HarderToEarn.com

1984 vs 2013

The Cost of Living Comparison

Median Income

$22,420 $53,590

+139.0%

Median Home

$79,950 $266,225

+233.0%

Housing Labor

3.6yr 5.0yr

1.4x harder

📊 Full Item Comparison

Item 1984 Price 2013 Price Change Hours 1984 Hours 2013 Verdict
🥚 Eggs $1.00 $1.91 +90% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🍞 Bread $0.54 $1.41 +160% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
⛽ Gas $1.21 $3.53 +191% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🥩 Ground Beef $1.29 $3.40 +164% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🐔 Chicken $0.81 $1.50 +85% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🥓 Bacon $1.86 $5.29 +185% 0.2h 0.2h Harder
☕ Coffee $2.58 $5.45 +112% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
🍊 Oranges $2.22 $4.99 +125% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
⚡ Electricity $0.08 $0.13 +62% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🎓 College Tuition $1,228 $8,312 +577% 113.9h 322.6h Harder
🚗 New Car $10,669 $32,086 +201% 989.8h 1245.4h Harder
🏠 Monthly Rent $332 $843 +154% 30.8h 32.7h Harder
🏥 Doctor Visit $34.22 $106 +209% 3.2h 4.1h Harder

📈 Got Harder to Earn

Items where labor hours increased from 1984 to 2013, sorted by magnitude.

🎓
College Tuition

113.9h → 322.6h

2.8x

harder

🏥
Doctor Visit

3.2h → 4.1h

1.3x

harder

🚗
New Car

989.8h → 1245.4h

1.3x

harder

Gas

0.1h → 0.1h

1.2x

harder

🥓
Bacon

0.2h → 0.2h

1.2x

harder

🥩
Ground Beef

0.1h → 0.1h

1.1x

harder

🍞
Bread

0.1h → 0.1h

1.1x

harder

🏠
Monthly Rent

30.8h → 32.7h

1.1x

harder

📉 Got Easier to Earn

Items where labor hours decreased from 1984 to 2013, sorted by magnitude.

Electricity

0.0h → 0.0h

0.7x

easier

🐔
Chicken

0.1h → 0.1h

0.8x

easier

🥚
Eggs

0.1h → 0.1h

0.8x

easier

Coffee

0.2h → 0.2h

0.9x

easier

🍊
Oranges

0.2h → 0.2h

0.9x

easier

💵 Purchasing Power

If you earned the median income in 1984 ($22,420), you'd need $50,251 in 2013 to maintain the same lifestyle.

Based on CPI adjustment (103.9 → 233.0).

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