HarderToEarn.com

2005 vs 2023

The Cost of Living Comparison

Median Income

$46,330 $80,610

+74.0%

Median Home

$236,550 $426,525

+80.3%

Housing Labor

5.1yr 5.3yr

1.0x harder

📊 Full Item Comparison

Item 2005 Price 2023 Price Change Hours 2005 Hours 2023 Verdict
🥚 Eggs $1.22 $2.80 +130% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🍞 Bread $1.04 $1.96 +88% 0.0h 0.1h Harder
🥛 Milk $3.19 $4.03 +26% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
⛽ Gas $2.30 $3.66 +59% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🥩 Ground Beef $2.30 $5.02 +119% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🐔 Chicken $1.06 $1.91 +81% 0.0h 0.0h Harder
🥓 Bacon $3.39 $6.65 +96% 0.2h 0.2h Harder
☕ Coffee $3.26 $6.16 +89% 0.1h 0.2h Harder
🍊 Oranges $3.74 $5.90 +58% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
🍬 Sugar $7.77 $13.40 +72% 0.3h 0.3h Easier
⚡ Electricity $0.10 $0.17 +68% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🎓 College Tuition $5,351 $10,209 +91% 240.2h 263.4h Harder
🚗 New Car $25,164 $47,936 +90% 1129.7h 1236.9h Harder
🏠 Monthly Rent $685 $1,259 +84% 30.7h 32.5h Harder
🏥 Doctor Visit $68.19 $109 +60% 3.1h 2.8h Easier
🎬 Movie Ticket $6.42 $10.23 +59% 0.3h 0.3h Easier

📈 Got Harder to Earn

Items where labor hours increased from 2005 to 2023, sorted by magnitude.

🥚
Eggs

0.1h → 0.1h

1.3x

harder

🥩
Ground Beef

0.1h → 0.1h

1.3x

harder

🥓
Bacon

0.2h → 0.2h

1.1x

harder

🎓
College Tuition

240.2h → 263.4h

1.1x

harder

🚗
New Car

1129.7h → 1236.9h

1.1x

harder

Coffee

0.1h → 0.2h

1.1x

harder

🍞
Bread

0.0h → 0.1h

1.1x

harder

🏠
Monthly Rent

30.7h → 32.5h

1.1x

harder

🐔
Chicken

0.0h → 0.0h

1.0x

harder

📉 Got Easier to Earn

Items where labor hours decreased from 2005 to 2023, sorted by magnitude.

🥛
Milk

0.1h → 0.1h

0.7x

easier

🍊
Oranges

0.2h → 0.2h

0.9x

easier

🎬
Movie Ticket

0.3h → 0.3h

0.9x

easier

Gas

0.1h → 0.1h

0.9x

easier

🏥
Doctor Visit

3.1h → 2.8h

0.9x

easier

Electricity

0.0h → 0.0h

1.0x

easier

🍬
Sugar

0.3h → 0.3h

1.0x

easier

💵 Purchasing Power

If you earned the median income in 2005 ($46,330), you'd need $72,296 in 2023 to maintain the same lifestyle.

Based on CPI adjustment (195.3 → 304.7).

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