1998 vs Today
The purchasing power of the median household has collapsed. See the data from 1998 below.
1998
Median Income
$38,890
House Price
$151,925
Today
Median Income
$83,730
House Price
$418,975
Cost of Living: 1998 Prices
🛒 Food & Groceries
🥚 Eggs
→1998
$1.04
Today
$3.17
Labor ×
1.4x
per dozen
🍞 Bread
→1998
$0.86
Today
$1.97
Labor ×
1.1x
per loaf
🥛 Milk
→1998
$2.70
Today
$3.98
Labor ×
0.7x
per gallon
🥩 Ground Beef
→1998
$1.41
Today
$5.39
Labor ×
1.8x
per lb
🐔 Chicken
→1998
$1.04
Today
$2.00
Labor ×
0.9x
per lb
🥓 Bacon
→1998
$2.54
Today
$6.78
Labor ×
1.2x
per lb
☕ Coffee
→1998
$3.77
Today
$6.32
Labor ×
0.8x
per lb
🍊 Oranges
→1998
$3.13
Today
$6.13
Labor ×
0.9x
per lb
🍬 Sugar
→1998
$5.07
Today
$13.73
Labor ×
1.3x
per lb
🏠 Housing & Utilities
🚗 Transportation
🎬 Entertainment
Salary Purchasing Power
The median income in 1998 was $38,890. Adjusted for inflation, that's equivalent to $74,841 today.
See full salary reality check for 1998 →