For years, everyone has wondered just how rich the McCallister family from the 1990 film “Home Alone” was, and now we have confirmation that they were well off in the Chicago area. The New York Times contacted Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago economists to find out just how well off they were.
According to their findings, they would have placed in the top 1% of those in the Chicago area.
The home shown in the film is located in the Chicago suburb of Winnetka, which is “one of the most expensive neighborhoods in the United States.”
That home in 1990 was estimated to be affordable to someone making around $305k (at 30% of their income), which would be about $665k today. However, the house from the film was recently estimated at $2.4 million, which means a family would need to make a minimum of $730,000 a year to afford it. This would definitely put them in the top 1% of the Chicago area.
The interior of the house isn’t the actual house.
Some may ask about how much they made based on the interior design or possessions inside the house. Fun fact: the interior of the house and the family’s possessions were mostly staged inside the New Trier Township High School gymnasium. If you watch “The Movies That Made Us” on Netflix, they discuss this in their episode about “Home Alone,” along with the fact that it almost wasn’t made.
Shots were filmed inside and outside the home as well, but most of the interior ones were done on the separate set.
Interestingly enough, the “Business Insider” posted images inside the actual house and compared them to the film. 
While The New York Times tried to determine the McCallisters’ income, The Washington Post calculated how much it would cost for the family to visit Paris and return to Kevin. They came up with a sum of about $28k. But, they did point out that flights are about 33% less now than in 1990.
All in all, it’s a safe bet to assume that The McCallister family was well off, which shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone.
That being said, you should check out the “Home Alone” episode of “The Movies That Made Us.” It’s full of information about the film and behind-the-scenes information.
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