HarderToEarn.com

1990 vs 2011

The Cost of Living Comparison

Median Income

$29,940 $50,050

+67.2%

Median Home

$122,300 $224,900

+83.9%

Housing Labor

4.1yr 4.5yr

1.1x harder

📊 Full Item Comparison

Item 1990 Price 2011 Price Change Hours 1990 Hours 2011 Verdict
🥚 Eggs $1.01 $1.77 +75% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🍞 Bread $0.69 $1.44 +108% 0.0h 0.1h Harder
⛽ Gas $1.16 $3.53 +203% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🥩 Ground Beef $1.59 $2.77 +75% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🐔 Chicken $0.90 $1.29 +44% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🥓 Bacon $2.12 $4.63 +118% 0.1h 0.2h Harder
☕ Coffee $2.97 $5.19 +75% 0.2h 0.2h Harder
🍊 Oranges $2.60 $4.93 +89% 0.2h 0.2h Harder
⚡ Electricity $0.08 $0.13 +55% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🎓 College Tuition $1,908 $7,713 +304% 132.6h 320.5h Harder
🚗 New Car $15,472 $30,659 +98% 1074.9h 1274.1h Harder
🏠 Monthly Rent $436 $799 +83% 30.3h 33.2h Harder
🏥 Doctor Visit $35.30 $105 +199% 2.5h 4.4h Harder

📈 Got Harder to Earn

Items where labor hours increased from 1990 to 2011, sorted by magnitude.

🎓
College Tuition

132.6h → 320.5h

2.4x

harder

Gas

0.1h → 0.1h

1.8x

harder

🏥
Doctor Visit

2.5h → 4.4h

1.8x

harder

🥓
Bacon

0.1h → 0.2h

1.3x

harder

🍞
Bread

0.0h → 0.1h

1.2x

harder

🚗
New Car

1074.9h → 1274.1h

1.2x

harder

🍊
Oranges

0.2h → 0.2h

1.1x

harder

🏠
Monthly Rent

30.3h → 33.2h

1.1x

harder

Coffee

0.2h → 0.2h

1.0x

harder

🥩
Ground Beef

0.1h → 0.1h

1.0x

harder

🥚
Eggs

0.1h → 0.1h

1.0x

harder

📉 Got Easier to Earn

Items where labor hours decreased from 1990 to 2011, sorted by magnitude.

🐔
Chicken

0.1h → 0.1h

0.9x

easier

Electricity

0.0h → 0.0h

0.9x

easier

💵 Purchasing Power

If you earned the median income in 1990 ($29,940), you'd need $51,540 in 2011 to maintain the same lifestyle.

Based on CPI adjustment (130.7 → 224.9).

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