HarderToEarn.com

1991 vs 2014

The Cost of Living Comparison

Median Income

$30,130 $53,660

+78.1%

Median Home

$119,975 $285,775

+138.2%

Housing Labor

4.0yr 5.3yr

1.3x harder

📊 Full Item Comparison

Item 1991 Price 2014 Price Change Hours 1991 Hours 2014 Verdict
🥚 Eggs $0.99 $2.02 +104% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🍞 Bread $0.71 $1.40 +97% 0.0h 0.1h Harder
⛽ Gas $1.14 $3.37 +195% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🥩 Ground Beef $1.60 $3.90 +144% 0.1h 0.2h Harder
🐔 Chicken $0.88 $1.53 +74% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🥓 Bacon $2.22 $5.78 +160% 0.2h 0.2h Harder
☕ Coffee $2.81 $4.99 +78% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
🍊 Oranges $2.58 $4.89 +90% 0.2h 0.2h Harder
⚡ Electricity $0.09 $0.14 +58% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🎓 College Tuition $2,107 $8,543 +305% 145.5h 331.1h Harder
🚗 New Car $16,362 $33,560 +105% 1129.5h 1300.9h Harder
🏠 Monthly Rent $451 $870 +93% 31.2h 33.7h Harder
🏥 Doctor Visit $34.74 $102 +192% 2.4h 3.9h Harder

📈 Got Harder to Earn

Items where labor hours increased from 1991 to 2014, sorted by magnitude.

🎓
College Tuition

145.5h → 331.1h

2.3x

harder

Gas

0.1h → 0.1h

1.7x

harder

🏥
Doctor Visit

2.4h → 3.9h

1.6x

harder

🥓
Bacon

0.2h → 0.2h

1.5x

harder

🥩
Ground Beef

0.1h → 0.2h

1.4x

harder

🚗
New Car

1129.5h → 1300.9h

1.2x

harder

🥚
Eggs

0.1h → 0.1h

1.1x

harder

🍞
Bread

0.0h → 0.1h

1.1x

harder

🏠
Monthly Rent

31.2h → 33.7h

1.1x

harder

🍊
Oranges

0.2h → 0.2h

1.1x

harder

📉 Got Easier to Earn

Items where labor hours decreased from 1991 to 2014, sorted by magnitude.

Electricity

0.0h → 0.0h

0.9x

easier

🐔
Chicken

0.1h → 0.1h

1.0x

easier

Coffee

0.2h → 0.2h

1.0x

easier

💵 Purchasing Power

If you earned the median income in 1991 ($30,130), you'd need $52,379 in 2014 to maintain the same lifestyle.

Based on CPI adjustment (136.2 → 236.7).

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