Median income is not an accurate measure of affordability. That includes every person who isn't working - stay at home moms, retirees, etc. The federal reserve

Median income is not an accurate measure of affordability. That includes every person who isn't working - stay at home moms, retirees, etc. The federal reserve's calculation of household income is probably more useful at $74k: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MEHOINUSA672N https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MEHOINUSA672N And I have never paid more than $5k for a car personally, but the average new car in America is ~$47k so $40k is not actually out of alignment with what most people are buying.