HarderToEarn.com

1995 vs 1999

The Cost of Living Comparison

Median Income

$34,080 $40,700

+19.4%

Median Home

$133,475 $160,125

+20.0%

Housing Labor

3.9yr 3.9yr

1.0x harder

📊 Full Item Comparison

Item 1995 Price 1999 Price Change Hours 1995 Hours 1999 Verdict
🥚 Eggs $0.92 $0.96 +4% 0.1h 0.0h Easier
🍞 Bread $0.79 $0.89 +12% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🥛 Milk $2.48 $2.84 +14% 0.2h 0.1h Easier
⛽ Gas $1.15 $1.17 +2% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🥩 Ground Beef $1.37 $1.45 +6% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🐔 Chicken $0.92 $1.06 +15% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🥓 Bacon $1.99 $2.55 +28% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
☕ Coffee $4.04 $3.43 -15% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
🍊 Oranges $2.65 $3.30 +24% 0.2h 0.2h Harder
🍬 Sugar $4.57 $5.24 +15% 0.3h 0.3h Easier
⚡ Electricity $0.09 $0.09 -8% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🎓 College Tuition $2,811 $3,356 +19% 171.6h 171.5h Easier
🚗 New Car $18,916 $21,092 +12% 1154.5h 1077.9h Easier
🏠 Monthly Rent $497 $559 +12% 30.3h 28.6h Easier
🏥 Doctor Visit $34.93 $35.05 +0% 2.1h 1.8h Easier

📈 Got Harder to Earn

Items where labor hours increased from 1995 to 1999, sorted by magnitude.

🥓
Bacon

0.1h → 0.1h

1.1x

harder

🍊
Oranges

0.2h → 0.2h

1.0x

harder

📉 Got Easier to Earn

Items where labor hours decreased from 1995 to 1999, sorted by magnitude.

Coffee

0.2h → 0.2h

0.7x

easier

Electricity

0.0h → 0.0h

0.8x

easier

🏥
Doctor Visit

2.1h → 1.8h

0.8x

easier

Gas

0.1h → 0.1h

0.9x

easier

🥚
Eggs

0.1h → 0.0h

0.9x

easier

🥩
Ground Beef

0.1h → 0.1h

0.9x

easier

🚗
New Car

1154.5h → 1077.9h

0.9x

easier

🍞
Bread

0.0h → 0.0h

0.9x

easier

🏠
Monthly Rent

30.3h → 28.6h

0.9x

easier

🥛
Milk

0.2h → 0.1h

1.0x

easier

🍬
Sugar

0.3h → 0.3h

1.0x

easier

🐔
Chicken

0.1h → 0.1h

1.0x

easier

🎓
College Tuition

171.6h → 171.5h

1.0x

easier

💵 Purchasing Power

If you earned the median income in 1995 ($34,080), you'd need $37,256 in 1999 to maintain the same lifestyle.

Based on CPI adjustment (152.4 → 166.6).

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