HarderToEarn.com

1992 vs 2023

The Cost of Living Comparison

Median Income

$30,640 $80,610

+163.1%

Median Home

$121,375 $426,525

+251.4%

Housing Labor

4.0yr 5.3yr

1.3x harder

📊 Full Item Comparison

Item 1992 Price 2023 Price Change Hours 1992 Hours 2023 Verdict
🥚 Eggs $0.86 $2.80 +225% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🍞 Bread $0.75 $1.96 +161% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
⛽ Gas $1.13 $3.66 +225% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🥩 Ground Beef $1.54 $5.02 +226% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🐔 Chicken $0.87 $1.91 +120% 0.1h 0.0h Easier
🥓 Bacon $1.92 $6.65 +247% 0.1h 0.2h Harder
☕ Coffee $2.58 $6.16 +139% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
🍊 Oranges $2.58 $5.90 +128% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
⚡ Electricity $0.09 $0.17 +91% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🎓 College Tuition $2,349 $10,209 +335% 159.5h 263.4h Harder
🚗 New Car $17,109 $47,936 +180% 1161.4h 1236.9h Harder
🏠 Monthly Rent $463 $1,259 +172% 31.4h 32.5h Harder
🏥 Doctor Visit $34.64 $109 +215% 2.4h 2.8h Harder

📈 Got Harder to Earn

Items where labor hours increased from 1992 to 2023, sorted by magnitude.

🎓
College Tuition

159.5h → 263.4h

1.7x

harder

🥓
Bacon

0.1h → 0.2h

1.3x

harder

🥩
Ground Beef

0.1h → 0.1h

1.2x

harder

🥚
Eggs

0.1h → 0.1h

1.2x

harder

Gas

0.1h → 0.1h

1.2x

harder

🏥
Doctor Visit

2.4h → 2.8h

1.2x

harder

🚗
New Car

1161.4h → 1236.9h

1.1x

harder

🏠
Monthly Rent

31.4h → 32.5h

1.0x

harder

📉 Got Easier to Earn

Items where labor hours decreased from 1992 to 2023, sorted by magnitude.

Electricity

0.0h → 0.0h

0.7x

easier

🐔
Chicken

0.1h → 0.0h

0.8x

easier

🍊
Oranges

0.2h → 0.2h

0.9x

easier

Coffee

0.2h → 0.2h

0.9x

easier

🍞
Bread

0.1h → 0.1h

1.0x

easier

💵 Purchasing Power

If you earned the median income in 1992 ($30,640), you'd need $66,540 in 2023 to maintain the same lifestyle.

Based on CPI adjustment (140.3 → 304.7).

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