Using you for answering points ok....NO hard felling :)
The answer is 2,500. The part that is other than food and housing is exactly 50%. This means you just have to divide the monthly budget by 2, or multiply it by 50%
12 = 2p + 3
12 - 3 = 2p
9 = 2p
9/2 = p
4.5 = p......so the population in 1950 was approximately 4.5 million people