D&D (2024) Do you plan to adopt D&D5.5One2024Redux?

[Cadence]

No it isn't. People have less buying power now than they did in 2014. It doesn't matter if the book is effectively cheaper than it was in 2014 if people have less buying power. Looking at that one aspect while ignoring the entire financial picture is looking at it in a white room.

Is that true going from 2014 forward? (I would easily believe there is some year between 2014 and 2024 to 2024 it would be true for, and also from 2014 to 2024 in some areas of the country).

Median weekly earnings of all full-time workers in first quarter 2024 were $1,139.

Usual Weekly Earnings Summary - 2024 Q05 Results

www.bls.gov

Median weekly earnings 3rd quarter 2014 were $797 for full-time wage and salary workers (is this the same as above?).

Usual Weekly Earnings Summary - 2024 Q05 Results

www.bls.gov

Inflation adjusting $797 to 2024 comes out to $1055.60 at

Inflation Calculator | Find US Dollar's Value From 1913-2025

Easily calculate how the buying power of the U.S. dollar has changed from 1913 to 2025. Get inflation rates and U.S. inflation news.

www.usinflationcalculator.com

That is less than the first quarter median of $1,139. It may have changed in the past two months, but I don't believe by that much. (And, as noted, I am assuming the 2014 number and 2024 number I had were the same thing).

 

[Parmandur]

Also, where is it said that the majority of players(the average player) are in high school?

The majority are 12-24, and that is who the books are marketed for. Have been for decades.

 

[Maxperson]

Is that true going from 2014 forward? (I would believe there is some year between 2014 and 2024 to 2024 it would be true for, and also from 2014 to 2024 in some areas of the country).

Median weekly earnings of all full-time workers in first quarter 2024 were $1,139.

Usual Weekly Earnings Summary - 2024 Q05 Results

www.bls.gov

Median weekly earnings 3rd quarter 2014 were $797 for full-time wage and salary workers (is this the same as above?).

Usual Weekly Earnings Summary - 2024 Q05 Results

www.bls.gov

Inflation adjusting $797 to 2024 comes out to $1055.60 at

Inflation Calculator | Find US Dollar's Value From 1913-2025

Easily calculate how the buying power of the U.S. dollar has changed from 1913 to 2025. Get inflation rates and U.S. inflation news.

www.usinflationcalculator.com

That is less than the first quarter median of $1,139. It may have changed in the past two months, but I don't believe by that much. (And, as noted, I am assuming the 2014 number and 2024 number I had were the same thing).

Okay. So the median income value according to those sources has dropped around $100. The inflation value doesn't really show spending accurately, though, and includes the midwest which brings down the cost of living for the entire country, despite most people living in the denser more costly coastal states. California and New York, two of the most expensive states to live in, account for nearly 20% of the population.

Much of what we buy at the grocery store has gone up far more than the 30% inflation rate, and everyone needs groceries to survive. Rents have gone up more than 30%. At least here in Los Angeles.

In Los Angeles since 2014 depending on the number of bedrooms, rent for apartments has gone up 70%-100%. Food has also gone up in many cases significantly more than 30%.

 

[Maxperson]

The majority are 12-24, and that is who the books are marketed for. Have been for decades.

12-18 year olds spend allowance money, which doesn't cover a D&D book until they save for multiple weeks, and said D&D book competes with pokemon cards, fast food, video games, other games, clothing and much more.

Most high schoolers don't work. Somewhere around a third of high school kids who can work, do work part time. And of course all the other expenses there apply to them, so D&D books aren't all that affordable.

Once you get to 19-24, now you are in college and while more college kids work than don't, they are also spending a ton of that money on food, parties, booze, video games, etc. D&D is still going to be a very costly expense.

And of course buying power has dropped since 2014, especially in the expensive states where most of the population lives.

 

[Cadence]

Okay. So the median income value according to those sources has dropped around $100. The inflation value doesn't really show spending accurately, though, and includes the midwest which brings down the cost of living for the entire country, despite most people living in the denser more costly coastal states. California and New York, two of the most expensive states to live in, account for nearly 20% of the population.

Much of what we buy at the grocery store has gone up far more than the 30% inflation rate, and everyone needs groceries to survive. Rents have gone up more than 30%. At least here in Los Angeles.

In Los Angeles since 2014 depending on the number of bedrooms, rent for apartments has gone up 70%-100%. Food has also gone up in many cases significantly more than 30%.

Like I said, there are some parts of the country that it hit more. But that's the idea of using the national median. For a full 50%+epsilon of the population it is apparently cheaper*. I also note that the Midwest has 20.6% of the US population and the South has $23.6%, so they aren't insubstantial. (All of California + New York metro are 17.4% combined).

* CPI might be better than inflation rate (not sure which way each one goes). Happy to revise if you find a good site with it.

It would be cool to have a map to see how it varied either county by county or voting precinct by voting precinct around the country.

 

[Parmandur]

12-18 year olds spend allowance money, which doesn't cover a D&D book until they save for multiple weeks, and said D&D book competes with pokemon cards, fast food, video games, other games, clothing and much more.

Most high schoolers don't work. Somewhere around a third of high school kids who can work, do work part time. And of course all the other expenses there apply to them, so D&D books aren't all that affordable.

Once you get to 19-24, now you are in college and while more college kids work than don't, they are also spending a ton of that money on food, parties, booze, video games, etc. D&D is still going to be a very costly expense.

And of course buying power has dropped since 2014, especially in the expensive states where most of the population lives.

And yet it does seem younger people continue to buy D&D products.

And it is again worth noting that WotC is effectively lowering the price for the Core books: none of their costs have gone down.

