HarderToEarn.com

1987 vs 1991

The Cost of Living Comparison

Median Income

$26,060 $30,130

+15.6%

Median Home

$104,700 $119,975

+14.6%

Housing Labor

4.0yr 4.0yr

1.0x easier

📊 Full Item Comparison

Item 1987 Price 1991 Price Change Hours 1987 Hours 1991 Verdict
🥚 Eggs $0.78 $0.99 +26% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🍞 Bread $0.55 $0.71 +30% 0.0h 0.0h Harder
⛽ Gas $0.95 $1.14 +20% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🥩 Ground Beef $1.31 $1.60 +22% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🐔 Chicken $0.78 $0.88 +12% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🥓 Bacon $2.14 $2.22 +4% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
☕ Coffee $2.79 $2.81 +1% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
🍊 Oranges $2.46 $2.58 +5% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
⚡ Electricity $0.08 $0.09 +10% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🎓 College Tuition $1,537 $2,107 +37% 122.7h 145.5h Harder
🚗 New Car $12,922 $16,362 +27% 1031.4h 1129.5h Harder
🏠 Monthly Rent $388 $451 +16% 31.0h 31.2h Harder
🏥 Doctor Visit $28.03 $34.74 +24% 2.2h 2.4h Harder

📈 Got Harder to Earn

Items where labor hours increased from 1987 to 1991, sorted by magnitude.

🎓
College Tuition

122.7h → 145.5h

1.2x

harder

🍞
Bread

0.0h → 0.0h

1.1x

harder

🚗
New Car

1031.4h → 1129.5h

1.1x

harder

🥚
Eggs

0.1h → 0.1h

1.1x

harder

🏥
Doctor Visit

2.2h → 2.4h

1.1x

harder

🥩
Ground Beef

0.1h → 0.1h

1.1x

harder

Gas

0.1h → 0.1h

1.0x

harder

🏠
Monthly Rent

31.0h → 31.2h

1.0x

harder

📉 Got Easier to Earn

Items where labor hours decreased from 1987 to 1991, sorted by magnitude.

Coffee

0.2h → 0.2h

0.9x

easier

🥓
Bacon

0.2h → 0.2h

0.9x

easier

🍊
Oranges

0.2h → 0.2h

0.9x

easier

Electricity

0.0h → 0.0h

0.9x

easier

🐔
Chicken

0.1h → 0.1h

1.0x

easier

💵 Purchasing Power

If you earned the median income in 1987 ($26,060), you'd need $31,232 in 1991 to maintain the same lifestyle.

Based on CPI adjustment (113.6 → 136.2).

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