HarderToEarn.com

2005 vs 2013

The Cost of Living Comparison

Median Income

$46,330 $53,590

+15.7%

Median Home

$236,550 $266,225

+12.5%

Housing Labor

5.1yr 5.0yr

1.0x easier

📊 Full Item Comparison

Item 2005 Price 2013 Price Change Hours 2005 Hours 2013 Verdict
🥚 Eggs $1.22 $1.91 +57% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🍞 Bread $1.04 $1.41 +35% 0.0h 0.1h Harder
🥛 Milk $3.19 $3.46 +9% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
⛽ Gas $2.30 $3.53 +54% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🥩 Ground Beef $2.30 $3.40 +48% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🐔 Chicken $1.06 $1.50 +42% 0.0h 0.1h Harder
🥓 Bacon $3.39 $5.29 +56% 0.2h 0.2h Harder
☕ Coffee $3.26 $5.45 +67% 0.1h 0.2h Harder
🍊 Oranges $3.74 $4.99 +33% 0.2h 0.2h Harder
🍬 Sugar $7.77 $10.72 +38% 0.3h 0.4h Harder
⚡ Electricity $0.10 $0.13 +32% 0.0h 0.0h Harder
🎓 College Tuition $5,351 $8,312 +55% 240.2h 322.6h Harder
🚗 New Car $25,164 $32,086 +28% 1129.7h 1245.4h Harder
🏠 Monthly Rent $685 $843 +23% 30.7h 32.7h Harder
🏥 Doctor Visit $68.19 $106 +55% 3.1h 4.1h Harder
🎬 Movie Ticket $6.42 $7.59 +18% 0.3h 0.3h Harder

📈 Got Harder to Earn

Items where labor hours increased from 2005 to 2013, sorted by magnitude.

Coffee

0.1h → 0.2h

1.4x

harder

🥚
Eggs

0.1h → 0.1h

1.4x

harder

🥓
Bacon

0.2h → 0.2h

1.3x

harder

🎓
College Tuition

240.2h → 322.6h

1.3x

harder

🏥
Doctor Visit

3.1h → 4.1h

1.3x

harder

Gas

0.1h → 0.1h

1.3x

harder

🥩
Ground Beef

0.1h → 0.1h

1.3x

harder

🐔
Chicken

0.0h → 0.1h

1.2x

harder

🍬
Sugar

0.3h → 0.4h

1.2x

harder

🍞
Bread

0.0h → 0.1h

1.2x

harder

🍊
Oranges

0.2h → 0.2h

1.2x

harder

Electricity

0.0h → 0.0h

1.1x

harder

🚗
New Car

1129.7h → 1245.4h

1.1x

harder

🏠
Monthly Rent

30.7h → 32.7h

1.1x

harder

🎬
Movie Ticket

0.3h → 0.3h

1.0x

harder

📉 Got Easier to Earn

Items where labor hours decreased from 2005 to 2013, sorted by magnitude.

🥛
Milk

0.1h → 0.1h

0.9x

easier

💵 Purchasing Power

If you earned the median income in 2005 ($46,330), you'd need $55,271 in 2013 to maintain the same lifestyle.

Based on CPI adjustment (195.3 → 233.0).

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