HarderToEarn.com

1992 vs 2014

The Cost of Living Comparison

Median Income

$30,640 $53,660

+75.1%

Median Home

$121,375 $285,775

+135.4%

Housing Labor

4.0yr 5.3yr

1.3x harder

📊 Full Item Comparison

Item 1992 Price 2014 Price Change Hours 1992 Hours 2014 Verdict
🥚 Eggs $0.86 $2.02 +135% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🍞 Bread $0.75 $1.40 +87% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
⛽ Gas $1.13 $3.37 +199% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🥩 Ground Beef $1.54 $3.90 +153% 0.1h 0.2h Harder
🐔 Chicken $0.87 $1.53 +76% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🥓 Bacon $1.92 $5.78 +202% 0.1h 0.2h Harder
☕ Coffee $2.58 $4.99 +94% 0.2h 0.2h Harder
🍊 Oranges $2.58 $4.89 +89% 0.2h 0.2h Harder
⚡ Electricity $0.09 $0.14 +56% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🎓 College Tuition $2,349 $8,543 +264% 159.5h 331.1h Harder
🚗 New Car $17,109 $33,560 +96% 1161.4h 1300.9h Harder
🏠 Monthly Rent $463 $870 +88% 31.4h 33.7h Harder
🏥 Doctor Visit $34.64 $102 +193% 2.4h 3.9h Harder

📈 Got Harder to Earn

Items where labor hours increased from 1992 to 2014, sorted by magnitude.

🎓
College Tuition

159.5h → 331.1h

2.1x

harder

🥓
Bacon

0.1h → 0.2h

1.7x

harder

Gas

0.1h → 0.1h

1.7x

harder

🏥
Doctor Visit

2.4h → 3.9h

1.7x

harder

🥩
Ground Beef

0.1h → 0.2h

1.4x

harder

🥚
Eggs

0.1h → 0.1h

1.3x

harder

🚗
New Car

1161.4h → 1300.9h

1.1x

harder

Coffee

0.2h → 0.2h

1.1x

harder

🍊
Oranges

0.2h → 0.2h

1.1x

harder

🏠
Monthly Rent

31.4h → 33.7h

1.1x

harder

🍞
Bread

0.1h → 0.1h

1.1x

harder

🐔
Chicken

0.1h → 0.1h

1.0x

harder

📉 Got Easier to Earn

Items where labor hours decreased from 1992 to 2014, sorted by magnitude.

Electricity

0.0h → 0.0h

0.9x

easier

💵 Purchasing Power

If you earned the median income in 1992 ($30,640), you'd need $51,693 in 2014 to maintain the same lifestyle.

Based on CPI adjustment (140.3 → 236.7).

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