HarderToEarn.com

1992 vs 2002

The Cost of Living Comparison

Median Income

$30,640 $42,410

+38.4%

Median Home

$121,375 $186,025

+53.3%

Housing Labor

4.0yr 4.4yr

1.1x harder

📊 Full Item Comparison

Item 1992 Price 2002 Price Change Hours 1992 Hours 2002 Verdict
🥚 Eggs $0.86 $1.03 +20% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🍞 Bread $0.75 $1.02 +35% 0.1h 0.0h Easier
⛽ Gas $1.13 $1.36 +21% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🥩 Ground Beef $1.54 $1.71 +11% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🐔 Chicken $0.87 $1.07 +24% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🥓 Bacon $1.92 $3.24 +69% 0.1h 0.2h Harder
☕ Coffee $2.58 $2.92 +13% 0.2h 0.1h Easier
🍊 Oranges $2.58 $3.73 +45% 0.2h 0.2h Harder
⚡ Electricity $0.09 $0.09 +3% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🎓 College Tuition $2,349 $4,081 +74% 159.5h 200.2h Harder
🚗 New Car $17,109 $22,871 +34% 1161.4h 1121.7h Easier
🏠 Monthly Rent $463 $629 +36% 31.4h 30.8h Easier
🏥 Doctor Visit $34.64 $40.59 +17% 2.4h 2.0h Easier

📈 Got Harder to Earn

Items where labor hours increased from 1992 to 2002, sorted by magnitude.

🎓
College Tuition

159.5h → 200.2h

1.3x

harder

🥓
Bacon

0.1h → 0.2h

1.2x

harder

🍊
Oranges

0.2h → 0.2h

1.0x

harder

📉 Got Easier to Earn

Items where labor hours decreased from 1992 to 2002, sorted by magnitude.

Electricity

0.0h → 0.0h

0.7x

easier

🥩
Ground Beef

0.1h → 0.1h

0.8x

easier

Coffee

0.2h → 0.1h

0.8x

easier

🏥
Doctor Visit

2.4h → 2.0h

0.8x

easier

🥚
Eggs

0.1h → 0.1h

0.9x

easier

Gas

0.1h → 0.1h

0.9x

easier

🐔
Chicken

0.1h → 0.1h

0.9x

easier

🚗
New Car

1161.4h → 1121.7h

1.0x

easier

🍞
Bread

0.1h → 0.0h

1.0x

easier

🏠
Monthly Rent

31.4h → 30.8h

1.0x

easier

💵 Purchasing Power

If you earned the median income in 1992 ($30,640), you'd need $39,279 in 2002 to maintain the same lifestyle.

Based on CPI adjustment (140.3 → 179.9).

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