HarderToEarn.com

1993 vs 2014

The Cost of Living Comparison

Median Income

$31,240 $53,660

+71.8%

Median Home

$126,500 $285,775

+125.9%

Housing Labor

4.0yr 5.3yr

1.3x harder

📊 Full Item Comparison

Item 1993 Price 2014 Price Change Hours 1993 Hours 2014 Verdict
🥚 Eggs $0.91 $2.02 +121% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🍞 Bread $0.75 $1.40 +86% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
⛽ Gas $1.11 $3.37 +204% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🥩 Ground Beef $1.57 $3.90 +148% 0.1h 0.2h Harder
🐔 Chicken $0.89 $1.53 +72% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🥓 Bacon $1.93 $5.78 +199% 0.1h 0.2h Harder
☕ Coffee $2.47 $4.99 +102% 0.2h 0.2h Harder
🍊 Oranges $2.53 $4.89 +93% 0.2h 0.2h Harder
⚡ Electricity $0.09 $0.14 +50% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🎓 College Tuition $2,537 $8,543 +237% 168.9h 331.1h Harder
🚗 New Car $17,677 $33,560 +90% 1177.0h 1300.9h Harder
🏠 Monthly Rent $474 $870 +84% 31.5h 33.7h Harder
🏥 Doctor Visit $34.24 $102 +197% 2.3h 3.9h Harder

📈 Got Harder to Earn

Items where labor hours increased from 1993 to 2014, sorted by magnitude.

🎓
College Tuition

168.9h → 331.1h

2.0x

harder

Gas

0.1h → 0.1h

1.8x

harder

🥓
Bacon

0.1h → 0.2h

1.7x

harder

🏥
Doctor Visit

2.3h → 3.9h

1.7x

harder

🥩
Ground Beef

0.1h → 0.2h

1.4x

harder

🥚
Eggs

0.1h → 0.1h

1.3x

harder

Coffee

0.2h → 0.2h

1.2x

harder

🍊
Oranges

0.2h → 0.2h

1.1x

harder

🚗
New Car

1177.0h → 1300.9h

1.1x

harder

🍞
Bread

0.1h → 0.1h

1.1x

harder

🏠
Monthly Rent

31.5h → 33.7h

1.1x

harder

🐔
Chicken

0.1h → 0.1h

1.0x

harder

📉 Got Easier to Earn

Items where labor hours decreased from 1993 to 2014, sorted by magnitude.

Electricity

0.0h → 0.0h

0.9x

easier

💵 Purchasing Power

If you earned the median income in 1993 ($31,240), you'd need $51,185 in 2014 to maintain the same lifestyle.

Based on CPI adjustment (144.5 → 236.7).

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