 

[Cadence]

Much of what we buy at the grocery store has gone up far more than the 30% inflation rate, and everyone needs groceries to survive. Rents have gone up more than 30%. At least here in Los Angeles.

In Los Angeles since 2014 depending on the number of bedrooms, rent for apartments has gone up 70%-100%. Food has also gone up in many cases significantly more than 30%.

The CPI calculator for the country looks about the same as the inflation one I used above.

CPI Inflation Calculator

Trying to check, since 2014 the California state website gives the CPI as having increased 34.9% from October 2014 (the numbers above were late in the year iirc) to February 2024 (the latest)

Office of the Director - Research Unit: California Consumer Price Index

www.dir.ca.gov

California as a whole was a little higher at 36.8%. US West region was 36.3%. US City average was 30.7%.

 

[Maxperson]

The CPI calculator for the country looks about the same as the inflation one I used above.

CPI Inflation Calculator

Trying to check, since 2014 the California state website gives the CPI as having increased 34.9% from October 2014 (the numbers above were late in the year iirc) to February 2024 (the latest)

Office of the Director - Research Unit: California Consumer Price Index

www.dir.ca.gov

California as a whole was a little higher at 36.8%. US West region was 36.3%. US City average was 30.7%.

And yet rents have gone up waaaaaaaaay more than 36ish%. Our electricity bills are also around 40% higher than the national average. And so are our gas prices. The average price per gallon of gas in the US is currently $3.64 per gallon. I filled up a few days ago for $5.39, which was a bit over the $5.24 California average, but then I'm in Los Angeles and central California brings down the averages like the midwest brings down the national averages.

New York has similar costs and the two states are close to 20% of the national population.

 

[Cadence]

And yet rents have gone up waaaaaaaaay more than 36ish%. Our electricity bills are also around 40% higher than the national average. And so are our gas prices. The average price per gallon of gas in the US is currently $3.64 per gallon. I filled up a few days ago for $5.39, which was a bit over the $5.24 California average, but then I'm in Los Angeles and central California brings down the averages like the midwest brings down the national averages.

New York has similar costs and the two states are close to 20% of the national population.

I imagine someone from the midwest might point out that there are a lot more people living in the midwest than there are in California, and that maybe it is Calfiornia making the rest of the country look bad?

Anyway, some random numbers with links. You do "win" :-( in terms of gas prices. The rent increase looks like it is actually less than Cook County (albeit much higher than the corn fields of Illinois as a whole). The change in per capita income is also higher in California. It looks like Illinois has clearly been beating California in terms of cost of living (as in, less of an increase).

Average California gas price October 6, 2014 $3.666 - May 13, 2024 $5.046 (+37.6%)
Average LA gas price October 6, 2014 $3.689 - May 13, 2024 $4.941 (+33.9%)
Average US gas price October 6, 2014, $3.299 - May 13, 2024 $3.643 (+10.4%)
Average Midwest Region Gas Price October 6, 2014 $3.195 - May 13, 2024 $3.396 (+6.3%)
Average Chicago gas price October 6, 2014 $3.496 - May 13, 2024 $4.028 (+15.2%)

United States Gas Price History

Get data on a variety of issues pertaining to Nashville and the rest of Davidson County, Tennessee.United States Gas Price History

data.tennessean.com

California 2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent 2014 $1060 - $1788 (+68.7%)
LA County 2- Bedroom Fair Market Rent 2014 $1890 - $3263 (+72.6%)
Illinois 2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent 2014 $680 - $893 (+31.3%)
Cook County 2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent 2014 $1248 - $2182 (+74.8%)

2024 Fair Market Rent by State | RentData.org

www.rentdata.org

California Per Capita Income 2014 $49,985 - 2023 $80,423 (+60.9%)
Illinois Per Capita Income 2014 $47,643 - 2023 $70,953 (+48.9%)

Useful Stats: Per Capita Personal Income by State, 2010-2015 | SSTI

ssti.org

2024, Release Tables: Per Capita Personal Income by State, Annual | FRED | St. Louis Fed

Release Table for 2024, Release Tables: Per Capita Personal Income by State, Annual. FRED: Download, graph, and track economic data.

fred.stlouisfed.org

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Totally different (just nation wide), but I thought this was cool.

Average price data (in U.S. dollars), selected items

www.bls.gov

Also, I love this map (2014) of the US scaled by population.

This is what the United States looks like if you scale states by population

See how your state sizes up. You might be surprised.

www.vox.com

 

[Cadence]

12-18 year olds spend allowance money, which doesn't cover a D&D book until they save for multiple weeks, and said D&D book competes with pokemon cards, fast food, video games, other games, clothing and much more.

Most high schoolers don't work. Somewhere around a third of high school kids who can work, do work part time. And of course all the other expenses there apply to them, so D&D books aren't all that affordable.

Once you get to 19-24, now you are in college and while more college kids work than don't, they are also spending a ton of that money on food, parties, booze, video games, etc. D&D is still going to be a very costly expense.

And of course buying power has dropped since 2014, especially in the expensive states where most of the population lives.

T.Rowe Price does a survey that gets at allowance, but the way they report it has changed over the years and I didn't find the average for years around 2014. They report the mean allowance as $19.39/week now. (No idea how they get their survey and what the response rate is like from different demographics).

Allowances and Kids: How to Build Health Habits Early

An allowance can be a teaching tool for helping kids learn about money. Learn what the typical parent pays their child.

www.investopedia.com

A standard "suggestion" online seems to be 50 cents to $1 to $2 per year of age depending on where you look and how old the site saying it is. Some also talk about making the kids work for it or not doing chores. My dad used to say we got allowance because they loved us and we did chores because we wanted to be part of the family and live in the house.