HarderToEarn.com

1987 vs 2007

The Cost of Living Comparison

Median Income

$26,060 $50,230

+92.7%

Median Home

$104,700 $244,950

+134.0%

Housing Labor

4.0yr 4.9yr

1.2x harder

📊 Full Item Comparison

Item 1987 Price 2007 Price Change Hours 1987 Hours 2007 Verdict
🥚 Eggs $0.78 $1.68 +114% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🍞 Bread $0.55 $1.21 +121% 0.0h 0.0h Harder
⛽ Gas $0.95 $2.80 +195% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🥩 Ground Beef $1.31 $2.30 +76% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🐔 Chicken $0.78 $1.12 +42% 0.1h 0.0h Easier
🥓 Bacon $2.14 $3.66 +71% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
☕ Coffee $2.79 $3.47 +25% 0.2h 0.1h Easier
🍊 Oranges $2.46 $3.95 +61% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
⚡ Electricity $0.08 $0.12 +48% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🎓 College Tuition $1,537 $5,943 +287% 122.7h 246.1h Harder
🚗 New Car $12,922 $27,026 +109% 1031.4h 1119.1h Harder
🏠 Monthly Rent $388 $739 +91% 31.0h 30.6h Easier
🏥 Doctor Visit $28.03 $83.31 +197% 2.2h 3.4h Harder

📈 Got Harder to Earn

Items where labor hours increased from 1987 to 2007, sorted by magnitude.

🎓
College Tuition

122.7h → 246.1h

2.0x

harder

🏥
Doctor Visit

2.2h → 3.4h

1.5x

harder

Gas

0.1h → 0.1h

1.5x

harder

🍞
Bread

0.0h → 0.0h

1.1x

harder

🥚
Eggs

0.1h → 0.1h

1.1x

harder

🚗
New Car

1031.4h → 1119.1h

1.1x

harder

📉 Got Easier to Earn

Items where labor hours decreased from 1987 to 2007, sorted by magnitude.

Coffee

0.2h → 0.1h

0.6x

easier

🐔
Chicken

0.1h → 0.0h

0.7x

easier

Electricity

0.0h → 0.0h

0.8x

easier

🍊
Oranges

0.2h → 0.2h

0.8x

easier

🥓
Bacon

0.2h → 0.2h

0.9x

easier

🥩
Ground Beef

0.1h → 0.1h

0.9x

easier

🏠
Monthly Rent

31.0h → 30.6h

1.0x

easier

💵 Purchasing Power

If you earned the median income in 1987 ($26,060), you'd need $47,558 in 2007 to maintain the same lifestyle.

Based on CPI adjustment (113.6 → 207.3).

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