HarderToEarn.com

2000 vs 2009

The Cost of Living Comparison

Median Income

$41,990 $49,780

+18.6%

Median Home

$167,550 $215,650

+28.7%

Housing Labor

4.0yr 4.3yr

1.1x harder

📊 Full Item Comparison

Item 2000 Price 2009 Price Change Hours 2000 Hours 2009 Verdict
🥚 Eggs $0.91 $1.66 +82% 0.0h 0.1h Harder
🍞 Bread $0.93 $1.39 +49% 0.0h 0.1h Harder
🥛 Milk $2.78 $3.11 +12% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
⛽ Gas $1.51 $2.35 +56% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🥩 Ground Beef $1.57 $2.22 +41% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🐔 Chicken $1.07 $1.28 +19% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🥓 Bacon $3.03 $3.61 +19% 0.2h 0.2h Harder
☕ Coffee $3.45 $3.67 +6% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
🍊 Oranges $3.45 $4.32 +25% 0.2h 0.2h Harder
🍬 Sugar $5.41 $10.07 +86% 0.3h 0.4h Harder
⚡ Electricity $0.09 $0.13 +46% 0.0h 0.0h Harder
🎓 College Tuition $3,501 $6,695 +91% 173.4h 279.7h Harder
🚗 New Car $21,850 $28,400 +30% 1082.4h 1186.7h Harder
🏠 Monthly Rent $579 $784 +35% 28.7h 32.7h Harder
🏥 Doctor Visit $44.99 $70.76 +57% 2.2h 3.0h Harder
🎬 Movie Ticket $5.36 $7.18 +34% 0.3h 0.3h Harder

📈 Got Harder to Earn

Items where labor hours increased from 2000 to 2009, sorted by magnitude.

🎓
College Tuition

173.4h → 279.7h

1.6x

harder

🍬
Sugar

0.3h → 0.4h

1.6x

harder

🥚
Eggs

0.0h → 0.1h

1.5x

harder

🏥
Doctor Visit

2.2h → 3.0h

1.3x

harder

Gas

0.1h → 0.1h

1.3x

harder

🍞
Bread

0.0h → 0.1h

1.3x

harder

Electricity

0.0h → 0.0h

1.2x

harder

🥩
Ground Beef

0.1h → 0.1h

1.2x

harder

🏠
Monthly Rent

28.7h → 32.7h

1.1x

harder

🎬
Movie Ticket

0.3h → 0.3h

1.1x

harder

🚗
New Car

1082.4h → 1186.7h

1.1x

harder

🍊
Oranges

0.2h → 0.2h

1.1x

harder

🐔
Chicken

0.1h → 0.1h

1.0x

harder

🥓
Bacon

0.2h → 0.2h

1.0x

harder

📉 Got Easier to Earn

Items where labor hours decreased from 2000 to 2009, sorted by magnitude.

Coffee

0.2h → 0.2h

0.9x

easier

🥛
Milk

0.1h → 0.1h

0.9x

easier

💵 Purchasing Power

If you earned the median income in 2000 ($41,990), you'd need $52,323 in 2009 to maintain the same lifestyle.

Based on CPI adjustment (172.2 → 214.6).

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