HarderToEarn.com

1993 vs 2005

The Cost of Living Comparison

Median Income

$31,240 $46,330

+48.3%

Median Home

$126,500 $236,550

+87.0%

Housing Labor

4.0yr 5.1yr

1.3x harder

📊 Full Item Comparison

Item 1993 Price 2005 Price Change Hours 1993 Hours 2005 Verdict
🥚 Eggs $0.91 $1.22 +34% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🍞 Bread $0.75 $1.04 +38% 0.1h 0.0h Easier
⛽ Gas $1.11 $2.30 +107% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🥩 Ground Beef $1.57 $2.30 +46% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🐔 Chicken $0.89 $1.06 +19% 0.1h 0.0h Easier
🥓 Bacon $1.93 $3.39 +76% 0.1h 0.2h Harder
☕ Coffee $2.47 $3.26 +32% 0.2h 0.1h Easier
🍊 Oranges $2.53 $3.74 +48% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
⚡ Electricity $0.09 $0.10 +9% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🎓 College Tuition $2,537 $5,351 +111% 168.9h 240.2h Harder
🚗 New Car $17,677 $25,164 +42% 1177.0h 1129.7h Easier
🏠 Monthly Rent $474 $685 +45% 31.5h 30.7h Easier
🏥 Doctor Visit $34.24 $68.19 +99% 2.3h 3.1h Harder

📈 Got Harder to Earn

Items where labor hours increased from 1993 to 2005, sorted by magnitude.

🎓
College Tuition

168.9h → 240.2h

1.4x

harder

Gas

0.1h → 0.1h

1.4x

harder

🏥
Doctor Visit

2.3h → 3.1h

1.3x

harder

🥓
Bacon

0.1h → 0.2h

1.2x

harder

📉 Got Easier to Earn

Items where labor hours decreased from 1993 to 2005, sorted by magnitude.

Electricity

0.0h → 0.0h

0.7x

easier

🐔
Chicken

0.1h → 0.0h

0.8x

easier

Coffee

0.2h → 0.1h

0.9x

easier

🥚
Eggs

0.1h → 0.1h

0.9x

easier

🍞
Bread

0.1h → 0.0h

0.9x

easier

🚗
New Car

1177.0h → 1129.7h

1.0x

easier

🏠
Monthly Rent

31.5h → 30.7h

1.0x

easier

🥩
Ground Beef

0.1h → 0.1h

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 $42,223 in 2005 to maintain the same lifestyle.

Based on CPI adjustment (144.5 → 195.3).

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