HarderToEarn.com

1989 vs 2013

The Cost of Living Comparison

Median Income

$28,910 $53,590

+85.4%

Median Home

$120,425 $266,225

+121.1%

Housing Labor

4.2yr 5.0yr

1.2x harder

📊 Full Item Comparison

Item 1989 Price 2013 Price Change Hours 1989 Hours 2013 Verdict
🥚 Eggs $1.00 $1.91 +91% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🍞 Bread $0.67 $1.41 +111% 0.0h 0.1h Harder
⛽ Gas $1.02 $3.53 +245% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🥩 Ground Beef $1.44 $3.40 +136% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🐔 Chicken $0.93 $1.50 +61% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🥓 Bacon $1.77 $5.29 +199% 0.1h 0.2h Harder
☕ Coffee $3.07 $5.45 +77% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
🍊 Oranges $2.60 $4.99 +92% 0.2h 0.2h Harder
⚡ Electricity $0.08 $0.13 +62% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🎓 College Tuition $1,780 $8,312 +367% 128.1h 322.6h Harder
🚗 New Car $14,371 $32,086 +123% 1034.0h 1245.4h Harder
🏠 Monthly Rent $418 $843 +102% 30.1h 32.7h Harder
🏥 Doctor Visit $30.94 $106 +242% 2.2h 4.1h Harder

📈 Got Harder to Earn

Items where labor hours increased from 1989 to 2013, sorted by magnitude.

🎓
College Tuition

128.1h → 322.6h

2.5x

harder

Gas

0.1h → 0.1h

1.9x

harder

🏥
Doctor Visit

2.2h → 4.1h

1.8x

harder

🥓
Bacon

0.1h → 0.2h

1.6x

harder

🥩
Ground Beef

0.1h → 0.1h

1.3x

harder

🚗
New Car

1034.0h → 1245.4h

1.2x

harder

🍞
Bread

0.0h → 0.1h

1.1x

harder

🏠
Monthly Rent

30.1h → 32.7h

1.1x

harder

🍊
Oranges

0.2h → 0.2h

1.0x

harder

🥚
Eggs

0.1h → 0.1h

1.0x

harder

📉 Got Easier to Earn

Items where labor hours decreased from 1989 to 2013, sorted by magnitude.

🐔
Chicken

0.1h → 0.1h

0.9x

easier

Electricity

0.0h → 0.0h

0.9x

easier

Coffee

0.2h → 0.2h

1.0x

easier

💵 Purchasing Power

If you earned the median income in 1989 ($28,910), you'd need $54,337 in 2013 to maintain the same lifestyle.

Based on CPI adjustment (123.9 → 233.0).

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