Real-World Ratio Worksheets: Rising Cost of Living Financial Literacy

Here’s a middle or high school applied math or consumer math activity to help your students practice the ratio math skills they have learned in a real-world situation: the rising cost of living. The three-page worksheet includes real statistics (from the United States) with accurate median family income, median house price, and average private college costs from 1965, 1995, and 2025. Students can use simple ratios to compare this data and see if housing and university really are more expensive compared to wages than they used to be. Although this lesson uses US data, it demonstrates trends that are occurring in other countries (like Canada) too!

How to Use:

1. Print 3 pages of worksheets for each student.

2. Go over the table on page one together. It shows the median family income, median house price, and average cost of one year of college in 1965, 1995, and 2025 (in dollars for each of those years). Ask students what they notice.

3. Model how to use the chart to write a ratio and simplify it by rounding. Use the included example of 1965 income to 1965 house price, which simplifies to 1:3

4. Let students work in pairs or small groups on the rest of the ratio questions.

5. They will complete research for question 8: to find the average prices of a different category (medical insurance, food, cars, etc.) for 1965, 1995, and 2025. These can be shared later in a class discussion.

6. Students can also share their ideas from question 9 in the discussion: how can people get ahead when housing and college cost so much more compared to wages than they used to?

7. Finally, students can create their own meme to share a real-world proportional relationship about the rising cost of living with others. A sample is included in the answer key.

8. A complete answer key is included so there is no guess-work with this lesson!

Grades to Use With:

• This lesson is designed for middle school students in 6th, 7th or 8th grade to apply and practice ratio, rate, and proportional relationship skills.

• It could also be used in high school consumer math classes to help students understand current economic events.

What's Included: 5-Page PDF: Ready to Print and Use!

1. Complete Teacher Instructions

2. Worksheet: Real Historical Data from the US: income, house prices, college costs in 1965, 1995, 2025

3. Worksheet: Ratio Math Questions

4. Worksheet: Reflect & Create a Meme

5. Complete Answer Key