In the year 1776, the average life expectancy was around 35 to 38 years old. In 2026, the average U.S. life expectancy is 79.
Much of that has to do with the incredibly high infant mortality rate. In colonial times, around 43% of children died before the age of 5. The infant mortality rate was 30%, compared to just 0.5% today.
In 1776, about 1% of births resulted in the mother’s death. Today, that number sits at around 0.01%, or 10 per 100,000.
The American president James Garfield died in 1881 partly because the best doctor in the country was not yet a believer in germs.
Two weeks before his death, President Franklin Roosevelt was suffering from severely high blood pressure, but his doctors could hardly do a thing because basic blood pressure medicine didn’t exist.
The estimated homicide rate in 1776 was 100 deaths per 100,000 people. Today we’re at around 4 per 100,000.
Dentistry, as a profession, really wasn’t a thing in 1776. Dental care was typically performed by barber-surgeons or blacksmiths, with no pain relief. George Washington had only one natural tooth remaining by his 1789 inauguration.
During the colonial era, the average full-time worker put in a tremendous 72 hours of work per week. Most worked 6 days a week, dawn till dusk, on a farm or small business. The 40-hour workweek became U.S. law in 1940, leading to a 34-hour average workweek for full-time workers today.
The average home size in 1776 was roughly 360 square feet, with an average of 6 people per household. Today, the average home in the U.S. is 2,400 square feet, with an average household size of 2.5 people.
Colonial-era families spent around 63% of their income on food. The bottom 20% of households in America spend 33% on food today, with the average U.S. household spending around 10%.
An estimated 85% of the world’s population lived in extreme poverty, defined as earning $2 or less per day, adjusted for inflation. That number has dropped all the way down to 8.6% of the global population living in extreme poverty today.
I think it’s safe to say that we live a slightly better life than the people who founded our country.
Imagine how amazed they would be if you dropped them into our modern grocery store. Their minds would be blown at the ability to buy any kind of food, any time of year. They might faint if they caught a glimpse of our pharmacies with their magic pills.
Simultaneously, would they scoff at us getting frustrated by having to wait in line to check out? Would they look at us in disbelief after hearing us complain about food prices, rather than be in awe at the sheer abundance of food?
Probably. But I also think that’s the point.
The second president of the United States, John Adams, once said:
“I must study politics and war that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy. My sons ought to study mathematics and philosophy… in order to give their children a right to study painting, poetry, music, architecture, statuary…”
Contrary to what we may see on social media, I think right now is a pretty awesome time to be alive.
I personally am grateful for the incredible progress that’s been made due to the hard work and sacrifice of generations of people that allows me the opportunity to live so comfortably today.
Thanks for reading!
Jake Elm, CFP® is a financial advisor at Dentist Advisors. Jake a graduate of Utah Valley University’s nationally ranked Personal Financial Planning program. As a financial advisor at Dentist Advisors, he provides dentists with fiduciary guidance related to investments, debt, savings, taxes, and insurance. Learn more about Jake.