HarderToEarn.com

2006 vs 2016

The Cost of Living Comparison

Median Income

$48,200 $59,040

+22.5%

Median Home

$243,750 $305,125

+25.2%

Housing Labor

5.1yr 5.2yr

1.0x harder

📊 Full Item Comparison

Item 2006 Price 2016 Price Change Hours 2006 Hours 2016 Verdict
🥚 Eggs $1.31 $1.68 +29% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🍞 Bread $1.08 $1.37 +27% 0.0h 0.0h Harder
🥛 Milk $3.08 $3.20 +4% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
⛽ Gas $2.59 $2.14 -17% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🥩 Ground Beef $2.22 $3.75 +69% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🐔 Chicken $1.05 $1.46 +39% 0.0h 0.1h Harder
🥓 Bacon $3.44 $5.42 +57% 0.1h 0.2h Harder
☕ Coffee $3.20 $4.39 +37% 0.1h 0.2h Harder
🍊 Oranges $3.75 $4.76 +27% 0.2h 0.2h Harder
🍬 Sugar $7.90 $12.33 +56% 0.3h 0.4h Harder
⚡ Electricity $0.11 $0.14 +20% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🎓 College Tuition $5,666 $8,804 +55% 244.5h 310.2h Harder
🚗 New Car $25,950 $35,309 +36% 1119.8h 1243.9h Harder
🏠 Monthly Rent $709 $935 +32% 30.6h 32.9h Harder
🏥 Doctor Visit $76.82 $65.64 -15% 3.3h 2.3h Easier
🎬 Movie Ticket $6.65 $8.18 +23% 0.3h 0.3h Harder

📈 Got Harder to Earn

Items where labor hours increased from 2006 to 2016, sorted by magnitude.

🥩
Ground Beef

0.1h → 0.1h

1.4x

harder

🥓
Bacon

0.1h → 0.2h

1.3x

harder

🍬
Sugar

0.3h → 0.4h

1.3x

harder

🎓
College Tuition

244.5h → 310.2h

1.3x

harder

🐔
Chicken

0.0h → 0.1h

1.1x

harder

Coffee

0.1h → 0.2h

1.1x

harder

🚗
New Car

1119.8h → 1243.9h

1.1x

harder

🏠
Monthly Rent

30.6h → 32.9h

1.1x

harder

🥚
Eggs

0.1h → 0.1h

1.1x

harder

🍊
Oranges

0.2h → 0.2h

1.0x

harder

🍞
Bread

0.0h → 0.0h

1.0x

harder

🎬
Movie Ticket

0.3h → 0.3h

1.0x

harder

📉 Got Easier to Earn

Items where labor hours decreased from 2006 to 2016, sorted by magnitude.

Gas

0.1h → 0.1h

0.7x

easier

🏥
Doctor Visit

3.3h → 2.3h

0.7x

easier

🥛
Milk

0.1h → 0.1h

0.8x

easier

Electricity

0.0h → 0.0h

1.0x

easier

💵 Purchasing Power

If you earned the median income in 2006 ($48,200), you'd need $57,394 in 2016 to maintain the same lifestyle.

Based on CPI adjustment (201.6 → 240.0).

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