HarderToEarn.com

2001 vs 2020

The Cost of Living Comparison

Median Income

$42,230 $68,010

+61.0%

Median Home

$173,100 $328,150

+89.6%

Housing Labor

4.1yr 4.8yr

1.2x harder

📊 Full Item Comparison

Item 2001 Price 2020 Price Change Hours 2001 Hours 2020 Verdict
🥚 Eggs $0.93 $1.51 +62% 0.0h 0.0h Harder
🍞 Bread $1.00 $1.45 +45% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🥛 Milk $2.88 $3.32 +15% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
⛽ Gas $1.46 $2.17 +49% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🥩 Ground Beef $1.71 $4.12 +140% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🐔 Chicken $1.11 $1.56 +41% 0.1h 0.0h Easier
🥓 Bacon $3.25 $5.58 +72% 0.2h 0.2h Harder
☕ Coffee $3.09 $4.43 +43% 0.2h 0.1h Easier
🍊 Oranges $3.70 $4.92 +33% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
🍬 Sugar $5.96 $12.42 +108% 0.3h 0.4h Harder
⚡ Electricity $0.09 $0.14 +47% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🎓 College Tuition $3,735 $9,349 +150% 184.0h 285.9h Harder
🚗 New Car $22,457 $40,107 +79% 1106.1h 1226.6h Harder
🏠 Monthly Rent $605 $1,076 +78% 29.8h 32.9h Harder
🏥 Doctor Visit $43.32 $68.24 +58% 2.1h 2.1h Easier
🎬 Movie Ticket $5.56 $8.87 +59% 0.3h 0.3h Easier

📈 Got Harder to Earn

Items where labor hours increased from 2001 to 2020, sorted by magnitude.

🎓
College Tuition

184.0h → 285.9h

1.6x

harder

🥩
Ground Beef

0.1h → 0.1h

1.5x

harder

🍬
Sugar

0.3h → 0.4h

1.3x

harder

🚗
New Car

1106.1h → 1226.6h

1.1x

harder

🏠
Monthly Rent

29.8h → 32.9h

1.1x

harder

🥓
Bacon

0.2h → 0.2h

1.1x

harder

🥚
Eggs

0.0h → 0.0h

1.0x

harder

📉 Got Easier to Earn

Items where labor hours decreased from 2001 to 2020, sorted by magnitude.

🥛
Milk

0.1h → 0.1h

0.7x

easier

🍊
Oranges

0.2h → 0.2h

0.8x

easier

🐔
Chicken

0.1h → 0.0h

0.9x

easier

Coffee

0.2h → 0.1h

0.9x

easier

🍞
Bread

0.0h → 0.0h

0.9x

easier

Electricity

0.0h → 0.0h

0.9x

easier

Gas

0.1h → 0.1h

0.9x

easier

🏥
Doctor Visit

2.1h → 2.1h

1.0x

easier

🎬
Movie Ticket

0.3h → 0.3h

1.0x

easier

💵 Purchasing Power

If you earned the median income in 2001 ($42,230), you'd need $61,745 in 2020 to maintain the same lifestyle.

Based on CPI adjustment (177.0 → 258.9).

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