7 jobs that paid for a family home in the ’70s but now leave workers living paycheck to paycheck

There’s a story my dad likes to tell about how he bought his first house. He was in his twenties, working a steady job, and within a couple of years, he had saved enough for a down payment.

That was the 1970s.

Fast-forward to today, and the same jobs that once put people on the path to middle-class security now barely cover rent—forget saving for a home.

The math has changed, but the narrative hasn’t caught up. We still tell young people to go into these professions, yet the financial outcomes are nowhere near what they used to be.

Let’s break it down.

1. Teacher

Teachers in the ’70s could buy homes, raise families, and live with a sense of stability. In many communities, a teacher’s salary was enough to qualify for a mortgage on a modest house. T

he respect for the profession was reflected not just in how communities treated educators, but in the fact that they could actually afford to live in the neighborhoods they taught in.

Today, it’s a very different story. In states like California and New York, teachers often spend 40–60% of their income just on rent. Even in more affordable regions, stagnant salaries haven’t kept pace with inflation.

Add student loan debt into the mix—something teachers in the ’70s didn’t face nearly as heavily—and you’ve got a job that no longer guarantees stability.

I know a teacher friend who commutes nearly 90 minutes each way because the school she works at doesn’t pay enough to afford housing in the district. Think about that: the people shaping the next generation often can’t afford to live where they work.

2. Factory worker

Manufacturing jobs used to be the backbone of the middle class. You could graduate high school, land a union job at a local plant, and buy a house within a few years. Health benefits, pensions, and overtime pay weren’t perks—they were expected.

But globalization and automation reshaped the landscape. Many of the plants that once supported entire towns either closed or moved overseas. The jobs that remain pay less in real terms, and union power has eroded.

I once chatted with a guy at a coffee shop who worked at an auto-parts plant. His dad had worked the same line decades earlier and managed to pay off a house, support a family, and retire securely.

My friend shook his head and told me, “I make less now, adjusted for inflation, than my dad did in 1978. And I don’t even get half the benefits.”

That sums up the larger picture: it’s not that the work disappeared—it’s that the value placed on it collapsed.

3. Nurse

Nursing was once considered a stable and respectable path into the middle class. A nurse’s paycheck could cover a mortgage, and hospitals offered pensions and retirement plans that provided real security.

Now, the situation is almost upside down. Nurses are in demand more than ever, but wages haven’t matched the skyrocketing cost of living. Many are forced to pick up double shifts, travel nursing contracts, or side hustles just to keep up.

What makes it worse is the emotional toll. I know someone who left nursing altogether because the stress of understaffed hospitals combined with the financial strain made the job unsustainable. She said, “It’s not that I didn’t love helping patients. It’s that I couldn’t keep helping patients and survive myself.”

In the ’70s, the job came with dignity and the ability to build a secure life. Today, it’s a recipe for burnout and financial anxiety.

4. Postal worker

Getting a job at the post office back in the ’70s was almost like winning a golden ticket. It wasn’t glamorous, but it was steady. Federal benefits, decent pay, and the chance to buy a modest home made it a respected and practical career path.

Now, postal workers are caught in a squeeze. The pay has failed to keep up with inflation, and budget cuts have led to longer routes, mandatory overtime, and higher stress levels. I read about carriers walking 12-hour routes in triple-digit heat, only to come home to a stack of bills they struggle to pay.

The security is gone, and in its place is exhaustion. The job that once represented stability now represents survival.

5. Retail manager

It might sound strange today, but in the ’70s, managing a department store or a grocery chain wasn’t just a paycheck—it was a career. Salaries were strong enough to cover a house, car, and family vacations.

Retail was booming back then. Shopping malls were cultural hubs, and department stores dominated local economies. Managers had authority, schedules were more predictable, and benefits were often solid.

Now? The retail landscape has been gutted by big-box chains, e-commerce, and razor-thin margins. Managers are expected to do more with less: erratic schedules, endless pressure to hit targets, and low pay that doesn’t reflect the responsibility.

I worked in retail for a stretch after college. Even though I wasn’t in management, I remember thinking, “How does anyone raise kids on this?” Talking to some of the managers confirmed my suspicion—they were barely scraping by, working weekends and holidays, just to keep the lights on.

6. Journalist

There was a time when being a reporter or editor meant a modest but comfortable life. You weren’t getting rich, but you could support a family and buy a small home. Local newspapers thrived, and job security was real.

Fast-forward, and the media industry is in free fall. Local newspapers have collapsed, digital outlets run on shaky funding, and freelance writing often pays pennies per word. Journalism has gone from a pathway into the middle class to a side hustle for people with other income sources.

I’ve freelanced in media myself. I love writing, but it’s hard to ignore the reality: many journalists I know have had to branch into teaching, consulting, or even completely unrelated jobs just to afford rent. Passion keeps them going, but passion doesn’t pay a mortgage.

7. Construction worker

Here’s the irony: construction workers build the houses most people can’t afford anymore.

In the ’70s, construction jobs were solid, union-backed, and paid wages that made homeownership achievable. A worker could literally build the neighborhood they lived in.

Today, it’s a fragmented industry. Union power is weaker, many jobs are contract-based with no benefits, and the pay—while decent in some specialties—hasn’t kept up with skyrocketing housing costs.

I met a carpenter in Oregon who told me, “I’ve built a dozen homes in the last two years, but I’ll never afford one of my own.” That irony isn’t just painful—it’s emblematic of the system itself.

The bigger picture

The difference between then and now isn’t just about wages—it’s about the entire economic system.

Housing prices have skyrocketed—often ten or twenty times what they were in the ’70s—while wages have only inched upward. Healthcare costs that once represented a small budget line now swallow entire paychecks. And benefits that provided security, like pensions, have been replaced with 401(k)s that shift all the risk onto the worker.

Jobs that were once the foundation of the American dream now leave workers running in place, paycheck to paycheck. And it’s not about individuals making poor choices—it’s about the math no longer adding up.

When my dad tells me about buying his first house, it sounds almost like a fairy tale. But it wasn’t magic. It was the reality of an economy where ordinary jobs came with extraordinary stability.

That reality is gone, but maybe talking about it can push us to imagine—and demand—something better.

Because if these jobs once provided security, they could again. It’s not about nostalgia—it’s about possibility.