HarderToEarn.com

1993 vs 1997

The Cost of Living Comparison

Median Income

$31,240 $37,010

+18.5%

Median Home

$126,500 $145,000

+14.6%

Housing Labor

4.0yr 3.9yr

1.0x easier

📊 Full Item Comparison

Item 1993 Price 1997 Price Change Hours 1993 Hours 1997 Verdict
🥚 Eggs $0.91 $1.06 +16% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🍞 Bread $0.75 $0.87 +16% 0.1h 0.0h Easier
⛽ Gas $1.11 $1.23 +11% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🥩 Ground Beef $1.57 $1.40 -11% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🐔 Chicken $0.89 $1.00 +13% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🥓 Bacon $1.93 $2.68 +39% 0.1h 0.2h Harder
☕ Coffee $2.47 $4.11 +66% 0.2h 0.2h Harder
🍊 Oranges $2.53 $2.92 +15% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
⚡ Electricity $0.09 $0.09 +3% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🎓 College Tuition $2,537 $3,111 +23% 168.9h 174.8h Harder
🚗 New Car $17,677 $20,276 +15% 1177.0h 1139.5h Easier
🏠 Monthly Rent $474 $525 +11% 31.5h 29.5h Easier
🏥 Doctor Visit $34.24 $37.03 +8% 2.3h 2.1h Easier

📈 Got Harder to Earn

Items where labor hours increased from 1993 to 1997, sorted by magnitude.

Coffee

0.2h → 0.2h

1.4x

harder

🥓
Bacon

0.1h → 0.2h

1.2x

harder

🎓
College Tuition

168.9h → 174.8h

1.0x

harder

📉 Got Easier to Earn

Items where labor hours decreased from 1993 to 1997, sorted by magnitude.

🥩
Ground Beef

0.1h → 0.1h

0.8x

easier

Electricity

0.0h → 0.0h

0.9x

easier

🏥
Doctor Visit

2.3h → 2.1h

0.9x

easier

🏠
Monthly Rent

31.5h → 29.5h

0.9x

easier

Gas

0.1h → 0.1h

0.9x

easier

🐔
Chicken

0.1h → 0.1h

1.0x

easier

🚗
New Car

1177.0h → 1139.5h

1.0x

easier

🍊
Oranges

0.2h → 0.2h

1.0x

easier

🍞
Bread

0.1h → 0.0h

1.0x

easier

🥚
Eggs

0.1h → 0.1h

1.0x

easier

💵 Purchasing Power

If you earned the median income in 1993 ($31,240), you'd need $34,711 in 1997 to maintain the same lifestyle.

Based on CPI adjustment (144.5 → 160.5).

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