HarderToEarn.com

2002 vs 2019

The Cost of Living Comparison

Median Income

$42,410 $68,700

+62.0%

Median Home

$186,025 $320,250

+72.2%

Housing Labor

4.4yr 4.7yr

1.1x harder

📊 Full Item Comparison

Item 2002 Price 2019 Price Change Hours 2002 Hours 2019 Verdict
🥚 Eggs $1.03 $1.40 +35% 0.1h 0.0h Easier
🍞 Bread $1.02 $1.30 +28% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🥛 Milk $2.76 $3.04 +10% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
⛽ Gas $1.36 $2.64 +94% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🥩 Ground Beef $1.71 $3.81 +122% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🐔 Chicken $1.07 $1.50 +39% 0.1h 0.0h Easier
🥓 Bacon $3.24 $5.61 +73% 0.2h 0.2h Harder
☕ Coffee $2.92 $4.14 +42% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🍊 Oranges $3.73 $4.81 +29% 0.2h 0.1h Easier
🍬 Sugar $6.23 $12.06 +93% 0.3h 0.4h Harder
⚡ Electricity $0.09 $0.14 +50% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🎓 College Tuition $4,081 $9,349 +129% 200.2h 283.1h Harder
🚗 New Car $22,871 $38,723 +69% 1121.7h 1172.4h Harder
🏠 Monthly Rent $629 $1,043 +66% 30.8h 31.6h Harder
🏥 Doctor Visit $40.59 $81.15 +100% 2.0h 2.5h Harder
🎬 Movie Ticket $5.73 $8.72 +52% 0.3h 0.3h Easier

📈 Got Harder to Earn

Items where labor hours increased from 2002 to 2019, sorted by magnitude.

🎓
College Tuition

200.2h → 283.1h

1.4x

harder

🥩
Ground Beef

0.1h → 0.1h

1.4x

harder

🏥
Doctor Visit

2.0h → 2.5h

1.2x

harder

Gas

0.1h → 0.1h

1.2x

harder

🍬
Sugar

0.3h → 0.4h

1.2x

harder

🥓
Bacon

0.2h → 0.2h

1.1x

harder

🚗
New Car

1121.7h → 1172.4h

1.0x

harder

🏠
Monthly Rent

30.8h → 31.6h

1.0x

harder

📉 Got Easier to Earn

Items where labor hours decreased from 2002 to 2019, sorted by magnitude.

🥛
Milk

0.1h → 0.1h

0.7x

easier

🍞
Bread

0.0h → 0.0h

0.8x

easier

🍊
Oranges

0.2h → 0.1h

0.8x

easier

🥚
Eggs

0.1h → 0.0h

0.8x

easier

🐔
Chicken

0.1h → 0.0h

0.9x

easier

Coffee

0.1h → 0.1h

0.9x

easier

Electricity

0.0h → 0.0h

0.9x

easier

🎬
Movie Ticket

0.3h → 0.3h

0.9x

easier

💵 Purchasing Power

If you earned the median income in 2002 ($42,410), you'd need $60,279 in 2019 to maintain the same lifestyle.

Based on CPI adjustment (179.9 → 255.7).

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