Taking the kids to a baseball game, a movie, or Disneyland is a bigger financial commitment than it used to be for middle-class families. by Zachary Crockett.
[The Hustle]( Issue #216
[The Hustle, Sunday, July 17, 2022](
Sunday, July 17, 2022 Americaâs favorite family outings are increasingly out of reach Taking the kids to a baseball game, a movie, or Disneyland is a bigger financial commitment than it used to be for middle-class families. BY [Zachary Crockett]( Earlier this summer, Steven Martinez made a promise to his two young kids: Heâd finally take them to Disneyland, the âhappiest place on Earth.â But Martinez, a customer service specialist in Los Angeles, didnât feel the magic when he saw the price tag. âJust for one day in the park and one night at the hotel, we were looking at over $1k and that didnât even include food,â he says. âI had to explain to the kids that Mickey was out of Daddyâs budget.â Most families across the country can relate. In the 1950s and â60s â the so-called [Golden Age]( of American capitalism â family outings were within the realm of affordability for most median income earners. Many blue-collar workers could afford new homes and cars and still take their kids to Disneyland. Despite rising wages, many of those same activities are now out of reach for everyday Americans. The Hustle analyzed the cost of three family activities in 1960 vs. 2022: - A baseball game
- A movie at a theater
- A one-day Disneyland visit We found that these family outings have increased in cost at 2-3x the rate of inflation â and that, in order to afford them, todayâs American families have to work up to 2x as many hours as they did 60 years ago. Wages: 1960 vs. today Before we get into the numbers, letâs compare how much families earned in 1960 to what they earn today. For this analysis, we used median family income data from the US Census Bureau, which skews higher than median household income. This measures the typical sum of all earnings of family members who live together. [median annual family income over time] Zachary Crockett / The Hustle In 1960, the median family [brought in]( $5,620 ($2.70/hr), or ~$55.5k per year adjusted for inflation. Todayâs median family earns considerably more, at $84k per year, or $40.38/hr. But when it comes to traditional family outings, the purchasing power of that income has declined. For each of these examples, weâll calculate the cost for a family of four (two parents and two kids). Baseball games First, letâs take a look at âAmericaâs favorite pastime,â a Major League Baseball game. We began with 2022 data from the [FanCostIndex](, which compiles the average price of tickets, food, beverages, and parking across all 30 MLB teams. Then, we calculated the total cost of the items a family of four  typically buys at the ballpark: - Four Tickets
- Two Beers
- Two Sodas
- Four Hot dogs
- Parking At todayâs ballgames, the total of these items varies regionally, from a whopping $324 (Boston Red Sox) down to $126 (Arizona Diamondbacks). But across all teams, the average works out to $204.76 per family. [cost for a family to go to a baseball game] Zachary Crockett / The Hustle Howâs that stack up to a baseball game in 1960? We trawled through newspaper archives and baseball history books to piece together per-unit cost estimates for the same items. The chart below shows the actual price per unit in 1960, that same price adjusted for inflation in 2022 dollars, the price in 2022, and the total cumulative cost for a family to attend a ballgame in each case. [cost for a family baseball game over time] Zachary Crockett / The Hustle Back in the day, four tickets cost a mere $1.91 ($18.86 in 2022 dollars), two beers and four hot dogs could be had for $0.35 ($3.46), and parking was the bargain of the century at $0.25 ($2.47). For a family of four in 1960, the average total wouldâve come out to ~$10.35. Adjusted for inflation, thatâs ~$102 â or half of what it costs today. Whereâs all that extra cost coming from? Since 1960, the cumulative rate of inflation across all goods in the US has been 888% (meaning $1 in 1960 is $9.88 today). By contrast, baseball tickets, ballgame beer, and hot dogs have gone up more than 1,000%. But where fans are really getting taken for a ride is in the parking lot. At $16.79, the average cost to park a vehicle at a baseball game today is 6,616% more than it was in 1960 