on Dec. 17, 1989, and median income for U.S. households between 1987 and 1989 was $40,777, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. By 2021, the median household income had jumped to $70,784. But despite that increase, it’s become increasingly difficult to get by on a single middle-income salary. Here are some of the reasons why.

1. Housing costs have soared

In December 1989, the average home price was $76,498, as per the S&P Case-Shiller National Home Price Index. Today, it’s about $299,000. Clearly, home prices have risen at a considerably faster pace than wages. And since housing is typically the average American’s largest monthly expense, it’s easy to see why buying a home on a single middle class income has gotten so difficult.

Of course, these days, home buyers happen to be looking at higher mortgage rates and elevated home prices due to limited inventory. So today more so than ever, it’s extremely difficult to swing mortgage payments on a single income that’s average or slightly below average.

2. Higher education has become more of a necessity

Homer’s job didn’t require him to have a college degree. But many jobs today do. And since education costs have soared, that’s another expense many workers today have to bear — and pay off after the fact.

The average cost of tuition and fees at public in-state colleges is $10,423 for the 2022-2023 academic year, according to U.S. News & World Report. For public out-of-state schools and private ones, the average costs are $22,953 and $39,723, respectively. Since many people don’t pay for college upfront, but rather, pay off an education for many years post-graduation, it’s easy to see how that might put a strain on a middle-income wage — and make homeownership impossible.

3. Technology has strained budgets

When The Simpsons first premiered, many people did not have cable, and cell phones and internet service weren’t expenses workers had to bear. These days, it’s really hard to function without a cell phone or internet connection at home. And so today’s workers are looking at hundreds of dollars extra a month just to function in society, whereas The Simpsons, at least at the start, existed in an era where it was natural to frequently adjust the TV antenna to get a signal.

Clearly, we’ve come a long way since The Simpsons first aired. But in many ways, watching those earlier episodes of The Simpsons should make us long for a simpler time — a time when a college degree wasn’t such a necessity and it was possible to buy a home even if money wasn’t abundant. We can’t change the way technology and costs have evolved, though, so unfortunately, some of us might have to live vicariously through Homer and the gang — and find ways to stretch our income as much as we can.

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