HarderToEarn.com

2005 vs 2017

The Cost of Living Comparison

Median Income

$46,330 $61,140

+32.0%

Median Home

$236,550 $322,425

+36.3%

Housing Labor

5.1yr 5.3yr

1.0x harder

📊 Full Item Comparison

Item 2005 Price 2017 Price Change Hours 2005 Hours 2017 Verdict
🥚 Eggs $1.22 $1.47 +20% 0.1h 0.0h Easier
🍞 Bread $1.04 $1.33 +28% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🥛 Milk $3.19 $3.23 +1% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
⛽ Gas $2.30 $2.41 +5% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🥩 Ground Beef $2.30 $3.64 +59% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🐔 Chicken $1.06 $1.47 +39% 0.0h 0.1h Harder
🥓 Bacon $3.39 $5.77 +70% 0.2h 0.2h Harder
☕ Coffee $3.26 $4.45 +36% 0.1h 0.2h Harder
🍊 Oranges $3.74 $4.69 +25% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
🍬 Sugar $7.77 $12.66 +63% 0.3h 0.4h Harder
⚡ Electricity $0.10 $0.14 +38% 0.0h 0.0h Harder
🎓 College Tuition $5,351 $9,037 +69% 240.2h 307.4h Harder
🚗 New Car $25,164 $36,113 +44% 1129.7h 1228.6h Harder
🏠 Monthly Rent $685 $971 +42% 30.7h 33.0h Harder
🏥 Doctor Visit $68.19 $74.24 +9% 3.1h 2.5h Easier
🎬 Movie Ticket $6.42 $8.40 +31% 0.3h 0.3h Easier

📈 Got Harder to Earn

Items where labor hours increased from 2005 to 2017, sorted by magnitude.

🥓
Bacon

0.2h → 0.2h

1.3x

harder

🎓
College Tuition

240.2h → 307.4h

1.3x

harder

🍬
Sugar

0.3h → 0.4h

1.2x

harder

🥩
Ground Beef

0.1h → 0.1h

1.2x

harder

🚗
New Car

1129.7h → 1228.6h

1.1x

harder

🏠
Monthly Rent

30.7h → 33.0h

1.1x

harder

🐔
Chicken

0.0h → 0.1h

1.1x

harder

Electricity

0.0h → 0.0h

1.0x

harder

Coffee

0.1h → 0.2h

1.0x

harder

📉 Got Easier to Earn

Items where labor hours decreased from 2005 to 2017, sorted by magnitude.

🥛
Milk

0.1h → 0.1h

0.8x

easier

Gas

0.1h → 0.1h

0.8x

easier

🏥
Doctor Visit

3.1h → 2.5h

0.8x

easier

🥚
Eggs

0.1h → 0.0h

0.9x

easier

🍊
Oranges

0.2h → 0.2h

1.0x

easier

🍞
Bread

0.0h → 0.0h

1.0x

easier

🎬
Movie Ticket

0.3h → 0.3h

1.0x

easier

💵 Purchasing Power

If you earned the median income in 2005 ($46,330), you'd need $58,159 in 2017 to maintain the same lifestyle.

Based on CPI adjustment (195.3 → 245.1).

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