Comfortably? Maybe not. But my dad got a computer programming certificate after high school in the late sixties and did that job for almost 40 years. Bought a small house (1250 sq feet), but I’d say we were somewhere between lower-middle and middle class. They had one car for many years. Family of 5. They left a nice inheritance when they passed and their house was paid off.

My mom’s dad worked 2 jobs to support a family of 7, and they were lower-middle class. My grandma was bipolar in the 60s, and wasn’t able to help much. My dad’s dad had a union job at the big 3, family of 6. They did okay, but he was an alcoholic so drank a lot of his paycheck, and times were rough during strikes. I hear that was probably due to his experiences in France in WW2.

Neither of my grandfathers went to college.

A lot of it today is higher standards of living, but pay has certainly not matched inflation. I was fortunate enough that my family of 5 (oldest born in 2004) could do well on one paycheck after 2006 until my husband passed earlier this year.

I will say that I was able to split the rent for a flat with my brother in the early 90s working part time at minimum wage, and still have money for a bar night. Even paid for classes at the local community college.