It all depends what state you were in. In 1985, Federal minimum wage was $3.35. Texas just goes by the Federal minimum wage which is $7.25 now, lasted raised in 2009.
Massachusetts has one of the highest minimum wage in the nation, right now about $13.50. Going to $15 in a couple years as it goes up another 75 cents in January and the year after will go to $15. Only Washington, at $13.69, California at $14 and Washington DC are higher at $15.
Inflation hasn't been worse because some things have come down in price. I remember paying a few hundred dollars for a CV joint back in the 90s. Of course the cheap aftermarket ones are junk these days but you can get them sometimes for under $100. Same with alternators, rebuilt ones are in the $100-$200 range, same risk of getting junk but also in that same range for decades. Costco has been able to maintain their $1.50 hot dog and $5 rotisserie chicken for decades.
I've thought about this some lately. I've wondered what if we locked the federal minimum wage to the CPI-W? Give it a bump to $9/hr as that's about what it would be today gauging inflation since 2009. Say that was the case now. Say the inflation from 2021 to 2022 through the 3rd quarter is 2%. Then starting 01/01/2023, the minimum wage would automatically increase 2% from $9/hr to $9.18/hr.
This could end the ridiculous debates over raising the minimum wage every 5-10 years as it would be fixed to a standard, and potentially keep consumer-based businesses from price gouging and spiking inflation for fear of taking a hit to the payroll.