HarderToEarn.com

1991 vs 2003

The Cost of Living Comparison

Median Income

$30,130 $43,320

+43.8%

Median Home

$119,975 $192,125

+60.1%

Housing Labor

4.0yr 4.4yr

1.1x harder

📊 Full Item Comparison

Item 1991 Price 2003 Price Change Hours 1991 Hours 2003 Verdict
🥚 Eggs $0.99 $1.24 +26% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🍞 Bread $0.71 $1.00 +41% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
⛽ Gas $1.14 $1.59 +40% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🥩 Ground Beef $1.60 $1.95 +22% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🐔 Chicken $0.88 $1.03 +18% 0.1h 0.0h Easier
🥓 Bacon $2.22 $3.20 +44% 0.2h 0.2h Harder
☕ Coffee $2.81 $2.92 +4% 0.2h 0.1h Easier
🍊 Oranges $2.58 $3.81 +48% 0.2h 0.2h Harder
⚡ Electricity $0.09 $0.09 +7% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🎓 College Tuition $2,107 $4,587 +118% 145.5h 220.2h Harder
🚗 New Car $16,362 $23,282 +42% 1129.5h 1117.9h Easier
🏠 Monthly Rent $451 $647 +43% 31.2h 31.1h Easier
🏥 Doctor Visit $34.74 $47.43 +37% 2.4h 2.3h Easier

📈 Got Harder to Earn

Items where labor hours increased from 1991 to 2003, sorted by magnitude.

🎓
College Tuition

145.5h → 220.2h

1.5x

harder

🍊
Oranges

0.2h → 0.2h

1.0x

harder

🥓
Bacon

0.2h → 0.2h

1.0x

harder

📉 Got Easier to Earn

Items where labor hours decreased from 1991 to 2003, sorted by magnitude.

Coffee

0.2h → 0.1h

0.7x

easier

Electricity

0.0h → 0.0h

0.7x

easier

🐔
Chicken

0.1h → 0.0h

0.8x

easier

🥩
Ground Beef

0.1h → 0.1h

0.9x

easier

🥚
Eggs

0.1h → 0.1h

0.9x

easier

🏥
Doctor Visit

2.4h → 2.3h

0.9x

easier

Gas

0.1h → 0.1h

1.0x

easier

🍞
Bread

0.0h → 0.0h

1.0x

easier

🚗
New Car

1129.5h → 1117.9h

1.0x

easier

🏠
Monthly Rent

31.2h → 31.1h

1.0x

easier

💵 Purchasing Power

If you earned the median income in 1991 ($30,130), you'd need $40,714 in 2003 to maintain the same lifestyle.

Based on CPI adjustment (136.2 → 184.0).

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