$35,000 in 1998 is $72,500 in 2026, which is still a totally fine income. I know people living pretty well on that in New York City.
median asking rent in 2026 for NYC is $3616/mo ($43,392/yr) meaning rent alone would be 60% of that income, assuming that the $72.5k figure is after taxes (which it probably isnt).
if you take taxes off, you're probably at like 55-60k. that means rent alone is 70%-77% of income!
"living pretty well"?
The median household income in New York City is only $81,000 per year! People make it work!
where as the 72K vs 35K is only x2 increase
So, no, your math doesn't work.