HarderToEarn.com

1993 vs 2012

The Cost of Living Comparison

Median Income

$31,240 $51,020

+63.3%

Median Home

$126,500 $244,400

+93.2%

Housing Labor

4.0yr 4.8yr

1.2x harder

📊 Full Item Comparison

Item 1993 Price 2012 Price Change Hours 1993 Hours 2012 Verdict
🥚 Eggs $0.91 $1.84 +102% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🍞 Bread $0.75 $1.42 +88% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
⛽ Gas $1.11 $3.64 +229% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🥩 Ground Beef $1.57 $3.03 +93% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🐔 Chicken $0.89 $1.42 +60% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🥓 Bacon $1.93 $4.56 +136% 0.1h 0.2h Harder
☕ Coffee $2.47 $5.68 +130% 0.2h 0.2h Harder
🍊 Oranges $2.53 $5.04 +99% 0.2h 0.2h Harder
⚡ Electricity $0.09 $0.13 +41% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🎓 College Tuition $2,537 $8,070 +218% 168.9h 329.0h Harder
🚗 New Car $17,677 $31,252 +77% 1177.0h 1274.1h Harder
🏠 Monthly Rent $474 $820 +73% 31.5h 33.4h Harder
🏥 Doctor Visit $34.24 $109 +218% 2.3h 4.4h Harder

📈 Got Harder to Earn

Items where labor hours increased from 1993 to 2012, sorted by magnitude.

Gas

0.1h → 0.1h

2.0x

harder

🏥
Doctor Visit

2.3h → 4.4h

1.9x

harder

🎓
College Tuition

168.9h → 329.0h

1.9x

harder

🥓
Bacon

0.1h → 0.2h

1.4x

harder

Coffee

0.2h → 0.2h

1.4x

harder

🥚
Eggs

0.1h → 0.1h

1.2x

harder

🍊
Oranges

0.2h → 0.2h

1.2x

harder

🥩
Ground Beef

0.1h → 0.1h

1.2x

harder

🍞
Bread

0.1h → 0.1h

1.2x

harder

🚗
New Car

1177.0h → 1274.1h

1.1x

harder

🏠
Monthly Rent

31.5h → 33.4h

1.1x

harder

📉 Got Easier to Earn

Items where labor hours decreased from 1993 to 2012, sorted by magnitude.

Electricity

0.0h → 0.0h

0.9x

easier

🐔
Chicken

0.1h → 0.1h

1.0x

easier

💵 Purchasing Power

If you earned the median income in 1993 ($31,240), you'd need $49,644 in 2012 to maintain the same lifestyle.

Based on CPI adjustment (144.5 → 229.6).

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