HarderToEarn.com

1994 vs 2010

The Cost of Living Comparison

Median Income

$32,260 $49,280

+52.8%

Median Home

$130,425 $222,700

+70.7%

Housing Labor

4.0yr 4.5yr

1.1x harder

📊 Full Item Comparison

Item 1994 Price 2010 Price Change Hours 1994 Hours 2010 Verdict
🥚 Eggs $0.86 $1.66 +92% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🍞 Bread $0.76 $1.37 +81% 0.0h 0.1h Harder
⛽ Gas $1.11 $2.79 +151% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🥩 Ground Beef $1.48 $2.37 +60% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🐔 Chicken $0.90 $1.26 +40% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🥓 Bacon $1.99 $4.11 +106% 0.1h 0.2h Harder
☕ Coffee $3.40 $3.91 +15% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
🍊 Oranges $2.63 $4.46 +70% 0.2h 0.2h Harder
⚡ Electricity $0.09 $0.13 +39% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🎓 College Tuition $2,681 $7,136 +166% 172.9h 301.2h Harder
🚗 New Car $18,657 $29,217 +57% 1202.9h 1233.2h Harder
🏠 Monthly Rent $485 $786 +62% 31.3h 33.2h Harder
🏥 Doctor Visit $34.37 $83.69 +143% 2.2h 3.5h Harder

📈 Got Harder to Earn

Items where labor hours increased from 1994 to 2010, sorted by magnitude.

🎓
College Tuition

172.9h → 301.2h

1.7x

harder

Gas

0.1h → 0.1h

1.6x

harder

🏥
Doctor Visit

2.2h → 3.5h

1.6x

harder

🥓
Bacon

0.1h → 0.2h

1.4x

harder

🥚
Eggs

0.1h → 0.1h

1.3x

harder

🍞
Bread

0.0h → 0.1h

1.2x

harder

🍊
Oranges

0.2h → 0.2h

1.1x

harder

🏠
Monthly Rent

31.3h → 33.2h

1.1x

harder

🥩
Ground Beef

0.1h → 0.1h

1.0x

harder

🚗
New Car

1202.9h → 1233.2h

1.0x

harder

📉 Got Easier to Earn

Items where labor hours decreased from 1994 to 2010, sorted by magnitude.

Coffee

0.2h → 0.2h

0.8x

easier

Electricity

0.0h → 0.0h

0.9x

easier

🐔
Chicken

0.1h → 0.1h

0.9x

easier

💵 Purchasing Power

If you earned the median income in 1994 ($32,260), you'd need $47,463 in 2010 to maintain the same lifestyle.

Based on CPI adjustment (148.2 → 218.1).

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