HarderToEarn.com

1993 vs 2020

The Cost of Living Comparison

Median Income

$31,240 $68,010

+117.7%

Median Home

$126,500 $328,150

+159.4%

Housing Labor

4.0yr 4.8yr

1.2x harder

📊 Full Item Comparison

Item 1993 Price 2020 Price Change Hours 1993 Hours 2020 Verdict
🥚 Eggs $0.91 $1.51 +65% 0.1h 0.0h Easier
🍞 Bread $0.75 $1.45 +93% 0.1h 0.0h Easier
⛽ Gas $1.11 $2.17 +96% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🥩 Ground Beef $1.57 $4.12 +162% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🐔 Chicken $0.89 $1.56 +76% 0.1h 0.0h Easier
🥓 Bacon $1.93 $5.58 +189% 0.1h 0.2h Harder
☕ Coffee $2.47 $4.43 +79% 0.2h 0.1h Easier
🍊 Oranges $2.53 $4.92 +94% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
⚡ Electricity $0.09 $0.14 +48% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🎓 College Tuition $2,537 $9,349 +269% 168.9h 285.9h Harder
🚗 New Car $17,677 $40,107 +127% 1177.0h 1226.6h Harder
🏠 Monthly Rent $474 $1,076 +127% 31.5h 32.9h Harder
🏥 Doctor Visit $34.24 $68.24 +99% 2.3h 2.1h Easier

📈 Got Harder to Earn

Items where labor hours increased from 1993 to 2020, sorted by magnitude.

🎓
College Tuition

168.9h → 285.9h

1.7x

harder

🥓
Bacon

0.1h → 0.2h

1.3x

harder

🥩
Ground Beef

0.1h → 0.1h

1.2x

harder

🏠
Monthly Rent

31.5h → 32.9h

1.0x

harder

🚗
New Car

1177.0h → 1226.6h

1.0x

harder

📉 Got Easier to Earn

Items where labor hours decreased from 1993 to 2020, sorted by magnitude.

Electricity

0.0h → 0.0h

0.7x

easier

🥚
Eggs

0.1h → 0.0h

0.8x

easier

🐔
Chicken

0.1h → 0.0h

0.8x

easier

Coffee

0.2h → 0.1h

0.8x

easier

🍞
Bread

0.1h → 0.0h

0.9x

easier

🍊
Oranges

0.2h → 0.2h

0.9x

easier

Gas

0.1h → 0.1h

0.9x

easier

🏥
Doctor Visit

2.3h → 2.1h

0.9x

easier

💵 Purchasing Power

If you earned the median income in 1993 ($31,240), you'd need $55,973 in 2020 to maintain the same lifestyle.

Based on CPI adjustment (144.5 → 258.9).

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