HarderToEarn.com

1994 vs 2001

The Cost of Living Comparison

Median Income

$32,260 $42,230

+30.9%

Median Home

$130,425 $173,100

+32.7%

Housing Labor

4.0yr 4.1yr

1.0x harder

📊 Full Item Comparison

Item 1994 Price 2001 Price Change Hours 1994 Hours 2001 Verdict
🥚 Eggs $0.86 $0.93 +8% 0.1h 0.0h Easier
🍞 Bread $0.76 $1.00 +31% 0.0h 0.0h Harder
⛽ Gas $1.11 $1.46 +31% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🥩 Ground Beef $1.48 $1.71 +16% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🐔 Chicken $0.90 $1.11 +23% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🥓 Bacon $1.99 $3.25 +64% 0.1h 0.2h Harder
☕ Coffee $3.40 $3.09 -9% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
🍊 Oranges $2.63 $3.70 +41% 0.2h 0.2h Harder
⚡ Electricity $0.09 $0.09 +0% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🎓 College Tuition $2,681 $3,735 +39% 172.9h 184.0h Harder
🚗 New Car $18,657 $22,457 +20% 1202.9h 1106.1h Easier
🏠 Monthly Rent $485 $605 +25% 31.3h 29.8h Easier
🏥 Doctor Visit $34.37 $43.32 +26% 2.2h 2.1h Easier

📈 Got Harder to Earn

Items where labor hours increased from 1994 to 2001, sorted by magnitude.

🥓
Bacon

0.1h → 0.2h

1.2x

harder

🍊
Oranges

0.2h → 0.2h

1.1x

harder

🎓
College Tuition

172.9h → 184.0h

1.1x

harder

Gas

0.1h → 0.1h

1.0x

harder

🍞
Bread

0.0h → 0.0h

1.0x

harder

📉 Got Easier to Earn

Items where labor hours decreased from 1994 to 2001, sorted by magnitude.

Coffee

0.2h → 0.2h

0.7x

easier

Electricity

0.0h → 0.0h

0.8x

easier

🥚
Eggs

0.1h → 0.0h

0.8x

easier

🥩
Ground Beef

0.1h → 0.1h

0.9x

easier

🚗
New Car

1202.9h → 1106.1h

0.9x

easier

🐔
Chicken

0.1h → 0.1h

0.9x

easier

🏠
Monthly Rent

31.3h → 29.8h

1.0x

easier

🏥
Doctor Visit

2.2h → 2.1h

1.0x

easier

💵 Purchasing Power

If you earned the median income in 1994 ($32,260), you'd need $38,532 in 2001 to maintain the same lifestyle.

Based on CPI adjustment (148.2 → 177.0).

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