HarderToEarn.com

1993 vs 2002

The Cost of Living Comparison

Median Income

$31,240 $42,410

+35.8%

Median Home

$126,500 $186,025

+47.1%

Housing Labor

4.0yr 4.4yr

1.1x harder

📊 Full Item Comparison

Item 1993 Price 2002 Price Change Hours 1993 Hours 2002 Verdict
🥚 Eggs $0.91 $1.03 +13% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🍞 Bread $0.75 $1.02 +35% 0.1h 0.0h Easier
⛽ Gas $1.11 $1.36 +23% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🥩 Ground Beef $1.57 $1.71 +9% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🐔 Chicken $0.89 $1.07 +21% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🥓 Bacon $1.93 $3.24 +68% 0.1h 0.2h Harder
☕ Coffee $2.47 $2.92 +18% 0.2h 0.1h Easier
🍊 Oranges $2.53 $3.73 +47% 0.2h 0.2h Harder
⚡ Electricity $0.09 $0.09 -1% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🎓 College Tuition $2,537 $4,081 +61% 168.9h 200.2h Harder
🚗 New Car $17,677 $22,871 +29% 1177.0h 1121.7h Easier
🏠 Monthly Rent $474 $629 +33% 31.5h 30.8h Easier
🏥 Doctor Visit $34.24 $40.59 +19% 2.3h 2.0h Easier

📈 Got Harder to Earn

Items where labor hours increased from 1993 to 2002, sorted by magnitude.

🥓
Bacon

0.1h → 0.2h

1.2x

harder

🎓
College Tuition

168.9h → 200.2h

1.2x

harder

🍊
Oranges

0.2h → 0.2h

1.1x

harder

📉 Got Easier to Earn

Items where labor hours decreased from 1993 to 2002, sorted by magnitude.

Electricity

0.0h → 0.0h

0.7x

easier

🥩
Ground Beef

0.1h → 0.1h

0.8x

easier

🥚
Eggs

0.1h → 0.1h

0.8x

easier

Coffee

0.2h → 0.1h

0.9x

easier

🏥
Doctor Visit

2.3h → 2.0h

0.9x

easier

🐔
Chicken

0.1h → 0.1h

0.9x

easier

Gas

0.1h → 0.1h

0.9x

easier

🚗
New Car

1177.0h → 1121.7h

1.0x

easier

🏠
Monthly Rent

31.5h → 30.8h

1.0x

easier

🍞
Bread

0.1h → 0.0h

1.0x

easier

💵 Purchasing Power

If you earned the median income in 1993 ($31,240), you'd need $38,893 in 2002 to maintain the same lifestyle.

Based on CPI adjustment (144.5 → 179.9).

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