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> I know a lot of my friends who still have jobs are talking about going out every night when the quarantine lifts so they don’t have to cook. If a lot of peopl

> I know a lot of my friends who still have jobs are talking about going out every night when the quarantine lifts so they don’t have to cook. If a lot of people do that, we’ll suddenly need a lot of waiters back. What percentage of the U.S. population can actually afford to eat out every night? Median U.S. household income is about $62K.[1] If you spend only $15 a night eating out, that amounts to $105/week or $5460/year, which is a good chunk of the median household's income, and an even bigger chunk of their income after paying for rent, utilities, taxes and other necessities. [1] In 2018. Source: https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2019/09/us-median-household-income-up-in-2018-from-2017.html https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2019/09/us-median-hou...

simonsarris 7y ago
My brother who does not make much (works at a gym) eats out each day. Many, many Americans do.
- CydeWeys 7y ago
  Fast food isn't that expensive. Especially not if you economize; McDonalds has a dollar menu for a reason.
jedberg 7y ago
It's hard to find data, but in mid 2018 a survey found that 33% of Americans dined out every day at least once. In 2019 a few surveys found that people who eat out at least once a week tend to do it at least 3 times a week, and 10% ate out 5-6 times a week. So before all this, quite a lot of people dined out a lot.
- greenyoda 7y ago
  > 33% of Americans dined out every day at least once My guess is that most of those meals are people going out for lunch while they're working, and most of those people are grabbing a sandwich and bringing it back to their desks, which generates no income for waiters.
  - jedberg 7y ago
    Agreed. But the studies in 2019 would indicate that 10% still go out almost every night to sit down restaurants.
- AdrianB1 7y ago
  After skipping a few paychecks they will eat at home almost every day until they recover; that may take many months.

simonsarris 7y ago

My brother who does not make much (works at a gym) eats out each day. Many, many Americans do.

CydeWeys 7y ago
Fast food isn't that expensive. Especially not if you economize; McDonalds has a dollar menu for a reason.

jedberg 7y ago

It's hard to find data, but in mid 2018 a survey found that 33% of Americans dined out every day at least once. In 2019 a few surveys found that people who eat out at least once a week tend to do it at least 3 times a week, and 10% ate out 5-6 times a week. So before all this, quite a lot of people dined out a lot.

greenyoda 7y ago
> 33% of Americans dined out every day at least once My guess is that most of those meals are people going out for lunch while they're working, and most of those people are grabbing a sandwich and bringing it back to their desks, which generates no income for waiters.
- jedberg 7y ago
  Agreed. But the studies in 2019 would indicate that 10% still go out almost every night to sit down restaurants.
AdrianB1 7y ago
After skipping a few paychecks they will eat at home almost every day until they recover; that may take many months.