HarderToEarn.com

1992 vs 2015

The Cost of Living Comparison

Median Income

$30,640 $56,520

+84.5%

Median Home

$121,375 $294,150

+142.3%

Housing Labor

4.0yr 5.2yr

1.3x harder

📊 Full Item Comparison

Item 1992 Price 2015 Price Change Hours 1992 Hours 2015 Verdict
🥚 Eggs $0.86 $2.47 +187% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🍞 Bread $0.75 $1.44 +92% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
⛽ Gas $1.13 $2.45 +117% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🥩 Ground Beef $1.54 $4.17 +170% 0.1h 0.2h Harder
🐔 Chicken $0.87 $1.49 +71% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🥓 Bacon $1.92 $5.45 +185% 0.1h 0.2h Harder
☕ Coffee $2.58 $4.72 +83% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
🍊 Oranges $2.58 $4.74 +84% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
⚡ Electricity $0.09 $0.14 +57% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🎓 College Tuition $2,349 $8,778 +274% 159.5h 323.0h Harder
🚗 New Car $17,109 $34,428 +101% 1161.4h 1267.0h Harder
🏠 Monthly Rent $463 $901 +95% 31.4h 33.2h Harder
🏥 Doctor Visit $34.64 $74.01 +114% 2.4h 2.7h Harder

📈 Got Harder to Earn

Items where labor hours increased from 1992 to 2015, sorted by magnitude.

🎓
College Tuition

159.5h → 323.0h

2.0x

harder

🥚
Eggs

0.1h → 0.1h

1.6x

harder

🥓
Bacon

0.1h → 0.2h

1.5x

harder

🥩
Ground Beef

0.1h → 0.2h

1.5x

harder

Gas

0.1h → 0.1h

1.2x

harder

🏥
Doctor Visit

2.4h → 2.7h

1.2x

harder

🚗
New Car

1161.4h → 1267.0h

1.1x

harder

🏠
Monthly Rent

31.4h → 33.2h

1.1x

harder

🍞
Bread

0.1h → 0.1h

1.0x

harder

📉 Got Easier to Earn

Items where labor hours decreased from 1992 to 2015, sorted by magnitude.

Electricity

0.0h → 0.0h

0.8x

easier

🐔
Chicken

0.1h → 0.1h

0.9x

easier

Coffee

0.2h → 0.2h

1.0x

easier

🍊
Oranges

0.2h → 0.2h

1.0x

easier

💵 Purchasing Power

If you earned the median income in 1992 ($30,640), you'd need $51,756 in 2015 to maintain the same lifestyle.

Based on CPI adjustment (140.3 → 237.0).

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