HarderToEarn.com

2001 vs 2015

The Cost of Living Comparison

Median Income

$42,230 $56,520

+33.8%

Median Home

$173,100 $294,150

+69.9%

Housing Labor

4.1yr 5.2yr

1.3x harder

📊 Full Item Comparison

Item 2001 Price 2015 Price Change Hours 2001 Hours 2015 Verdict
🥚 Eggs $0.93 $2.47 +166% 0.0h 0.1h Harder
🍞 Bread $1.00 $1.44 +44% 0.0h 0.1h Harder
🥛 Milk $2.88 $3.42 +19% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
⛽ Gas $1.46 $2.45 +68% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🥩 Ground Beef $1.71 $4.17 +143% 0.1h 0.2h Harder
🐔 Chicken $1.11 $1.49 +35% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🥓 Bacon $3.25 $5.45 +68% 0.2h 0.2h Harder
☕ Coffee $3.09 $4.72 +53% 0.2h 0.2h Harder
🍊 Oranges $3.70 $4.74 +28% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
🍬 Sugar $5.96 $12.25 +106% 0.3h 0.5h Harder
⚡ Electricity $0.09 $0.14 +50% 0.0h 0.0h Harder
🎓 College Tuition $3,735 $8,778 +135% 184.0h 323.0h Harder
🚗 New Car $22,457 $34,428 +53% 1106.1h 1267.0h Harder
🏠 Monthly Rent $605 $901 +49% 29.8h 33.2h Harder
🏥 Doctor Visit $43.32 $74.01 +71% 2.1h 2.7h Harder
🎬 Movie Ticket $5.56 $7.90 +42% 0.3h 0.3h Harder

📈 Got Harder to Earn

Items where labor hours increased from 2001 to 2015, sorted by magnitude.

🥚
Eggs

0.0h → 0.1h

2.0x

harder

🥩
Ground Beef

0.1h → 0.2h

1.8x

harder

🎓
College Tuition

184.0h → 323.0h

1.8x

harder

🍬
Sugar

0.3h → 0.5h

1.5x

harder

🏥
Doctor Visit

2.1h → 2.7h

1.3x

harder

🥓
Bacon

0.2h → 0.2h

1.3x

harder

Gas

0.1h → 0.1h

1.3x

harder

🚗
New Car

1106.1h → 1267.0h

1.1x

harder

Coffee

0.2h → 0.2h

1.1x

harder

Electricity

0.0h → 0.0h

1.1x

harder

🏠
Monthly Rent

29.8h → 33.2h

1.1x

harder

🍞
Bread

0.0h → 0.1h

1.1x

harder

🎬
Movie Ticket

0.3h → 0.3h

1.1x

harder

🐔
Chicken

0.1h → 0.1h

1.0x

harder

📉 Got Easier to Earn

Items where labor hours decreased from 2001 to 2015, sorted by magnitude.

🥛
Milk

0.1h → 0.1h

0.9x

easier

🍊
Oranges

0.2h → 0.2h

1.0x

easier

💵 Purchasing Power

If you earned the median income in 2001 ($42,230), you'd need $56,532 in 2015 to maintain the same lifestyle.

Based on CPI adjustment (177.0 → 237.0).

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