HarderToEarn.com

1993 vs 2022

The Cost of Living Comparison

Median Income

$31,240 $74,580

+138.7%

Median Home

$126,500 $432,950

+242.3%

Housing Labor

4.0yr 5.8yr

1.4x harder

📊 Full Item Comparison

Item 1993 Price 2022 Price Change Hours 1993 Hours 2022 Verdict
🥚 Eggs $0.91 $2.86 +213% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🍞 Bread $0.75 $1.70 +126% 0.1h 0.0h Easier
⛽ Gas $1.11 $4.09 +269% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🥩 Ground Beef $1.57 $4.81 +207% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🐔 Chicken $0.89 $1.80 +102% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🥓 Bacon $1.93 $7.31 +278% 0.1h 0.2h Harder
☕ Coffee $2.47 $5.89 +138% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
🍊 Oranges $2.53 $5.43 +114% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
⚡ Electricity $0.09 $0.16 +73% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🎓 College Tuition $2,537 $9,750 +284% 168.9h 271.9h Harder
🚗 New Car $17,677 $48,008 +172% 1177.0h 1338.9h Harder
🏠 Monthly Rent $474 $1,166 +146% 31.5h 32.5h Harder
🏥 Doctor Visit $34.24 $121 +255% 2.3h 3.4h Harder

📈 Got Harder to Earn

Items where labor hours increased from 1993 to 2022, sorted by magnitude.

🎓
College Tuition

168.9h → 271.9h

1.6x

harder

🥓
Bacon

0.1h → 0.2h

1.6x

harder

Gas

0.1h → 0.1h

1.5x

harder

🏥
Doctor Visit

2.3h → 3.4h

1.5x

harder

🥚
Eggs

0.1h → 0.1h

1.3x

harder

🥩
Ground Beef

0.1h → 0.1h

1.3x

harder

🚗
New Car

1177.0h → 1338.9h

1.1x

harder

🏠
Monthly Rent

31.5h → 32.5h

1.0x

harder

📉 Got Easier to Earn

Items where labor hours decreased from 1993 to 2022, sorted by magnitude.

Electricity

0.0h → 0.0h

0.7x

easier

🐔
Chicken

0.1h → 0.1h

0.8x

easier

🍊
Oranges

0.2h → 0.2h

0.9x

easier

🍞
Bread

0.1h → 0.0h

0.9x

easier

Coffee

0.2h → 0.2h

1.0x

easier

💵 Purchasing Power

If you earned the median income in 1993 ($31,240), you'd need $63,275 in 2022 to maintain the same lifestyle.

Based on CPI adjustment (144.5 → 292.6).

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