HarderToEarn.com

2002 vs 2022

The Cost of Living Comparison

Median Income

$42,410 $74,580

+75.9%

Median Home

$186,025 $432,950

+132.7%

Housing Labor

4.4yr 5.8yr

1.3x harder

📊 Full Item Comparison

Item 2002 Price 2022 Price Change Hours 2002 Hours 2022 Verdict
🥚 Eggs $1.03 $2.86 +177% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🍞 Bread $1.02 $1.70 +67% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🥛 Milk $2.76 $4.09 +48% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
⛽ Gas $1.36 $4.09 +202% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🥩 Ground Beef $1.71 $4.81 +181% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🐔 Chicken $1.07 $1.80 +68% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🥓 Bacon $3.24 $7.31 +126% 0.2h 0.2h Harder
☕ Coffee $2.92 $5.89 +101% 0.1h 0.2h Harder
🍊 Oranges $3.73 $5.43 +45% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
🍬 Sugar $6.23 $13.48 +116% 0.3h 0.4h Harder
⚡ Electricity $0.09 $0.16 +74% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🎓 College Tuition $4,081 $9,750 +139% 200.2h 271.9h Harder
🚗 New Car $22,871 $48,008 +110% 1121.7h 1338.9h Harder
🏠 Monthly Rent $629 $1,166 +85% 30.8h 32.5h Harder
🏥 Doctor Visit $40.59 $121 +199% 2.0h 3.4h Harder
🎬 Movie Ticket $5.73 $9.67 +69% 0.3h 0.3h Easier

📈 Got Harder to Earn

Items where labor hours increased from 2002 to 2022, sorted by magnitude.

Gas

0.1h → 0.1h

1.7x

harder

🏥
Doctor Visit

2.0h → 3.4h

1.7x

harder

🥩
Ground Beef

0.1h → 0.1h

1.6x

harder

🥚
Eggs

0.1h → 0.1h

1.6x

harder

🎓
College Tuition

200.2h → 271.9h

1.4x

harder

🥓
Bacon

0.2h → 0.2h

1.3x

harder

🍬
Sugar

0.3h → 0.4h

1.2x

harder

🚗
New Car

1121.7h → 1338.9h

1.2x

harder

Coffee

0.1h → 0.2h

1.1x

harder

🏠
Monthly Rent

30.8h → 32.5h

1.1x

harder

📉 Got Easier to Earn

Items where labor hours decreased from 2002 to 2022, sorted by magnitude.

🍊
Oranges

0.2h → 0.2h

0.8x

easier

🥛
Milk

0.1h → 0.1h

0.8x

easier

🍞
Bread

0.0h → 0.0h

1.0x

easier

🐔
Chicken

0.1h → 0.1h

1.0x

easier

🎬
Movie Ticket

0.3h → 0.3h

1.0x

easier

Electricity

0.0h → 0.0h

1.0x

easier

💵 Purchasing Power

If you earned the median income in 2002 ($42,410), you'd need $68,997 in 2022 to maintain the same lifestyle.

Based on CPI adjustment (179.9 → 292.6).

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