HarderToEarn.com

1992 vs 2011

The Cost of Living Comparison

Median Income

$30,640 $50,050

+63.3%

Median Home

$121,375 $224,900

+85.3%

Housing Labor

4.0yr 4.5yr

1.1x harder

📊 Full Item Comparison

Item 1992 Price 2011 Price Change Hours 1992 Hours 2011 Verdict
🥚 Eggs $0.86 $1.77 +106% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🍞 Bread $0.75 $1.44 +93% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
⛽ Gas $1.13 $3.53 +213% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🥩 Ground Beef $1.54 $2.77 +80% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🐔 Chicken $0.87 $1.29 +49% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🥓 Bacon $1.92 $4.63 +142% 0.1h 0.2h Harder
☕ Coffee $2.58 $5.19 +101% 0.2h 0.2h Harder
🍊 Oranges $2.58 $4.93 +91% 0.2h 0.2h Harder
⚡ Electricity $0.09 $0.13 +47% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🎓 College Tuition $2,349 $7,713 +228% 159.5h 320.5h Harder
🚗 New Car $17,109 $30,659 +79% 1161.4h 1274.1h Harder
🏠 Monthly Rent $463 $799 +73% 31.4h 33.2h Harder
🏥 Doctor Visit $34.64 $105 +204% 2.4h 4.4h Harder

📈 Got Harder to Earn

Items where labor hours increased from 1992 to 2011, sorted by magnitude.

🎓
College Tuition

159.5h → 320.5h

2.0x

harder

Gas

0.1h → 0.1h

1.9x

harder

🏥
Doctor Visit

2.4h → 4.4h

1.9x

harder

🥓
Bacon

0.1h → 0.2h

1.5x

harder

🥚
Eggs

0.1h → 0.1h

1.3x

harder

Coffee

0.2h → 0.2h

1.2x

harder

🍞
Bread

0.1h → 0.1h

1.2x

harder

🍊
Oranges

0.2h → 0.2h

1.2x

harder

🥩
Ground Beef

0.1h → 0.1h

1.1x

harder

🚗
New Car

1161.4h → 1274.1h

1.1x

harder

🏠
Monthly Rent

31.4h → 33.2h

1.1x

harder

📉 Got Easier to Earn

Items where labor hours decreased from 1992 to 2011, sorted by magnitude.

Electricity

0.0h → 0.0h

0.9x

easier

🐔
Chicken

0.1h → 0.1h

0.9x

easier

💵 Purchasing Power

If you earned the median income in 1992 ($30,640), you'd need $49,118 in 2011 to maintain the same lifestyle.

Based on CPI adjustment (140.3 → 224.9).

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