HarderToEarn.com

1993 vs 1999

The Cost of Living Comparison

Median Income

$31,240 $40,700

+30.3%

Median Home

$126,500 $160,125

+26.6%

Housing Labor

4.0yr 3.9yr

1.0x easier

📊 Full Item Comparison

Item 1993 Price 1999 Price Change Hours 1993 Hours 1999 Verdict
🥚 Eggs $0.91 $0.96 +5% 0.1h 0.0h Easier
🍞 Bread $0.75 $0.89 +18% 0.1h 0.0h Easier
⛽ Gas $1.11 $1.17 +5% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🥩 Ground Beef $1.57 $1.45 -7% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🐔 Chicken $0.89 $1.06 +19% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🥓 Bacon $1.93 $2.55 +32% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
☕ Coffee $2.47 $3.43 +39% 0.2h 0.2h Harder
🍊 Oranges $2.53 $3.30 +30% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
⚡ Electricity $0.09 $0.09 -6% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🎓 College Tuition $2,537 $3,356 +32% 168.9h 171.5h Harder
🚗 New Car $17,677 $21,092 +19% 1177.0h 1077.9h Easier
🏠 Monthly Rent $474 $559 +18% 31.5h 28.6h Easier
🏥 Doctor Visit $34.24 $35.05 +2% 2.3h 1.8h Easier

📈 Got Harder to Earn

Items where labor hours increased from 1993 to 1999, sorted by magnitude.

Coffee

0.2h → 0.2h

1.1x

harder

🎓
College Tuition

168.9h → 171.5h

1.0x

harder

🥓
Bacon

0.1h → 0.1h

1.0x

harder

📉 Got Easier to Earn

Items where labor hours decreased from 1993 to 1999, sorted by magnitude.

🥩
Ground Beef

0.1h → 0.1h

0.7x

easier

Electricity

0.0h → 0.0h

0.7x

easier

🏥
Doctor Visit

2.3h → 1.8h

0.8x

easier

Gas

0.1h → 0.1h

0.8x

easier

🥚
Eggs

0.1h → 0.0h

0.8x

easier

🍞
Bread

0.1h → 0.0h

0.9x

easier

🏠
Monthly Rent

31.5h → 28.6h

0.9x

easier

🐔
Chicken

0.1h → 0.1h

0.9x

easier

🚗
New Car

1177.0h → 1077.9h

0.9x

easier

🍊
Oranges

0.2h → 0.2h

1.0x

easier

💵 Purchasing Power

If you earned the median income in 1993 ($31,240), you'd need $36,021 in 1999 to maintain the same lifestyle.

Based on CPI adjustment (144.5 → 166.6).

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