HarderToEarn.com

1990 vs 1995

The Cost of Living Comparison

Median Income

$29,940 $34,080

+13.8%

Median Home

$122,300 $133,475

+9.1%

Housing Labor

4.1yr 3.9yr

1.0x easier

📊 Full Item Comparison

Item 1990 Price 1995 Price Change Hours 1990 Hours 1995 Verdict
🥚 Eggs $1.01 $0.92 -9% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🍞 Bread $0.69 $0.79 +14% 0.0h 0.0h Harder
⛽ Gas $1.16 $1.15 -1% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🥩 Ground Beef $1.59 $1.37 -14% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🐔 Chicken $0.90 $0.92 +2% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🥓 Bacon $2.12 $1.99 -7% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
☕ Coffee $2.97 $4.04 +36% 0.2h 0.2h Harder
🍊 Oranges $2.60 $2.65 +2% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
⚡ Electricity $0.08 $0.09 +12% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🎓 College Tuition $1,908 $2,811 +47% 132.6h 171.6h Harder
🚗 New Car $15,472 $18,916 +22% 1074.9h 1154.5h Harder
🏠 Monthly Rent $436 $497 +14% 30.3h 30.3h Harder
🏥 Doctor Visit $35.30 $34.93 -1% 2.5h 2.1h Easier

📈 Got Harder to Earn

Items where labor hours increased from 1990 to 1995, sorted by magnitude.

🎓
College Tuition

132.6h → 171.6h

1.3x

harder

Coffee

0.2h → 0.2h

1.2x

harder

🚗
New Car

1074.9h → 1154.5h

1.1x

harder

🏠
Monthly Rent

30.3h → 30.3h

1.0x

harder

🍞
Bread

0.0h → 0.0h

1.0x

harder

📉 Got Easier to Earn

Items where labor hours decreased from 1990 to 1995, sorted by magnitude.

🥩
Ground Beef

0.1h → 0.1h

0.8x

easier

🥚
Eggs

0.1h → 0.1h

0.8x

easier

🥓
Bacon

0.1h → 0.1h

0.8x

easier

Gas

0.1h → 0.1h

0.9x

easier

🏥
Doctor Visit

2.5h → 2.1h

0.9x

easier

🍊
Oranges

0.2h → 0.2h

0.9x

easier

🐔
Chicken

0.1h → 0.1h

0.9x

easier

Electricity

0.0h → 0.0h

1.0x

easier

💵 Purchasing Power

If you earned the median income in 1990 ($29,940), you'd need $34,918 in 1995 to maintain the same lifestyle.

Based on CPI adjustment (130.7 → 152.4).

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