â 7.5x the rate of inflation! [what items have increased in price] Zachary Crockett / The Hustle This is partly a reflection of the increasing cost of land. But itâs also a result of simple supply and demand: At many stadiums, parking is a limited resource, and drivers are willing to shell out more than what is reasonable for a slice of asphalt. Some teams are more inclined to gouge their fans than others. The Texas Rangers, who have one of the most expensive parking lots in the MLB, hike up parking fees as a way to [pass]( new stadium construction costs on to their fans. Call it a nice little fan appreciation gesture. But the practice of overcharging for ancillary offerings isnât unique to baseball teams. The movies Taking the family to see a movie was once heralded as a cheap, fun way to spend an afternoon. Has that reputation held up over time? Letâs assume a family of four goes to view an esteemed motion picture like Minions: The Rise of Gru at the local theater and buys the following: - Four Tickets
- Four Sodas
- Two Popcorns
- One Box of Candy For 2022 prices, we compiled average movie ticket data from [The Numbers]( and average concessions data from [Movie Food Prices](â AMC theaters list. For 1960 prices, we turned to newspaper archives from 10 cities across the US and created an aggregate estimate. All in all, todayâs family movie outing averages $68.73. Back in 1960? About $3.76 ($34.15, adjusted for inflation). [cost for a movie over time] Zachary Crockett / The Hustle As is the case with baseball games, the cost of seeing a movie with the kids today is 2x the inflation-adjusted 1960 cost. Also similar to ballgames, the ticket price itself is the least egregiously priced item on the list. Adjusted for inflation, that $0.70 movie ticket in 1960 would be about $6.17 today â not too far off from the modern-day average of $9.17. As The Hustle has [previously explained](, itâs the concessions stand where the theaters really get you. [items that have gone up most in price] Zachary Crockett / The Hustle In 1960, movie treats were pretty modestly priced. A popcorn or candy bar would set you back ~$0.20 ($1.97, adjusted for inflation), and soda ran a few cents cheaper. Today, that wouldnât even get you an extra pump of processed butter: Candy (+1,210%), soda (+2,145%), and popcorn (+3,845%) have all outpaced inflation by 3-4x. The reasons for this have a lot to do with the ailing business model of movie theaters. Theaters have to fork over ~70% of all ticket sales to the distributor, leaving them with little to cover expenses. They tend to think of movies as a loss leader, and make their profits on food and drinks. The markup on a tub of popcorn, which costs less than $1 to make, is ~800%. At major chains like AMC and Cinemark, concessions only account for ~30% of total gross revenue, yet make up 45%-50% of gross profits. Disneyland Lastly, we wanted to take a look at the big daddy of all family outings: a trip to Disneyland in Anaheim, California. We chose to keep this one simple and omit the cost of travel/airfare. We also didnât include food, since the park permits guests to bring in their own snacks. What weâve laid out is a bare-bones Disneyland outing for a family of four, comprised of the following costs: - Two child tickets (one-day)
- Two adult tickets (one-day)
- Parking
- A one-night stay at Disneyland Hotel The 2022 prices come from Disneyâs own websites, assuming a weekend day trip in June (Disney has dynamic ticket pricing). The 1960 prices were gleaned from old ticket stubs and newspaper archives. (One important clarifying note: Back in 1960, you paid for the park admission ticket and the rides separately. Weâve combined those costs below.) [cost for a family Disneyland day over time] Zachary Crockett / The Hustle In 1960, an adult ticket was $1.60, and a childâs ticket (ages 3-11) was just $0.60. A 10-ride pass was an additional $3.95 (adult) and $2.95 (child). Those combined costs would be $54.81 for an adult and $35.06 for a child, adjusted for inflation. Todayâs prices today are far steeper: Tickets clock in at $149 and $141, respectively. Once $18/night ($178 in todayâs money), a double-bed room at Disneyland Hotel will now set you back $445. But like the ballgame, the real kick in the ass is the parking. It used to be a mere $0.25 ($2.47, adjusted) to park your car there. Today, itâs $30. Thatâs â wait