HarderToEarn.com

1993 vs 2015

The Cost of Living Comparison

Median Income

$31,240 $56,520

+80.9%

Median Home

$126,500 $294,150

+132.5%

Housing Labor

4.0yr 5.2yr

1.3x harder

📊 Full Item Comparison

Item 1993 Price 2015 Price Change Hours 1993 Hours 2015 Verdict
🥚 Eggs $0.91 $2.47 +171% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🍞 Bread $0.75 $1.44 +92% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
⛽ Gas $1.11 $2.45 +121% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🥩 Ground Beef $1.57 $4.17 +166% 0.1h 0.2h Harder
🐔 Chicken $0.89 $1.49 +67% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🥓 Bacon $1.93 $5.45 +182% 0.1h 0.2h Harder
☕ Coffee $2.47 $4.72 +91% 0.2h 0.2h Harder
🍊 Oranges $2.53 $4.74 +87% 0.2h 0.2h Harder
⚡ Electricity $0.09 $0.14 +51% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🎓 College Tuition $2,537 $8,778 +246% 168.9h 323.0h Harder
🚗 New Car $17,677 $34,428 +95% 1177.0h 1267.0h Harder
🏠 Monthly Rent $474 $901 +90% 31.5h 33.2h Harder
🏥 Doctor Visit $34.24 $74.01 +116% 2.3h 2.7h Harder

📈 Got Harder to Earn

Items where labor hours increased from 1993 to 2015, sorted by magnitude.

🎓
College Tuition

168.9h → 323.0h

1.9x

harder

🥓
Bacon

0.1h → 0.2h

1.6x

harder

🥚
Eggs

0.1h → 0.1h

1.5x

harder

🥩
Ground Beef

0.1h → 0.2h

1.5x

harder

Gas

0.1h → 0.1h

1.2x

harder

🏥
Doctor Visit

2.3h → 2.7h

1.2x

harder

🚗
New Car

1177.0h → 1267.0h

1.1x

harder

🍞
Bread

0.1h → 0.1h

1.1x

harder

Coffee

0.2h → 0.2h

1.1x

harder

🏠
Monthly Rent

31.5h → 33.2h

1.1x

harder

🍊
Oranges

0.2h → 0.2h

1.0x

harder

📉 Got Easier to Earn

Items where labor hours decreased from 1993 to 2015, sorted by magnitude.

Electricity

0.0h → 0.0h

0.8x

easier

🐔
Chicken

0.1h → 0.1h

0.9x

easier

💵 Purchasing Power

If you earned the median income in 1993 ($31,240), you'd need $51,247 in 2015 to maintain the same lifestyle.

Based on CPI adjustment (144.5 → 237.0).

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