HarderToEarn.com

1985 vs 1993

The Cost of Living Comparison

Median Income

$23,620 $31,240

+32.3%

Median Home

$84,275 $126,500

+50.1%

Housing Labor

3.6yr 4.0yr

1.1x harder

📊 Full Item Comparison

Item 1985 Price 1993 Price Change Hours 1985 Hours 1993 Verdict
🥚 Eggs $0.80 $0.91 +13% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🍞 Bread $0.55 $0.75 +36% 0.0h 0.1h Harder
⛽ Gas $1.20 $1.11 -8% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🥩 Ground Beef $1.24 $1.57 +27% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🐔 Chicken $0.76 $0.89 +17% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🥓 Bacon $1.94 $1.93 -0% 0.2h 0.1h Easier
☕ Coffee $2.58 $2.47 -4% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
🍊 Oranges $2.30 $2.53 +10% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
⚡ Electricity $0.08 $0.09 +13% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🎓 College Tuition $1,318 $2,537 +92% 116.1h 168.9h Harder
🚗 New Car $11,450 $17,677 +54% 1008.3h 1177.0h Harder
🏠 Monthly Rent $352 $474 +35% 31.0h 31.5h Harder
🏥 Doctor Visit $34.50 $34.24 -1% 3.0h 2.3h Easier

📈 Got Harder to Earn

Items where labor hours increased from 1985 to 1993, sorted by magnitude.

🎓
College Tuition

116.1h → 168.9h

1.5x

harder

🚗
New Car

1008.3h → 1177.0h

1.2x

harder

🍞
Bread

0.0h → 0.1h

1.0x

harder

🏠
Monthly Rent

31.0h → 31.5h

1.0x

harder

📉 Got Easier to Earn

Items where labor hours decreased from 1985 to 1993, sorted by magnitude.

Gas

0.1h → 0.1h

0.7x

easier

Coffee

0.2h → 0.2h

0.7x

easier

🏥
Doctor Visit

3.0h → 2.3h

0.8x

easier

🥓
Bacon

0.2h → 0.1h

0.8x

easier

🍊
Oranges

0.2h → 0.2h

0.8x

easier

Electricity

0.0h → 0.0h

0.9x

easier

🥚
Eggs

0.1h → 0.1h

0.9x

easier

🐔
Chicken

0.1h → 0.1h

0.9x

easier

🥩
Ground Beef

0.1h → 0.1h

1.0x

easier

💵 Purchasing Power

If you earned the median income in 1985 ($23,620), you'd need $31,715 in 1993 to maintain the same lifestyle.

Based on CPI adjustment (107.6 → 144.5).

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