HarderToEarn.com

2001 vs 2006

The Cost of Living Comparison

Median Income

$42,230 $48,200

+14.1%

Median Home

$173,100 $243,750

+40.8%

Housing Labor

4.1yr 5.1yr

1.2x harder

📊 Full Item Comparison

Item 2001 Price 2006 Price Change Hours 2001 Hours 2006 Verdict
🥚 Eggs $0.93 $1.31 +41% 0.0h 0.1h Harder
🍞 Bread $1.00 $1.08 +8% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🥛 Milk $2.88 $3.08 +7% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
⛽ Gas $1.46 $2.59 +77% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🥩 Ground Beef $1.71 $2.22 +30% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🐔 Chicken $1.11 $1.05 -5% 0.1h 0.0h Easier
🥓 Bacon $3.25 $3.44 +6% 0.2h 0.1h Easier
☕ Coffee $3.09 $3.20 +4% 0.2h 0.1h Easier
🍊 Oranges $3.70 $3.75 +1% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
🍬 Sugar $5.96 $7.90 +32% 0.3h 0.3h Harder
⚡ Electricity $0.09 $0.11 +22% 0.0h 0.0h Harder
🎓 College Tuition $3,735 $5,666 +52% 184.0h 244.5h Harder
🚗 New Car $22,457 $25,950 +16% 1106.1h 1119.8h Harder
🏠 Monthly Rent $605 $709 +17% 29.8h 30.6h Harder
🏥 Doctor Visit $43.32 $76.82 +77% 2.1h 3.3h Harder
🎬 Movie Ticket $5.56 $6.65 +20% 0.3h 0.3h Harder

📈 Got Harder to Earn

Items where labor hours increased from 2001 to 2006, sorted by magnitude.

🏥
Doctor Visit

2.1h → 3.3h

1.6x

harder

Gas

0.1h → 0.1h

1.6x

harder

🎓
College Tuition

184.0h → 244.5h

1.3x

harder

🥚
Eggs

0.0h → 0.1h

1.2x

harder

🍬
Sugar

0.3h → 0.3h

1.2x

harder

🥩
Ground Beef

0.1h → 0.1h

1.1x

harder

Electricity

0.0h → 0.0h

1.1x

harder

🎬
Movie Ticket

0.3h → 0.3h

1.0x

harder

🏠
Monthly Rent

29.8h → 30.6h

1.0x

harder

🚗
New Car

1106.1h → 1119.8h

1.0x

harder

📉 Got Easier to Earn

Items where labor hours decreased from 2001 to 2006, sorted by magnitude.

🐔
Chicken

0.1h → 0.0h

0.8x

easier

🍊
Oranges

0.2h → 0.2h

0.9x

easier

Coffee

0.2h → 0.1h

0.9x

easier

🥓
Bacon

0.2h → 0.1h

0.9x

easier

🥛
Milk

0.1h → 0.1h

0.9x

easier

🍞
Bread

0.0h → 0.0h

0.9x

easier

💵 Purchasing Power

If you earned the median income in 2001 ($42,230), you'd need $48,078 in 2006 to maintain the same lifestyle.

Based on CPI adjustment (177.0 → 201.6).

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