HarderToEarn.com

1991 vs 2022

The Cost of Living Comparison

Median Income

$30,130 $74,580

+147.5%

Median Home

$119,975 $432,950

+260.9%

Housing Labor

4.0yr 5.8yr

1.5x harder

📊 Full Item Comparison

Item 1991 Price 2022 Price Change Hours 1991 Hours 2022 Verdict
🥚 Eggs $0.99 $2.86 +189% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🍞 Bread $0.71 $1.70 +140% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
⛽ Gas $1.14 $4.09 +259% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🥩 Ground Beef $1.60 $4.81 +202% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🐔 Chicken $0.88 $1.80 +105% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🥓 Bacon $2.22 $7.31 +229% 0.2h 0.2h Harder
☕ Coffee $2.81 $5.89 +110% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
🍊 Oranges $2.58 $5.43 +111% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
⚡ Electricity $0.09 $0.16 +83% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🎓 College Tuition $2,107 $9,750 +363% 145.5h 271.9h Harder
🚗 New Car $16,362 $48,008 +193% 1129.5h 1338.9h Harder
🏠 Monthly Rent $451 $1,166 +158% 31.2h 32.5h Harder
🏥 Doctor Visit $34.74 $121 +249% 2.4h 3.4h Harder

📈 Got Harder to Earn

Items where labor hours increased from 1991 to 2022, sorted by magnitude.

🎓
College Tuition

145.5h → 271.9h

1.9x

harder

Gas

0.1h → 0.1h

1.5x

harder

🏥
Doctor Visit

2.4h → 3.4h

1.4x

harder

🥓
Bacon

0.2h → 0.2h

1.3x

harder

🥩
Ground Beef

0.1h → 0.1h

1.2x

harder

🚗
New Car

1129.5h → 1338.9h

1.2x

harder

🥚
Eggs

0.1h → 0.1h

1.2x

harder

🏠
Monthly Rent

31.2h → 32.5h

1.0x

harder

📉 Got Easier to Earn

Items where labor hours decreased from 1991 to 2022, sorted by magnitude.

Electricity

0.0h → 0.0h

0.7x

easier

🐔
Chicken

0.1h → 0.1h

0.8x

easier

Coffee

0.2h → 0.2h

0.8x

easier

🍊
Oranges

0.2h → 0.2h

0.9x

easier

🍞
Bread

0.0h → 0.0h

1.0x

easier

💵 Purchasing Power

If you earned the median income in 1991 ($30,130), you'd need $64,750 in 2022 to maintain the same lifestyle.

Based on CPI adjustment (136.2 → 292.6).

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