HarderToEarn.com

1984 vs 2005

The Cost of Living Comparison

Median Income

$22,420 $46,330

+106.6%

Median Home

$79,950 $236,550

+195.9%

Housing Labor

3.6yr 5.1yr

1.4x harder

📊 Full Item Comparison

Item 1984 Price 2005 Price Change Hours 1984 Hours 2005 Verdict
🥚 Eggs $1.00 $1.22 +21% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🍞 Bread $0.54 $1.04 +92% 0.1h 0.0h Easier
⛽ Gas $1.21 $2.30 +89% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🥩 Ground Beef $1.29 $2.30 +78% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🐔 Chicken $0.81 $1.06 +30% 0.1h 0.0h Easier
🥓 Bacon $1.86 $3.39 +83% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
☕ Coffee $2.58 $3.26 +27% 0.2h 0.1h Easier
🍊 Oranges $2.22 $3.74 +69% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
⚡ Electricity $0.08 $0.10 +22% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🎓 College Tuition $1,228 $5,351 +336% 113.9h 240.2h Harder
🚗 New Car $10,669 $25,164 +136% 989.8h 1129.7h Harder
🏠 Monthly Rent $332 $685 +106% 30.8h 30.7h Easier
🏥 Doctor Visit $34.22 $68.19 +99% 3.2h 3.1h Easier

📈 Got Harder to Earn

Items where labor hours increased from 1984 to 2005, sorted by magnitude.

🎓
College Tuition

113.9h → 240.2h

2.1x

harder

🚗
New Car

989.8h → 1129.7h

1.1x

harder

📉 Got Easier to Earn

Items where labor hours decreased from 1984 to 2005, sorted by magnitude.

🥚
Eggs

0.1h → 0.1h

0.6x

easier

Electricity

0.0h → 0.0h

0.6x

easier

Coffee

0.2h → 0.1h

0.6x

easier

🐔
Chicken

0.1h → 0.0h

0.6x

easier

🍊
Oranges

0.2h → 0.2h

0.8x

easier

🥩
Ground Beef

0.1h → 0.1h

0.9x

easier

🥓
Bacon

0.2h → 0.2h

0.9x

easier

Gas

0.1h → 0.1h

0.9x

easier

🍞
Bread

0.1h → 0.0h

0.9x

easier

🏥
Doctor Visit

3.2h → 3.1h

1.0x

easier

🏠
Monthly Rent

30.8h → 30.7h

1.0x

easier

💵 Purchasing Power

If you earned the median income in 1984 ($22,420), you'd need $42,122 in 2005 to maintain the same lifestyle.

Based on CPI adjustment (103.9 → 195.3).

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