HarderToEarn.com

1992 vs 2005

The Cost of Living Comparison

Median Income

$30,640 $46,330

+51.2%

Median Home

$121,375 $236,550

+94.9%

Housing Labor

4.0yr 5.1yr

1.3x harder

📊 Full Item Comparison

Item 1992 Price 2005 Price Change Hours 1992 Hours 2005 Verdict
🥚 Eggs $0.86 $1.22 +42% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🍞 Bread $0.75 $1.04 +39% 0.1h 0.0h Easier
⛽ Gas $1.13 $2.30 +104% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🥩 Ground Beef $1.54 $2.30 +49% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🐔 Chicken $0.87 $1.06 +21% 0.1h 0.0h Easier
🥓 Bacon $1.92 $3.39 +77% 0.1h 0.2h Harder
☕ Coffee $2.58 $3.26 +27% 0.2h 0.1h Easier
🍊 Oranges $2.58 $3.74 +45% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
⚡ Electricity $0.09 $0.10 +14% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🎓 College Tuition $2,349 $5,351 +128% 159.5h 240.2h Harder
🚗 New Car $17,109 $25,164 +47% 1161.4h 1129.7h Easier
🏠 Monthly Rent $463 $685 +48% 31.4h 30.7h Easier
🏥 Doctor Visit $34.64 $68.19 +97% 2.4h 3.1h Harder

📈 Got Harder to Earn

Items where labor hours increased from 1992 to 2005, sorted by magnitude.

🎓
College Tuition

159.5h → 240.2h

1.5x

harder

Gas

0.1h → 0.1h

1.3x

harder

🏥
Doctor Visit

2.4h → 3.1h

1.3x

harder

🥓
Bacon

0.1h → 0.2h

1.2x

harder

📉 Got Easier to Earn

Items where labor hours decreased from 1992 to 2005, sorted by magnitude.

Electricity

0.0h → 0.0h

0.8x

easier

🐔
Chicken

0.1h → 0.0h

0.8x

easier

Coffee

0.2h → 0.1h

0.8x

easier

🍞
Bread

0.1h → 0.0h

0.9x

easier

🥚
Eggs

0.1h → 0.1h

0.9x

easier

🍊
Oranges

0.2h → 0.2h

1.0x

easier

🚗
New Car

1161.4h → 1129.7h

1.0x

easier

🏠
Monthly Rent

31.4h → 30.7h

1.0x

easier

🥩
Ground Beef

0.1h → 0.1h

1.0x

easier

💵 Purchasing Power

If you earned the median income in 1992 ($30,640), you'd need $42,642 in 2005 to maintain the same lifestyle.

Based on CPI adjustment (140.3 → 195.3).

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