HarderToEarn.com

1993 vs 1996

The Cost of Living Comparison

Median Income

$31,240 $35,490

+13.6%

Median Home

$126,500 $140,250

+10.9%

Housing Labor

4.0yr 4.0yr

1.0x easier

📊 Full Item Comparison

Item 1993 Price 1996 Price Change Hours 1993 Hours 1996 Verdict
🥚 Eggs $0.91 $1.11 +21% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🍞 Bread $0.75 $0.88 +16% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
⛽ Gas $1.11 $1.23 +11% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🥩 Ground Beef $1.57 $1.37 -13% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🐔 Chicken $0.89 $0.97 +9% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🥓 Bacon $1.93 $2.47 +28% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
☕ Coffee $2.47 $3.43 +39% 0.2h 0.2h Harder
🍊 Oranges $2.53 $2.86 +13% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
⚡ Electricity $0.09 $0.09 +3% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🎓 College Tuition $2,537 $2,975 +17% 168.9h 174.4h Harder
🚗 New Car $17,677 $19,828 +12% 1177.0h 1162.1h Easier
🏠 Monthly Rent $474 $510 +8% 31.5h 29.9h Easier
🏥 Doctor Visit $34.24 $37.05 +8% 2.3h 2.2h Easier

📈 Got Harder to Earn

Items where labor hours increased from 1993 to 1996, sorted by magnitude.

Coffee

0.2h → 0.2h

1.2x

harder

🥓
Bacon

0.1h → 0.1h

1.1x

harder

🥚
Eggs

0.1h → 0.1h

1.1x

harder

🎓
College Tuition

168.9h → 174.4h

1.0x

harder

🍞
Bread

0.1h → 0.1h

1.0x

harder

📉 Got Easier to Earn

Items where labor hours decreased from 1993 to 1996, sorted by magnitude.

🥩
Ground Beef

0.1h → 0.1h

0.8x

easier

Electricity

0.0h → 0.0h

0.9x

easier

🏠
Monthly Rent

31.5h → 29.9h

0.9x

easier

🏥
Doctor Visit

2.3h → 2.2h

1.0x

easier

🐔
Chicken

0.1h → 0.1h

1.0x

easier

Gas

0.1h → 0.1h

1.0x

easier

🚗
New Car

1177.0h → 1162.1h

1.0x

easier

🍊
Oranges

0.2h → 0.2h

1.0x

easier

💵 Purchasing Power

If you earned the median income in 1993 ($31,240), you'd need $33,918 in 1996 to maintain the same lifestyle.

Based on CPI adjustment (144.5 → 156.9).

Share on

🔗 Related Comparisons