HarderToEarn.com

2005 vs 2011

The Cost of Living Comparison

Median Income

$46,330 $50,050

+8.0%

Median Home

$236,550 $224,900

-4.9%

Housing Labor

5.1yr 4.5yr

1.1x easier

📊 Full Item Comparison

Item 2005 Price 2011 Price Change Hours 2005 Hours 2011 Verdict
🥚 Eggs $1.22 $1.77 +45% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🍞 Bread $1.04 $1.44 +39% 0.0h 0.1h Harder
🥛 Milk $3.19 $3.57 +12% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
⛽ Gas $2.30 $3.53 +54% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🥩 Ground Beef $2.30 $2.77 +21% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🐔 Chicken $1.06 $1.29 +22% 0.0h 0.1h Harder
🥓 Bacon $3.39 $4.63 +36% 0.2h 0.2h Harder
☕ Coffee $3.26 $5.19 +59% 0.1h 0.2h Harder
🍊 Oranges $3.74 $4.93 +32% 0.2h 0.2h Harder
🍬 Sugar $7.77 $9.93 +28% 0.3h 0.4h Harder
⚡ Electricity $0.10 $0.13 +30% 0.0h 0.0h Harder
🎓 College Tuition $5,351 $7,713 +44% 240.2h 320.5h Harder
🚗 New Car $25,164 $30,659 +22% 1129.7h 1274.1h Harder
🏠 Monthly Rent $685 $799 +17% 30.7h 33.2h Harder
🏥 Doctor Visit $68.19 $105 +55% 3.1h 4.4h Harder
🎬 Movie Ticket $6.42 $7.36 +15% 0.3h 0.3h Harder

📈 Got Harder to Earn

Items where labor hours increased from 2005 to 2011, sorted by magnitude.

Coffee

0.1h → 0.2h

1.5x

harder

🏥
Doctor Visit

3.1h → 4.4h

1.4x

harder

Gas

0.1h → 0.1h

1.4x

harder

🥚
Eggs

0.1h → 0.1h

1.3x

harder

🎓
College Tuition

240.2h → 320.5h

1.3x

harder

🍞
Bread

0.0h → 0.1h

1.3x

harder

🥓
Bacon

0.2h → 0.2h

1.3x

harder

🍊
Oranges

0.2h → 0.2h

1.2x

harder

Electricity

0.0h → 0.0h

1.2x

harder

🍬
Sugar

0.3h → 0.4h

1.2x

harder

🐔
Chicken

0.0h → 0.1h

1.1x

harder

🚗
New Car

1129.7h → 1274.1h

1.1x

harder

🥩
Ground Beef

0.1h → 0.1h

1.1x

harder

🏠
Monthly Rent

30.7h → 33.2h

1.1x

harder

🎬
Movie Ticket

0.3h → 0.3h

1.1x

harder

🥛
Milk

0.1h → 0.1h

1.0x

harder

💵 Purchasing Power

If you earned the median income in 2005 ($46,330), you'd need $53,366 in 2011 to maintain the same lifestyle.

Based on CPI adjustment (195.3 → 224.9).

Share on

🔗 Related Comparisons