HarderToEarn.com

1991 vs 2015

The Cost of Living Comparison

Median Income

$30,130 $56,520

+87.6%

Median Home

$119,975 $294,150

+145.2%

Housing Labor

4.0yr 5.2yr

1.3x harder

📊 Full Item Comparison

Item 1991 Price 2015 Price Change Hours 1991 Hours 2015 Verdict
🥚 Eggs $0.99 $2.47 +150% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🍞 Bread $0.71 $1.44 +103% 0.0h 0.1h Harder
⛽ Gas $1.14 $2.45 +115% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🥩 Ground Beef $1.60 $4.17 +161% 0.1h 0.2h Harder
🐔 Chicken $0.88 $1.49 +69% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🥓 Bacon $2.22 $5.45 +146% 0.2h 0.2h Harder
☕ Coffee $2.81 $4.72 +68% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
🍊 Oranges $2.58 $4.74 +84% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
⚡ Electricity $0.09 $0.14 +59% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🎓 College Tuition $2,107 $8,778 +317% 145.5h 323.0h Harder
🚗 New Car $16,362 $34,428 +110% 1129.5h 1267.0h Harder
🏠 Monthly Rent $451 $901 +100% 31.2h 33.2h Harder
🏥 Doctor Visit $34.74 $74.01 +113% 2.4h 2.7h Harder

📈 Got Harder to Earn

Items where labor hours increased from 1991 to 2015, sorted by magnitude.

🎓
College Tuition

145.5h → 323.0h

2.2x

harder

🥩
Ground Beef

0.1h → 0.2h

1.4x

harder

🥚
Eggs

0.1h → 0.1h

1.3x

harder

🥓
Bacon

0.2h → 0.2h

1.3x

harder

Gas

0.1h → 0.1h

1.1x

harder

🏥
Doctor Visit

2.4h → 2.7h

1.1x

harder

🚗
New Car

1129.5h → 1267.0h

1.1x

harder

🍞
Bread

0.0h → 0.1h

1.1x

harder

🏠
Monthly Rent

31.2h → 33.2h

1.1x

harder

📉 Got Easier to Earn

Items where labor hours decreased from 1991 to 2015, sorted by magnitude.

Electricity

0.0h → 0.0h

0.8x

easier

Coffee

0.2h → 0.2h

0.9x

easier

🐔
Chicken

0.1h → 0.1h

0.9x

easier

🍊
Oranges

0.2h → 0.2h

1.0x

easier

💵 Purchasing Power

If you earned the median income in 1991 ($30,130), you'd need $52,442 in 2015 to maintain the same lifestyle.

Based on CPI adjustment (136.2 → 237.0).

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