HarderToEarn.com

1991 vs 2005

The Cost of Living Comparison

Median Income

$30,130 $46,330

+53.8%

Median Home

$119,975 $236,550

+97.2%

Housing Labor

4.0yr 5.1yr

1.3x harder

📊 Full Item Comparison

Item 1991 Price 2005 Price Change Hours 1991 Hours 2005 Verdict
🥚 Eggs $0.99 $1.22 +23% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🍞 Bread $0.71 $1.04 +47% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
⛽ Gas $1.14 $2.30 +101% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🥩 Ground Beef $1.60 $2.30 +44% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🐔 Chicken $0.88 $1.06 +20% 0.1h 0.0h Easier
🥓 Bacon $2.22 $3.39 +53% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
☕ Coffee $2.81 $3.26 +16% 0.2h 0.1h Easier
🍊 Oranges $2.58 $3.74 +45% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
⚡ Electricity $0.09 $0.10 +15% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🎓 College Tuition $2,107 $5,351 +154% 145.5h 240.2h Harder
🚗 New Car $16,362 $25,164 +54% 1129.5h 1129.7h Harder
🏠 Monthly Rent $451 $685 +52% 31.2h 30.7h Easier
🏥 Doctor Visit $34.74 $68.19 +96% 2.4h 3.1h Harder

📈 Got Harder to Earn

Items where labor hours increased from 1991 to 2005, sorted by magnitude.

🎓
College Tuition

145.5h → 240.2h

1.7x

harder

Gas

0.1h → 0.1h

1.3x

harder

🏥
Doctor Visit

2.4h → 3.1h

1.3x

harder

🚗
New Car

1129.5h → 1129.7h

1.0x

harder

📉 Got Easier to Earn

Items where labor hours decreased from 1991 to 2005, sorted by magnitude.

Electricity

0.0h → 0.0h

0.8x

easier

Coffee

0.2h → 0.1h

0.8x

easier

🐔
Chicken

0.1h → 0.0h

0.8x

easier

🥚
Eggs

0.1h → 0.1h

0.8x

easier

🥩
Ground Beef

0.1h → 0.1h

0.9x

easier

🍊
Oranges

0.2h → 0.2h

0.9x

easier

🍞
Bread

0.0h → 0.0h

1.0x

easier

🏠
Monthly Rent

31.2h → 30.7h

1.0x

easier

🥓
Bacon

0.2h → 0.2h

1.0x

easier

💵 Purchasing Power

If you earned the median income in 1991 ($30,130), you'd need $43,207 in 2005 to maintain the same lifestyle.

Based on CPI adjustment (136.2 → 195.3).

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