HarderToEarn.com

1991 vs 2011

The Cost of Living Comparison

Median Income

$30,130 $50,050

+66.1%

Median Home

$119,975 $224,900

+87.5%

Housing Labor

4.0yr 4.5yr

1.1x harder

📊 Full Item Comparison

Item 1991 Price 2011 Price Change Hours 1991 Hours 2011 Verdict
🥚 Eggs $0.99 $1.77 +79% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🍞 Bread $0.71 $1.44 +104% 0.0h 0.1h Harder
⛽ Gas $1.14 $3.53 +209% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🥩 Ground Beef $1.60 $2.77 +74% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🐔 Chicken $0.88 $1.29 +47% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🥓 Bacon $2.22 $4.63 +109% 0.2h 0.2h Harder
☕ Coffee $2.81 $5.19 +85% 0.2h 0.2h Harder
🍊 Oranges $2.58 $4.93 +91% 0.2h 0.2h Harder
⚡ Electricity $0.09 $0.13 +50% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🎓 College Tuition $2,107 $7,713 +266% 145.5h 320.5h Harder
🚗 New Car $16,362 $30,659 +87% 1129.5h 1274.1h Harder
🏠 Monthly Rent $451 $799 +77% 31.2h 33.2h Harder
🏥 Doctor Visit $34.74 $105 +204% 2.4h 4.4h Harder

📈 Got Harder to Earn

Items where labor hours increased from 1991 to 2011, sorted by magnitude.

🎓
College Tuition

145.5h → 320.5h

2.2x

harder

Gas

0.1h → 0.1h

1.9x

harder

🏥
Doctor Visit

2.4h → 4.4h

1.8x

harder

🥓
Bacon

0.2h → 0.2h

1.3x

harder

🍞
Bread

0.0h → 0.1h

1.2x

harder

🍊
Oranges

0.2h → 0.2h

1.2x

harder

🚗
New Car

1129.5h → 1274.1h

1.1x

harder

Coffee

0.2h → 0.2h

1.1x

harder

🥚
Eggs

0.1h → 0.1h

1.1x

harder

🏠
Monthly Rent

31.2h → 33.2h

1.1x

harder

🥩
Ground Beef

0.1h → 0.1h

1.0x

harder

📉 Got Easier to Earn

Items where labor hours decreased from 1991 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 1991 ($30,130), you'd need $49,769 in 2011 to maintain the same lifestyle.

Based on CPI adjustment (136.2 → 224.9).

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