HarderToEarn.com

1993 vs 2023

The Cost of Living Comparison

Median Income

$31,240 $80,610

+158.0%

Median Home

$126,500 $426,525

+237.2%

Housing Labor

4.0yr 5.3yr

1.3x harder

📊 Full Item Comparison

Item 1993 Price 2023 Price Change Hours 1993 Hours 2023 Verdict
🥚 Eggs $0.91 $2.80 +207% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🍞 Bread $0.75 $1.96 +161% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
⛽ Gas $1.11 $3.66 +230% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🥩 Ground Beef $1.57 $5.02 +220% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🐔 Chicken $0.89 $1.91 +115% 0.1h 0.0h Easier
🥓 Bacon $1.93 $6.65 +245% 0.1h 0.2h Harder
☕ Coffee $2.47 $6.16 +149% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
🍊 Oranges $2.53 $5.90 +133% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
⚡ Electricity $0.09 $0.17 +84% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🎓 College Tuition $2,537 $10,209 +302% 168.9h 263.4h Harder
🚗 New Car $17,677 $47,936 +171% 1177.0h 1236.9h Harder
🏠 Monthly Rent $474 $1,259 +166% 31.5h 32.5h Harder
🏥 Doctor Visit $34.24 $109 +219% 2.3h 2.8h Harder

📈 Got Harder to Earn

Items where labor hours increased from 1993 to 2023, sorted by magnitude.

🎓
College Tuition

168.9h → 263.4h

1.6x

harder

🥓
Bacon

0.1h → 0.2h

1.3x

harder

Gas

0.1h → 0.1h

1.3x

harder

🥩
Ground Beef

0.1h → 0.1h

1.2x

harder

🏥
Doctor Visit

2.3h → 2.8h

1.2x

harder

🥚
Eggs

0.1h → 0.1h

1.2x

harder

🚗
New Car

1177.0h → 1236.9h

1.1x

harder

🏠
Monthly Rent

31.5h → 32.5h

1.0x

harder

🍞
Bread

0.1h → 0.1h

1.0x

harder

📉 Got Easier to Earn

Items where labor hours decreased from 1993 to 2023, sorted by magnitude.

Electricity

0.0h → 0.0h

0.7x

easier

🐔
Chicken

0.1h → 0.0h

0.8x

easier

🍊
Oranges

0.2h → 0.2h

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 $65,887 in 2023 to maintain the same lifestyle.

Based on CPI adjustment (144.5 → 304.7).

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