HarderToEarn.com

1994 vs 2000

The Cost of Living Comparison

Median Income

$32,260 $41,990

+30.2%

Median Home

$130,425 $167,550

+28.5%

Housing Labor

4.0yr 4.0yr

1.0x easier

📊 Full Item Comparison

Item 1994 Price 2000 Price Change Hours 1994 Hours 2000 Verdict
🥚 Eggs $0.86 $0.91 +6% 0.1h 0.0h Easier
🍞 Bread $0.76 $0.93 +22% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
⛽ Gas $1.11 $1.51 +36% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🥩 Ground Beef $1.48 $1.57 +6% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🐔 Chicken $0.90 $1.07 +19% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🥓 Bacon $1.99 $3.03 +52% 0.1h 0.2h Harder
☕ Coffee $3.40 $3.45 +1% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
🍊 Oranges $2.63 $3.45 +31% 0.2h 0.2h Harder
⚡ Electricity $0.09 $0.09 -5% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🎓 College Tuition $2,681 $3,501 +31% 172.9h 173.4h Harder
🚗 New Car $18,657 $21,850 +17% 1202.9h 1082.4h Easier
🏠 Monthly Rent $485 $579 +19% 31.3h 28.7h Easier
🏥 Doctor Visit $34.37 $44.99 +31% 2.2h 2.2h Harder

📈 Got Harder to Earn

Items where labor hours increased from 1994 to 2000, sorted by magnitude.

🥓
Bacon

0.1h → 0.2h

1.2x

harder

Gas

0.1h → 0.1h

1.0x

harder

🍊
Oranges

0.2h → 0.2h

1.0x

harder

🏥
Doctor Visit

2.2h → 2.2h

1.0x

harder

🎓
College Tuition

172.9h → 173.4h

1.0x

harder

📉 Got Easier to Earn

Items where labor hours decreased from 1994 to 2000, sorted by magnitude.

Electricity

0.0h → 0.0h

0.7x

easier

Coffee

0.2h → 0.2h

0.8x

easier

🥚
Eggs

0.1h → 0.0h

0.8x

easier

🥩
Ground Beef

0.1h → 0.1h

0.8x

easier

🚗
New Car

1202.9h → 1082.4h

0.9x

easier

🐔
Chicken

0.1h → 0.1h

0.9x

easier

🏠
Monthly Rent

31.3h → 28.7h

0.9x

easier

🍞
Bread

0.0h → 0.0h

0.9x

easier

💵 Purchasing Power

If you earned the median income in 1994 ($32,260), you'd need $37,476 in 2000 to maintain the same lifestyle.

Based on CPI adjustment (148.2 → 172.2).

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