HarderToEarn.com

1990 vs 2001

The Cost of Living Comparison

Median Income

$29,940 $42,230

+41.0%

Median Home

$122,300 $173,100

+41.5%

Housing Labor

4.1yr 4.1yr

1.0x harder

📊 Full Item Comparison

Item 1990 Price 2001 Price Change Hours 1990 Hours 2001 Verdict
🥚 Eggs $1.01 $0.93 -8% 0.1h 0.0h Easier
🍞 Bread $0.69 $1.00 +44% 0.0h 0.0h Harder
⛽ Gas $1.16 $1.46 +25% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🥩 Ground Beef $1.59 $1.71 +8% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🐔 Chicken $0.90 $1.11 +23% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🥓 Bacon $2.12 $3.25 +53% 0.1h 0.2h Harder
☕ Coffee $2.97 $3.09 +4% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
🍊 Oranges $2.60 $3.70 +42% 0.2h 0.2h Harder
⚡ Electricity $0.08 $0.09 +10% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🎓 College Tuition $1,908 $3,735 +96% 132.6h 184.0h Harder
🚗 New Car $15,472 $22,457 +45% 1074.9h 1106.1h Harder
🏠 Monthly Rent $436 $605 +39% 30.3h 29.8h Easier
🏥 Doctor Visit $35.30 $43.32 +23% 2.5h 2.1h Easier

📈 Got Harder to Earn

Items where labor hours increased from 1990 to 2001, sorted by magnitude.

🎓
College Tuition

132.6h → 184.0h

1.4x

harder

🥓
Bacon

0.1h → 0.2h

1.1x

harder

🚗
New Car

1074.9h → 1106.1h

1.0x

harder

🍞
Bread

0.0h → 0.0h

1.0x

harder

🍊
Oranges

0.2h → 0.2h

1.0x

harder

📉 Got Easier to Earn

Items where labor hours decreased from 1990 to 2001, sorted by magnitude.

🥚
Eggs

0.1h → 0.0h

0.6x

easier

Coffee

0.2h → 0.2h

0.7x

easier

🥩
Ground Beef

0.1h → 0.1h

0.8x

easier

Electricity

0.0h → 0.0h

0.8x

easier

🏥
Doctor Visit

2.5h → 2.1h

0.9x

easier

🐔
Chicken

0.1h → 0.1h

0.9x

easier

Gas

0.1h → 0.1h

0.9x

easier

🏠
Monthly Rent

30.3h → 29.8h

1.0x

easier

💵 Purchasing Power

If you earned the median income in 1990 ($29,940), you'd need $40,569 in 2001 to maintain the same lifestyle.

Based on CPI adjustment (130.7 → 177.0).

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