HarderToEarn.com

1999 vs 2001

The Cost of Living Comparison

Median Income

$40,700 $42,230

+3.8%

Median Home

$160,125 $173,100

+8.1%

Housing Labor

3.9yr 4.1yr

1.0x harder

📊 Full Item Comparison

Item 1999 Price 2001 Price Change Hours 1999 Hours 2001 Verdict
🥚 Eggs $0.96 $0.93 -3% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🍞 Bread $0.89 $1.00 +13% 0.0h 0.0h Harder
🥛 Milk $2.84 $2.88 +1% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
⛽ Gas $1.17 $1.46 +25% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🥩 Ground Beef $1.45 $1.71 +18% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🐔 Chicken $1.06 $1.11 +5% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🥓 Bacon $2.55 $3.25 +28% 0.1h 0.2h Harder
☕ Coffee $3.43 $3.09 -10% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
🍊 Oranges $3.30 $3.70 +12% 0.2h 0.2h Harder
🍬 Sugar $5.24 $5.96 +14% 0.3h 0.3h Harder
⚡ Electricity $0.09 $0.09 +7% 0.0h 0.0h Harder
🎓 College Tuition $3,356 $3,735 +11% 171.5h 184.0h Harder
🚗 New Car $21,092 $22,457 +6% 1077.9h 1106.1h Harder
🏠 Monthly Rent $559 $605 +8% 28.6h 29.8h Harder
🏥 Doctor Visit $35.05 $43.32 +24% 1.8h 2.1h Harder
🎬 Movie Ticket $5.03 $5.56 +10% 0.3h 0.3h Harder

📈 Got Harder to Earn

Items where labor hours increased from 1999 to 2001, sorted by magnitude.

🥓
Bacon

0.1h → 0.2h

1.2x

harder

Gas

0.1h → 0.1h

1.2x

harder

🏥
Doctor Visit

1.8h → 2.1h

1.2x

harder

🥩
Ground Beef

0.1h → 0.1h

1.1x

harder

🍬
Sugar

0.3h → 0.3h

1.1x

harder

🍞
Bread

0.0h → 0.0h

1.1x

harder

🍊
Oranges

0.2h → 0.2h

1.1x

harder

🎓
College Tuition

171.5h → 184.0h

1.1x

harder

🎬
Movie Ticket

0.3h → 0.3h

1.1x

harder

🏠
Monthly Rent

28.6h → 29.8h

1.0x

harder

Electricity

0.0h → 0.0h

1.0x

harder

🚗
New Car

1077.9h → 1106.1h

1.0x

harder

🐔
Chicken

0.1h → 0.1h

1.0x

harder

📉 Got Easier to Earn

Items where labor hours decreased from 1999 to 2001, sorted by magnitude.

Coffee

0.2h → 0.2h

0.9x

easier

🥚
Eggs

0.0h → 0.0h

0.9x

easier

🥛
Milk

0.1h → 0.1h

1.0x

easier

💵 Purchasing Power

If you earned the median income in 1999 ($40,700), you'd need $43,255 in 2001 to maintain the same lifestyle.

Based on CPI adjustment (166.6 → 177.0).

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