HarderToEarn.com

1994 vs 2020

The Cost of Living Comparison

Median Income

$32,260 $68,010

+110.8%

Median Home

$130,425 $328,150

+151.6%

Housing Labor

4.0yr 4.8yr

1.2x harder

📊 Full Item Comparison

Item 1994 Price 2020 Price Change Hours 1994 Hours 2020 Verdict
🥚 Eggs $0.86 $1.51 +75% 0.1h 0.0h Easier
🍞 Bread $0.76 $1.45 +91% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
⛽ Gas $1.11 $2.17 +96% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🥩 Ground Beef $1.48 $4.12 +179% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🐔 Chicken $0.90 $1.56 +73% 0.1h 0.0h Easier
🥓 Bacon $1.99 $5.58 +181% 0.1h 0.2h Harder
☕ Coffee $3.40 $4.43 +30% 0.2h 0.1h Easier
🍊 Oranges $2.63 $4.92 +87% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
⚡ Electricity $0.09 $0.14 +47% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🎓 College Tuition $2,681 $9,349 +249% 172.9h 285.9h Harder
🚗 New Car $18,657 $40,107 +115% 1202.9h 1226.6h Harder
🏠 Monthly Rent $485 $1,076 +122% 31.3h 32.9h Harder
🏥 Doctor Visit $34.37 $68.24 +99% 2.2h 2.1h Easier

📈 Got Harder to Earn

Items where labor hours increased from 1994 to 2020, sorted by magnitude.

🎓
College Tuition

172.9h → 285.9h

1.7x

harder

🥓
Bacon

0.1h → 0.2h

1.3x

harder

🥩
Ground Beef

0.1h → 0.1h

1.3x

harder

🏠
Monthly Rent

31.3h → 32.9h

1.1x

harder

🚗
New Car

1202.9h → 1226.6h

1.0x

harder

📉 Got Easier to Earn

Items where labor hours decreased from 1994 to 2020, sorted by magnitude.

Coffee

0.2h → 0.1h

0.6x

easier

Electricity

0.0h → 0.0h

0.7x

easier

🐔
Chicken

0.1h → 0.0h

0.8x

easier

🥚
Eggs

0.1h → 0.0h

0.8x

easier

🍊
Oranges

0.2h → 0.2h

0.9x

easier

🍞
Bread

0.0h → 0.0h

0.9x

easier

Gas

0.1h → 0.1h

0.9x

easier

🏥
Doctor Visit

2.2h → 2.1h

0.9x

easier

💵 Purchasing Power

If you earned the median income in 1994 ($32,260), you'd need $56,338 in 2020 to maintain the same lifestyle.

Based on CPI adjustment (148.2 → 258.9).

Share on

🔗 Related Comparisons