HarderToEarn.com

1984 vs 2010

The Cost of Living Comparison

Median Income

$22,420 $49,280

+119.8%

Median Home

$79,950 $222,700

+178.5%

Housing Labor

3.6yr 4.5yr

1.3x harder

📊 Full Item Comparison

Item 1984 Price 2010 Price Change Hours 1984 Hours 2010 Verdict
🥚 Eggs $1.00 $1.66 +65% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🍞 Bread $0.54 $1.37 +154% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
⛽ Gas $1.21 $2.79 +130% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🥩 Ground Beef $1.29 $2.37 +84% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🐔 Chicken $0.81 $1.26 +56% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🥓 Bacon $1.86 $4.11 +121% 0.2h 0.2h Harder
☕ Coffee $2.58 $3.91 +51% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
🍊 Oranges $2.22 $4.46 +101% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
⚡ Electricity $0.08 $0.13 +56% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🎓 College Tuition $1,228 $7,136 +481% 113.9h 301.2h Harder
🚗 New Car $10,669 $29,217 +174% 989.8h 1233.2h Harder
🏠 Monthly Rent $332 $786 +137% 30.8h 33.2h Harder
🏥 Doctor Visit $34.22 $83.69 +145% 3.2h 3.5h Harder

📈 Got Harder to Earn

Items where labor hours increased from 1984 to 2010, sorted by magnitude.

🎓
College Tuition

113.9h → 301.2h

2.6x

harder

🚗
New Car

989.8h → 1233.2h

1.2x

harder

🍞
Bread

0.1h → 0.1h

1.2x

harder

🏥
Doctor Visit

3.2h → 3.5h

1.1x

harder

🏠
Monthly Rent

30.8h → 33.2h

1.1x

harder

Gas

0.1h → 0.1h

1.0x

harder

🥓
Bacon

0.2h → 0.2h

1.0x

harder

📉 Got Easier to Earn

Items where labor hours decreased from 1984 to 2010, sorted by magnitude.

Coffee

0.2h → 0.2h

0.7x

easier

🐔
Chicken

0.1h → 0.1h

0.7x

easier

Electricity

0.0h → 0.0h

0.7x

easier

🥚
Eggs

0.1h → 0.1h

0.8x

easier

🥩
Ground Beef

0.1h → 0.1h

0.8x

easier

🍊
Oranges

0.2h → 0.2h

0.9x

easier

💵 Purchasing Power

If you earned the median income in 1984 ($22,420), you'd need $47,042 in 2010 to maintain the same lifestyle.

Based on CPI adjustment (103.9 → 218.1).

Share on

🔗 Related Comparisons