HarderToEarn.com

1998 vs 2000

The Cost of Living Comparison

Median Income

$38,890 $41,990

+8.0%

Median Home

$151,925 $167,550

+10.3%

Housing Labor

3.9yr 4.0yr

1.0x harder

📊 Full Item Comparison

Item 1998 Price 2000 Price Change Hours 1998 Hours 2000 Verdict
🥚 Eggs $1.04 $0.91 -12% 0.1h 0.0h Easier
🍞 Bread $0.86 $0.93 +8% 0.0h 0.0h Harder
🥛 Milk $2.70 $2.78 +3% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
⛽ Gas $1.06 $1.51 +43% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🥩 Ground Beef $1.41 $1.57 +11% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🐔 Chicken $1.04 $1.07 +3% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🥓 Bacon $2.54 $3.03 +19% 0.1h 0.2h Harder
☕ Coffee $3.77 $3.45 -8% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
🍊 Oranges $3.13 $3.45 +10% 0.2h 0.2h Harder
🍬 Sugar $5.07 $5.41 +7% 0.3h 0.3h Easier
⚡ Electricity $0.09 $0.09 +0% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🎓 College Tuition $3,229 $3,501 +8% 172.7h 173.4h Harder
🚗 New Car $20,686 $21,850 +6% 1106.4h 1082.4h Easier
🏠 Monthly Rent $542 $579 +7% 29.0h 28.7h Easier
🏥 Doctor Visit $32.08 $44.99 +40% 1.7h 2.2h Harder
🎬 Movie Ticket $4.78 $5.36 +12% 0.3h 0.3h Harder

📈 Got Harder to Earn

Items where labor hours increased from 1998 to 2000, sorted by magnitude.

Gas

0.1h → 0.1h

1.3x

harder

🏥
Doctor Visit

1.7h → 2.2h

1.3x

harder

🥓
Bacon

0.1h → 0.2h

1.1x

harder

🎬
Movie Ticket

0.3h → 0.3h

1.0x

harder

🥩
Ground Beef

0.1h → 0.1h

1.0x

harder

🍊
Oranges

0.2h → 0.2h

1.0x

harder

🎓
College Tuition

172.7h → 173.4h

1.0x

harder

🍞
Bread

0.0h → 0.0h

1.0x

harder

📉 Got Easier to Earn

Items where labor hours decreased from 1998 to 2000, sorted by magnitude.

🥚
Eggs

0.1h → 0.0h

0.8x

easier

Coffee

0.2h → 0.2h

0.8x

easier

Electricity

0.0h → 0.0h

0.9x

easier

🐔
Chicken

0.1h → 0.1h

1.0x

easier

🥛
Milk

0.1h → 0.1h

1.0x

easier

🚗
New Car

1106.4h → 1082.4h

1.0x

easier

🍬
Sugar

0.3h → 0.3h

1.0x

easier

🏠
Monthly Rent

29.0h → 28.7h

1.0x

easier

💵 Purchasing Power

If you earned the median income in 1998 ($38,890), you'd need $41,081 in 2000 to maintain the same lifestyle.

Based on CPI adjustment (163.0 → 172.2).

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