HarderToEarn.com

1989 vs 2001

The Cost of Living Comparison

Median Income

$28,910 $42,230

+46.1%

Median Home

$120,425 $173,100

+43.7%

Housing Labor

4.2yr 4.1yr

1.0x easier

📊 Full Item Comparison

Item 1989 Price 2001 Price Change Hours 1989 Hours 2001 Verdict
🥚 Eggs $1.00 $0.93 -7% 0.1h 0.0h Easier
🍞 Bread $0.67 $1.00 +50% 0.0h 0.0h Harder
⛽ Gas $1.02 $1.46 +43% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🥩 Ground Beef $1.44 $1.71 +19% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🐔 Chicken $0.93 $1.11 +19% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🥓 Bacon $1.77 $3.25 +84% 0.1h 0.2h Harder
☕ Coffee $3.07 $3.09 +1% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
🍊 Oranges $2.60 $3.70 +42% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
⚡ Electricity $0.08 $0.09 +13% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🎓 College Tuition $1,780 $3,735 +110% 128.1h 184.0h Harder
🚗 New Car $14,371 $22,457 +56% 1034.0h 1106.1h Harder
🏠 Monthly Rent $418 $605 +45% 30.1h 29.8h Easier
🏥 Doctor Visit $30.94 $43.32 +40% 2.2h 2.1h Easier

📈 Got Harder to Earn

Items where labor hours increased from 1989 to 2001, sorted by magnitude.

🎓
College Tuition

128.1h → 184.0h

1.4x

harder

🥓
Bacon

0.1h → 0.2h

1.3x

harder

🚗
New Car

1034.0h → 1106.1h

1.1x

harder

🍞
Bread

0.0h → 0.0h

1.0x

harder

📉 Got Easier to Earn

Items where labor hours decreased from 1989 to 2001, sorted by magnitude.

🥚
Eggs

0.1h → 0.0h

0.6x

easier

Coffee

0.2h → 0.2h

0.7x

easier

Electricity

0.0h → 0.0h

0.8x

easier

🥩
Ground Beef

0.1h → 0.1h

0.8x

easier

🐔
Chicken

0.1h → 0.1h

0.8x

easier

🏥
Doctor Visit

2.2h → 2.1h

1.0x

easier

🍊
Oranges

0.2h → 0.2h

1.0x

easier

Gas

0.1h → 0.1h

1.0x

easier

🏠
Monthly Rent

30.1h → 29.8h

1.0x

easier

💵 Purchasing Power

If you earned the median income in 1989 ($28,910), you'd need $41,296 in 2001 to maintain the same lifestyle.

Based on CPI adjustment (123.9 → 177.0).

Share on

🔗 Related Comparisons