HarderToEarn.com

1990 vs 1994

The Cost of Living Comparison

Median Income

$29,940 $32,260

+7.7%

Median Home

$122,300 $130,425

+6.6%

Housing Labor

4.1yr 4.0yr

1.0x easier

📊 Full Item Comparison

Item 1990 Price 1994 Price Change Hours 1990 Hours 1994 Verdict
🥚 Eggs $1.01 $0.86 -15% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🍞 Bread $0.69 $0.76 +10% 0.0h 0.0h Harder
⛽ Gas $1.16 $1.11 -5% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🥩 Ground Beef $1.59 $1.48 -7% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🐔 Chicken $0.90 $0.90 +0% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🥓 Bacon $2.12 $1.99 -6% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
☕ Coffee $2.97 $3.40 +15% 0.2h 0.2h Harder
🍊 Oranges $2.60 $2.63 +1% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
⚡ Electricity $0.08 $0.09 +10% 0.0h 0.0h Harder
🎓 College Tuition $1,908 $2,681 +41% 132.6h 172.9h Harder
🚗 New Car $15,472 $18,657 +21% 1074.9h 1202.9h Harder
🏠 Monthly Rent $436 $485 +11% 30.3h 31.3h Harder
🏥 Doctor Visit $35.30 $34.37 -3% 2.5h 2.2h Easier

📈 Got Harder to Earn

Items where labor hours increased from 1990 to 1994, sorted by magnitude.

🎓
College Tuition

132.6h → 172.9h

1.3x

harder

🚗
New Car

1074.9h → 1202.9h

1.1x

harder

Coffee

0.2h → 0.2h

1.1x

harder

🏠
Monthly Rent

30.3h → 31.3h

1.0x

harder

Electricity

0.0h → 0.0h

1.0x

harder

🍞
Bread

0.0h → 0.0h

1.0x

harder

📉 Got Easier to Earn

Items where labor hours decreased from 1990 to 1994, sorted by magnitude.

🥚
Eggs

0.1h → 0.1h

0.8x

easier

🥩
Ground Beef

0.1h → 0.1h

0.9x

easier

🥓
Bacon

0.1h → 0.1h

0.9x

easier

Gas

0.1h → 0.1h

0.9x

easier

🏥
Doctor Visit

2.5h → 2.2h

0.9x

easier

🐔
Chicken

0.1h → 0.1h

0.9x

easier

🍊
Oranges

0.2h → 0.2h

0.9x

easier

💵 Purchasing Power

If you earned the median income in 1990 ($29,940), you'd need $33,965 in 1994 to maintain the same lifestyle.

Based on CPI adjustment (130.7 → 148.2).

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