HarderToEarn.com

2001 vs 2023

The Cost of Living Comparison

Median Income

$42,230 $80,610

+90.9%

Median Home

$173,100 $426,525

+146.4%

Housing Labor

4.1yr 5.3yr

1.3x harder

📊 Full Item Comparison

Item 2001 Price 2023 Price Change Hours 2001 Hours 2023 Verdict
🥚 Eggs $0.93 $2.80 +201% 0.0h 0.1h Harder
🍞 Bread $1.00 $1.96 +96% 0.0h 0.1h Harder
🥛 Milk $2.88 $4.03 +40% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
⛽ Gas $1.46 $3.66 +150% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🥩 Ground Beef $1.71 $5.02 +193% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🐔 Chicken $1.11 $1.91 +73% 0.1h 0.0h Easier
🥓 Bacon $3.25 $6.65 +104% 0.2h 0.2h Harder
☕ Coffee $3.09 $6.16 +99% 0.2h 0.2h Harder
🍊 Oranges $3.70 $5.90 +59% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
🍬 Sugar $5.96 $13.40 +125% 0.3h 0.3h Harder
⚡ Electricity $0.09 $0.17 +82% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🎓 College Tuition $3,735 $10,209 +173% 184.0h 263.4h Harder
🚗 New Car $22,457 $47,936 +113% 1106.1h 1236.9h Harder
🏠 Monthly Rent $605 $1,259 +108% 29.8h 32.5h Harder
🏥 Doctor Visit $43.32 $109 +152% 2.1h 2.8h Harder
🎬 Movie Ticket $5.56 $10.23 +84% 0.3h 0.3h Easier

📈 Got Harder to Earn

Items where labor hours increased from 2001 to 2023, sorted by magnitude.

🥚
Eggs

0.0h → 0.1h

1.6x

harder

🥩
Ground Beef

0.1h → 0.1h

1.5x

harder

🎓
College Tuition

184.0h → 263.4h

1.4x

harder

🏥
Doctor Visit

2.1h → 2.8h

1.3x

harder

Gas

0.1h → 0.1h

1.3x

harder

🍬
Sugar

0.3h → 0.3h

1.2x

harder

🚗
New Car

1106.1h → 1236.9h

1.1x

harder

🏠
Monthly Rent

29.8h → 32.5h

1.1x

harder

🥓
Bacon

0.2h → 0.2h

1.1x

harder

Coffee

0.2h → 0.2h

1.0x

harder

🍞
Bread

0.0h → 0.1h

1.0x

harder

📉 Got Easier to Earn

Items where labor hours decreased from 2001 to 2023, 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

Electricity

0.0h → 0.0h

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 $72,682 in 2023 to maintain the same lifestyle.

Based on CPI adjustment (177.0 → 304.7).

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