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College costs: 1980

NEXT: Click here to go to 1985 →

Adjusted to 2014 dollars: The median U.S. household income in 1980 was $50,881, with families spending 14.9% of their income on public university ($7587 sticker price, annually) or 32.1% on private university ($16,339 sticker price, annually).

Also in 1980...

  • The United States Olympic Hockey Team defeats the USSR in the Miracle on Ice
  • U.S. President Jimmy Carter announces the boycott of the Summer Olympics in Moscow
  • The eruption of Mount St. Helens kills 57 and causes $3 billion in damage
  • "Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back" is released
  • Pac Man is released in Japan
  • The first 24-hour news channel Cable News Network (CNN) is launched
  • A record number of viewers tune into "Dallas" to learn who shot JR. (it was Kristin)
  • Led Zeppelin breaks up due to the death of drummer John Bonham
  • "Kramer vs Kramer" wins Best Picture
  • The #1 song of 1980 is "Call Me" by Blondie

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197519801985
199019952000
200520102014

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