HarderToEarn.com

2003 vs 2013

The Cost of Living Comparison

Median Income

$43,320 $53,590

+23.7%

Median Home

$192,125 $266,225

+38.6%

Housing Labor

4.4yr 5.0yr

1.1x harder

📊 Full Item Comparison

Item 2003 Price 2013 Price Change Hours 2003 Hours 2013 Verdict
🥚 Eggs $1.24 $1.91 +53% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🍞 Bread $1.00 $1.41 +41% 0.0h 0.1h Harder
🥛 Milk $2.76 $3.46 +25% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
⛽ Gas $1.59 $3.53 +122% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🥩 Ground Beef $1.95 $3.40 +74% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🐔 Chicken $1.03 $1.50 +45% 0.0h 0.1h Harder
🥓 Bacon $3.20 $5.29 +65% 0.2h 0.2h Harder
☕ Coffee $2.92 $5.45 +87% 0.1h 0.2h Harder
🍊 Oranges $3.81 $4.99 +31% 0.2h 0.2h Harder
🍬 Sugar $6.39 $10.72 +68% 0.3h 0.4h Harder
⚡ Electricity $0.09 $0.13 +42% 0.0h 0.0h Harder
🎓 College Tuition $4,587 $8,312 +81% 220.2h 322.6h Harder
🚗 New Car $23,282 $32,086 +38% 1117.9h 1245.4h Harder
🏠 Monthly Rent $647 $843 +30% 31.1h 32.7h Harder
🏥 Doctor Visit $47.43 $106 +123% 2.3h 4.1h Harder
🎬 Movie Ticket $6.03 $7.59 +26% 0.3h 0.3h Harder

📈 Got Harder to Earn

Items where labor hours increased from 2003 to 2013, sorted by magnitude.

🏥
Doctor Visit

2.3h → 4.1h

1.8x

harder

Gas

0.1h → 0.1h

1.8x

harder

Coffee

0.1h → 0.2h

1.5x

harder

🎓
College Tuition

220.2h → 322.6h

1.5x

harder

🥩
Ground Beef

0.1h → 0.1h

1.4x

harder

🍬
Sugar

0.3h → 0.4h

1.4x

harder

🥓
Bacon

0.2h → 0.2h

1.3x

harder

🥚
Eggs

0.1h → 0.1h

1.2x

harder

🐔
Chicken

0.0h → 0.1h

1.2x

harder

Electricity

0.0h → 0.0h

1.2x

harder

🍞
Bread

0.0h → 0.1h

1.1x

harder

🚗
New Car

1117.9h → 1245.4h

1.1x

harder

🍊
Oranges

0.2h → 0.2h

1.1x

harder

🏠
Monthly Rent

31.1h → 32.7h

1.1x

harder

🎬
Movie Ticket

0.3h → 0.3h

1.0x

harder

🥛
Milk

0.1h → 0.1h

1.0x

harder

💵 Purchasing Power

If you earned the median income in 2003 ($43,320), you'd need $54,845 in 2013 to maintain the same lifestyle.

Based on CPI adjustment (184.0 → 233.0).

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