for it â an 11,900% bump in price since 1960, or 13.5x the rate of inflation. Disneyâs main parking lot, affectionately dubbed Mickey and Friends, cost $108m and was [subsidized]( through government bonds. Disney leases the land from the city of Anaheim for a whopping $1/year and keeps all profits from the garage. [what's gone up most in price] Zachary Crockett / The Hustle âIf Walt [Disney] were alive today, he would probably be uncomfortable with the prices theyâre charging right now,â Scott Smith, an assistant professor of hospitality at the University of South Carolina, [told]( the Washington Post in 2015. âTheyâve priced middle-class families out.â Of course, one could argue that a Disney goer is getting a better value than they wouldâve 60 years ago. In 1960, the park had <20 attractions (rides, shows, exhibits); today, it has 53. Disneylandâs operating costs have also significantly increased over the years: ride maintenance, [daily painting](, landscaping, engineering, merchandising, parade float operations â you get the drift. The parkâs annual attendance has increased threefold, to 18m, since 1960. Still, for a park that has received ~$500m in government handouts since 1991, one would expect a little more generosity when it comes to price sensitivity for guests. How many hours do families have to work to afford outings? Assuming 40-hour weeks and a standard 2,080 work hours per year, the median family wage in 1960 ($5,620) worked out to ~$2.70/hour. Todayâs median ($84k) is $40.38/hr. How many more hours do families have to work today to afford these activities? [hours required to afford family outings] Zachary Crockett / The Hustle Though wages have gone up considerably since 1960, theyâve been outpaced by the growing cost of family activities. These increases may look small (partly because theyâre dwarfed by Disneylandâs figures), but spending 22%-96% more time at the office is pretty consequential when you have a family to take care of. For those earning minimum wage, this struggle is especially pronounced. In 1960, the federal minimum wage was $1/hr â higher, adjusted for inflation ($9.88/hr), than todayâs $7.25. Decades ago, some of these family outings were within grasp. But today, a family with two minimum wage earners would have to work 173%-299% more hours to take their family out than two similar workers in 1960. For them, a one-day trip to Disneyland would require nearly two weeks of pay. [minimum wage hours required to afford family outings] Zachary Crockett / The Hustle Recent research has shown that a family [has to earn]( at least $35.80/hour just to meet basic needs. The average two-kid family spends 25% of its income on child care alone â and these figures donât even fully take into account runaway inflation, which recently topped 9%. The reality is that todayâs $40/hr median family income doesnât leave as much wiggle room for American pastimes as it used to. And as Steven Martinez, and many others, have learned, this is especially true of âthe most magical place on Earth.â Share & discuss this story on: [Facebook]( [Youtube]( [Instagram]( [Trends]( Free Resource
10 red-hot copywriting tips from the pros So you want to write copy that slaps. We look at writing a lot like music. Smooth will be smooth. Bangers will be bangers. You make whatever the hell you have the gall for. But toss in SEO, narrative flow, structure, skimmers, word count (smh)... Fret not, brethren. Here are [10 high-quality copywriting techniques](, curated by HubSpot professionals whoâve been in the game much longer than most of us. How professional copywriters drive eyes and action (YouTube) - Optimizing SEO, keywords, secondary keywords, and more
- Using free headline analyzer tools to test phrase variation
- Executing content-gap analysis on competitor websites
- The APP, AIDA, and F-shaped copywriting methods Templates, good sounds, and clowning included. [On writing crisper copy â]( How did you like todayâs story? Today's email was brought to you by Zachary Crockett and Brad Wolverton. Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up [here](.
[PODCAST]( [JOBS]( [CONTACT US](mailto:news@thehustle.co)
[Facebook]( [Youtube]( [Instagram]( [Trends](
25 FIRST ST. 2ND FLOOR, CAMBRIDGE, MA 02141, UNITED STATES ⢠888.482.7768
Never want to hear from us again? Break our hearts and [unsubscribe](list=thehustle).
[The Hustle logo](