THIS WONDERFUL LIFE BACKSTAGE GUIDE 13 1946 VS 2017 IN AMERICA 1946 Population: 132,122,000 Unemployed rate: 3.9% National Debt: $43 Billion Average Annual Salary: $2,600 Federal minimum Wage: $0.40 per hour New car costs $1,120 Gasoline is $0.21 per gallon Gallon of milk costs $0.67 One-year tuition at Harvard: $420 55% of US homes have indoor plumbing Life expectancy: 68.2 female, 60.8 male Supreme Court decides African-Americans have a right to vote. 2017 Population: 324,994,000 Unemployment rate: 4.4% National Debt: $18.96 Trillion Average Annual Salary: $55,775 Federal minimum Wage: $7.25 per hour New car costs: $34,650 Gasoline is $2.57 per gallon Gallon of milk costs $1.89 One-year tuition at Harvard: $63,025 77% of US adults have a smartphone Life Expectancy: 81 female, 76 male An African-American man completed two terms as President