HarderToEarn.com

1992 vs 1999

The Cost of Living Comparison

Median Income

$30,640 $40,700

+32.8%

Median Home

$121,375 $160,125

+31.9%

Housing Labor

4.0yr 3.9yr

1.0x easier

📊 Full Item Comparison

Item 1992 Price 1999 Price Change Hours 1992 Hours 1999 Verdict
🥚 Eggs $0.86 $0.96 +12% 0.1h 0.0h Easier
🍞 Bread $0.75 $0.89 +18% 0.1h 0.0h Easier
⛽ Gas $1.13 $1.17 +3% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🥩 Ground Beef $1.54 $1.45 -6% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🐔 Chicken $0.87 $1.06 +21% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🥓 Bacon $1.92 $2.55 +33% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
☕ Coffee $2.58 $3.43 +33% 0.2h 0.2h Harder
🍊 Oranges $2.58 $3.30 +28% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
⚡ Electricity $0.09 $0.09 -2% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🎓 College Tuition $2,349 $3,356 +43% 159.5h 171.5h Harder
🚗 New Car $17,109 $21,092 +23% 1161.4h 1077.9h Easier
🏠 Monthly Rent $463 $559 +21% 31.4h 28.6h Easier
🏥 Doctor Visit $34.64 $35.05 +1% 2.4h 1.8h Easier

📈 Got Harder to Earn

Items where labor hours increased from 1992 to 1999, sorted by magnitude.

🎓
College Tuition

159.5h → 171.5h

1.1x

harder

🥓
Bacon

0.1h → 0.1h

1.0x

harder

Coffee

0.2h → 0.2h

1.0x

harder

📉 Got Easier to Earn

Items where labor hours decreased from 1992 to 1999, sorted by magnitude.

🥩
Ground Beef

0.1h → 0.1h

0.7x

easier

Electricity

0.0h → 0.0h

0.7x

easier

🏥
Doctor Visit

2.4h → 1.8h

0.8x

easier

Gas

0.1h → 0.1h

0.8x

easier

🥚
Eggs

0.1h → 0.0h

0.8x

easier

🍞
Bread

0.1h → 0.0h

0.9x

easier

🏠
Monthly Rent

31.4h → 28.6h

0.9x

easier

🐔
Chicken

0.1h → 0.1h

0.9x

easier

🚗
New Car

1161.4h → 1077.9h

0.9x

easier

🍊
Oranges

0.2h → 0.2h

1.0x

easier

💵 Purchasing Power

If you earned the median income in 1992 ($30,640), you'd need $36,378 in 1999 to maintain the same lifestyle.

Based on CPI adjustment (140.3 → 166.6).

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