HarderToEarn.com

2002 vs 2014

The Cost of Living Comparison

Median Income

$42,410 $53,660

+26.5%

Median Home

$186,025 $285,775

+53.6%

Housing Labor

4.4yr 5.3yr

1.2x harder

📊 Full Item Comparison

Item 2002 Price 2014 Price Change Hours 2002 Hours 2014 Verdict
🥚 Eggs $1.03 $2.02 +96% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🍞 Bread $1.02 $1.40 +38% 0.0h 0.1h Harder
🥛 Milk $2.76 $3.69 +34% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
⛽ Gas $1.36 $3.37 +148% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🥩 Ground Beef $1.71 $3.90 +128% 0.1h 0.2h Harder
🐔 Chicken $1.07 $1.53 +43% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🥓 Bacon $3.24 $5.78 +78% 0.2h 0.2h Harder
☕ Coffee $2.92 $4.99 +71% 0.1h 0.2h Harder
🍊 Oranges $3.73 $4.89 +31% 0.2h 0.2h Harder
🍬 Sugar $6.23 $11.70 +88% 0.3h 0.5h Harder
⚡ Electricity $0.09 $0.14 +51% 0.0h 0.0h Harder
🎓 College Tuition $4,081 $8,543 +109% 200.2h 331.1h Harder
🚗 New Car $22,871 $33,560 +47% 1121.7h 1300.9h Harder
🏠 Monthly Rent $629 $870 +38% 30.8h 33.7h Harder
🏥 Doctor Visit $40.59 $102 +150% 2.0h 3.9h Harder
🎬 Movie Ticket $5.73 $7.73 +35% 0.3h 0.3h Harder

📈 Got Harder to Earn

Items where labor hours increased from 2002 to 2014, sorted by magnitude.

🏥
Doctor Visit

2.0h → 3.9h

2.0x

harder

Gas

0.1h → 0.1h

2.0x

harder

🥩
Ground Beef

0.1h → 0.2h

1.8x

harder

🎓
College Tuition

200.2h → 331.1h

1.7x

harder

🥚
Eggs

0.1h → 0.1h

1.5x

harder

🍬
Sugar

0.3h → 0.5h

1.5x

harder

🥓
Bacon

0.2h → 0.2h

1.4x

harder

Coffee

0.1h → 0.2h

1.3x

harder

Electricity

0.0h → 0.0h

1.2x

harder

🚗
New Car

1121.7h → 1300.9h

1.2x

harder

🐔
Chicken

0.1h → 0.1h

1.1x

harder

🏠
Monthly Rent

30.8h → 33.7h

1.1x

harder

🍞
Bread

0.0h → 0.1h

1.1x

harder

🎬
Movie Ticket

0.3h → 0.3h

1.1x

harder

🥛
Milk

0.1h → 0.1h

1.1x

harder

🍊
Oranges

0.2h → 0.2h

1.0x

harder

💵 Purchasing Power

If you earned the median income in 2002 ($42,410), you'd need $55,814 in 2014 to maintain the same lifestyle.

Based on CPI adjustment (179.9 → 236.7).

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