HarderToEarn.com

2006 vs 2009

The Cost of Living Comparison

Median Income

$48,200 $49,780

+3.3%

Median Home

$243,750 $215,650

-11.5%

Housing Labor

5.1yr 4.3yr

1.2x easier

📊 Full Item Comparison

Item 2006 Price 2009 Price Change Hours 2006 Hours 2009 Verdict
🥚 Eggs $1.31 $1.66 +27% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🍞 Bread $1.08 $1.39 +28% 0.0h 0.1h Harder
🥛 Milk $3.08 $3.11 +1% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
⛽ Gas $2.59 $2.35 -9% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🥩 Ground Beef $2.22 $2.22 -0% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🐔 Chicken $1.05 $1.28 +22% 0.0h 0.1h Harder
🥓 Bacon $3.44 $3.61 +5% 0.1h 0.2h Harder
☕ Coffee $3.20 $3.67 +15% 0.1h 0.2h Harder
🍊 Oranges $3.75 $4.32 +15% 0.2h 0.2h Harder
🍬 Sugar $7.90 $10.07 +28% 0.3h 0.4h Harder
⚡ Electricity $0.11 $0.13 +13% 0.0h 0.0h Harder
🎓 College Tuition $5,666 $6,695 +18% 244.5h 279.7h Harder
🚗 New Car $25,950 $28,400 +9% 1119.8h 1186.7h Harder
🏠 Monthly Rent $709 $784 +11% 30.6h 32.7h Harder
🏥 Doctor Visit $76.82 $70.76 -8% 3.3h 3.0h Easier
🎬 Movie Ticket $6.65 $7.18 +8% 0.3h 0.3h Harder

📈 Got Harder to Earn

Items where labor hours increased from 2006 to 2009, sorted by magnitude.

🍞
Bread

0.0h → 0.1h

1.2x

harder

🍬
Sugar

0.3h → 0.4h

1.2x

harder

🥚
Eggs

0.1h → 0.1h

1.2x

harder

🐔
Chicken

0.0h → 0.1h

1.2x

harder

🎓
College Tuition

244.5h → 279.7h

1.1x

harder

🍊
Oranges

0.2h → 0.2h

1.1x

harder

Coffee

0.1h → 0.2h

1.1x

harder

Electricity

0.0h → 0.0h

1.1x

harder

🏠
Monthly Rent

30.6h → 32.7h

1.1x

harder

🚗
New Car

1119.8h → 1186.7h

1.1x

harder

🎬
Movie Ticket

0.3h → 0.3h

1.0x

harder

🥓
Bacon

0.1h → 0.2h

1.0x

harder

📉 Got Easier to Earn

Items where labor hours decreased from 2006 to 2009, sorted by magnitude.

Gas

0.1h → 0.1h

0.9x

easier

🏥
Doctor Visit

3.3h → 3.0h

0.9x

easier

🥩
Ground Beef

0.1h → 0.1h

1.0x

easier

🥛
Milk

0.1h → 0.1h

1.0x

easier

💵 Purchasing Power

If you earned the median income in 2006 ($48,200), you'd need $51,310 in 2009 to maintain the same lifestyle.

Based on CPI adjustment (201.6 → 214.6).

Share on

🔗 Related Comparisons