HarderToEarn.com

2001 vs 2007

The Cost of Living Comparison

Median Income

$42,230 $50,230

+18.9%

Median Home

$173,100 $244,950

+41.5%

Housing Labor

4.1yr 4.9yr

1.2x harder

📊 Full Item Comparison

Item 2001 Price 2007 Price Change Hours 2001 Hours 2007 Verdict
🥚 Eggs $0.93 $1.68 +80% 0.0h 0.1h Harder
🍞 Bread $1.00 $1.21 +21% 0.0h 0.0h Harder
🥛 Milk $2.88 $3.50 +21% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
⛽ Gas $1.46 $2.80 +92% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🥩 Ground Beef $1.71 $2.30 +34% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🐔 Chicken $1.11 $1.12 +1% 0.1h 0.0h Easier
🥓 Bacon $3.25 $3.66 +12% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
☕ Coffee $3.09 $3.47 +12% 0.2h 0.1h Easier
🍊 Oranges $3.70 $3.95 +7% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
🍬 Sugar $5.96 $8.55 +43% 0.3h 0.4h Harder
⚡ Electricity $0.09 $0.12 +26% 0.0h 0.0h Harder
🎓 College Tuition $3,735 $5,943 +59% 184.0h 246.1h Harder
🚗 New Car $22,457 $27,026 +20% 1106.1h 1119.1h Harder
🏠 Monthly Rent $605 $739 +22% 29.8h 30.6h Harder
🏥 Doctor Visit $43.32 $83.31 +92% 2.1h 3.4h Harder
🎬 Movie Ticket $5.56 $6.91 +24% 0.3h 0.3h Harder

📈 Got Harder to Earn

Items where labor hours increased from 2001 to 2007, sorted by magnitude.

🏥
Doctor Visit

2.1h → 3.4h

1.6x

harder

Gas

0.1h → 0.1h

1.6x

harder

🥚
Eggs

0.0h → 0.1h

1.5x

harder

🎓
College Tuition

184.0h → 246.1h

1.3x

harder

🍬
Sugar

0.3h → 0.4h

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

🥛
Milk

0.1h → 0.1h

1.0x

harder

🍞
Bread

0.0h → 0.0h

1.0x

harder

🚗
New Car

1106.1h → 1119.1h

1.0x

harder

📉 Got Easier to Earn

Items where labor hours decreased from 2001 to 2007, 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 → 0.2h

0.9x

easier

💵 Purchasing Power

If you earned the median income in 2001 ($42,230), you'd need $49,458 in 2007 to maintain the same lifestyle.

Based on CPI adjustment (177.0 → 207.3).

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