HarderToEarn.com

1994 vs 2013

The Cost of Living Comparison

Median Income

$32,260 $53,590

+66.1%

Median Home

$130,425 $266,225

+104.1%

Housing Labor

4.0yr 5.0yr

1.2x harder

📊 Full Item Comparison

Item 1994 Price 2013 Price Change Hours 1994 Hours 2013 Verdict
🥚 Eggs $0.86 $1.91 +121% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🍞 Bread $0.76 $1.41 +85% 0.0h 0.1h Harder
⛽ Gas $1.11 $3.53 +217% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🥩 Ground Beef $1.48 $3.40 +130% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🐔 Chicken $0.90 $1.50 +66% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🥓 Bacon $1.99 $5.29 +166% 0.1h 0.2h Harder
☕ Coffee $3.40 $5.45 +60% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
🍊 Oranges $2.63 $4.99 +90% 0.2h 0.2h Harder
⚡ Electricity $0.09 $0.13 +44% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🎓 College Tuition $2,681 $8,312 +210% 172.9h 322.6h Harder
🚗 New Car $18,657 $32,086 +72% 1202.9h 1245.4h Harder
🏠 Monthly Rent $485 $843 +74% 31.3h 32.7h Harder
🏥 Doctor Visit $34.37 $106 +208% 2.2h 4.1h Harder

📈 Got Harder to Earn

Items where labor hours increased from 1994 to 2013, sorted by magnitude.

Gas

0.1h → 0.1h

1.9x

harder

🎓
College Tuition

172.9h → 322.6h

1.9x

harder

🏥
Doctor Visit

2.2h → 4.1h

1.9x

harder

🥓
Bacon

0.1h → 0.2h

1.6x

harder

🥩
Ground Beef

0.1h → 0.1h

1.4x

harder

🥚
Eggs

0.1h → 0.1h

1.3x

harder

🍊
Oranges

0.2h → 0.2h

1.1x

harder

🍞
Bread

0.0h → 0.1h

1.1x

harder

🏠
Monthly Rent

31.3h → 32.7h

1.0x

harder

🚗
New Car

1202.9h → 1245.4h

1.0x

harder

📉 Got Easier to Earn

Items where labor hours decreased from 1994 to 2013, sorted by magnitude.

Electricity

0.0h → 0.0h

0.9x

easier

Coffee

0.2h → 0.2h

1.0x

easier

🐔
Chicken

0.1h → 0.1h

1.0x

easier

💵 Purchasing Power

If you earned the median income in 1994 ($32,260), you'd need $50,700 in 2013 to maintain the same lifestyle.

Based on CPI adjustment (148.2 → 233.0).

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