HarderToEarn.com

1989 vs 1995

The Cost of Living Comparison

Median Income

$28,910 $34,080

+17.9%

Median Home

$120,425 $133,475

+10.8%

Housing Labor

4.2yr 3.9yr

1.1x easier

📊 Full Item Comparison

Item 1989 Price 1995 Price Change Hours 1989 Hours 1995 Verdict
🥚 Eggs $1.00 $0.92 -7% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🍞 Bread $0.67 $0.79 +19% 0.0h 0.0h Harder
⛽ Gas $1.02 $1.15 +12% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🥩 Ground Beef $1.44 $1.37 -5% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🐔 Chicken $0.93 $0.92 -1% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🥓 Bacon $1.77 $1.99 +12% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
☕ Coffee $3.07 $4.04 +31% 0.2h 0.2h Harder
🍊 Oranges $2.60 $2.65 +2% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
⚡ Electricity $0.08 $0.09 +14% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🎓 College Tuition $1,780 $2,811 +58% 128.1h 171.6h Harder
🚗 New Car $14,371 $18,916 +32% 1034.0h 1154.5h Harder
🏠 Monthly Rent $418 $497 +19% 30.1h 30.3h Harder
🏥 Doctor Visit $30.94 $34.93 +13% 2.2h 2.1h Easier

📈 Got Harder to Earn

Items where labor hours increased from 1989 to 1995, sorted by magnitude.

🎓
College Tuition

128.1h → 171.6h

1.3x

harder

🚗
New Car

1034.0h → 1154.5h

1.1x

harder

Coffee

0.2h → 0.2h

1.1x

harder

🍞
Bread

0.0h → 0.0h

1.0x

harder

🏠
Monthly Rent

30.1h → 30.3h

1.0x

harder

📉 Got Easier to Earn

Items where labor hours decreased from 1989 to 1995, sorted by magnitude.

🥚
Eggs

0.1h → 0.1h

0.8x

easier

🥩
Ground Beef

0.1h → 0.1h

0.8x

easier

🐔
Chicken

0.1h → 0.1h

0.8x

easier

🍊
Oranges

0.2h → 0.2h

0.9x

easier

Gas

0.1h → 0.1h

1.0x

easier

🥓
Bacon

0.1h → 0.1h

1.0x

easier

🏥
Doctor Visit

2.2h → 2.1h

1.0x

easier

Electricity

0.0h → 0.0h

1.0x

easier

💵 Purchasing Power

If you earned the median income in 1989 ($28,910), you'd need $35,544 in 1995 to maintain the same lifestyle.

Based on CPI adjustment (123.9 → 152.4).

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