HarderToEarn.com

1991 vs 2013

The Cost of Living Comparison

Median Income

$30,130 $53,590

+77.9%

Median Home

$119,975 $266,225

+121.9%

Housing Labor

4.0yr 5.0yr

1.2x harder

📊 Full Item Comparison

Item 1991 Price 2013 Price Change Hours 1991 Hours 2013 Verdict
🥚 Eggs $0.99 $1.91 +93% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🍞 Bread $0.71 $1.41 +98% 0.0h 0.1h Harder
⛽ Gas $1.14 $3.53 +209% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🥩 Ground Beef $1.60 $3.40 +113% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🐔 Chicken $0.88 $1.50 +70% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🥓 Bacon $2.22 $5.29 +138% 0.2h 0.2h Harder
☕ Coffee $2.81 $5.45 +94% 0.2h 0.2h Harder
🍊 Oranges $2.58 $4.99 +94% 0.2h 0.2h Harder
⚡ Electricity $0.09 $0.13 +53% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🎓 College Tuition $2,107 $8,312 +294% 145.5h 322.6h Harder
🚗 New Car $16,362 $32,086 +96% 1129.5h 1245.4h Harder
🏠 Monthly Rent $451 $843 +87% 31.2h 32.7h Harder
🏥 Doctor Visit $34.74 $106 +205% 2.4h 4.1h Harder

📈 Got Harder to Earn

Items where labor hours increased from 1991 to 2013, sorted by magnitude.

🎓
College Tuition

145.5h → 322.6h

2.2x

harder

Gas

0.1h → 0.1h

1.7x

harder

🏥
Doctor Visit

2.4h → 4.1h

1.7x

harder

🥓
Bacon

0.2h → 0.2h

1.3x

harder

🥩
Ground Beef

0.1h → 0.1h

1.2x

harder

🍞
Bread

0.0h → 0.1h

1.1x

harder

🚗
New Car

1129.5h → 1245.4h

1.1x

harder

Coffee

0.2h → 0.2h

1.1x

harder

🍊
Oranges

0.2h → 0.2h

1.1x

harder

🥚
Eggs

0.1h → 0.1h

1.1x

harder

🏠
Monthly Rent

31.2h → 32.7h

1.1x

harder

📉 Got Easier to Earn

Items where labor hours decreased from 1991 to 2013, sorted by magnitude.

Electricity

0.0h → 0.0h

0.9x

easier

🐔
Chicken

0.1h → 0.1h

1.0x

easier

💵 Purchasing Power

If you earned the median income in 1991 ($30,130), you'd need $51,546 in 2013 to maintain the same lifestyle.

Based on CPI adjustment (136.2 → 233.0).

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