HarderToEarn.com

2006 vs 2018

The Cost of Living Comparison

Median Income

$48,200 $63,180

+31.1%

Median Home

$243,750 $325,275

+33.4%

Housing Labor

5.1yr 5.1yr

1.0x harder

📊 Full Item Comparison

Item 2006 Price 2018 Price Change Hours 2006 Hours 2018 Verdict
🥚 Eggs $1.31 $1.74 +33% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🍞 Bread $1.08 $1.29 +19% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🥛 Milk $3.08 $2.90 -6% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
⛽ Gas $2.59 $2.74 +6% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🥩 Ground Beef $2.22 $3.72 +67% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🐔 Chicken $1.05 $1.50 +43% 0.0h 0.0h Harder
🥓 Bacon $3.44 $5.47 +59% 0.1h 0.2h Harder
☕ Coffee $3.20 $4.30 +34% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🍊 Oranges $3.75 $4.74 +26% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
🍬 Sugar $7.90 $12.46 +58% 0.3h 0.4h Harder
⚡ Electricity $0.11 $0.14 +21% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🎓 College Tuition $5,666 $9,212 +63% 244.5h 303.3h Harder
🚗 New Car $25,950 $37,577 +45% 1119.8h 1237.1h Harder
🏠 Monthly Rent $709 $1,006 +42% 30.6h 33.1h Harder
🏥 Doctor Visit $76.82 $84.16 +10% 3.3h 2.8h Easier
🎬 Movie Ticket $6.65 $8.57 +29% 0.3h 0.3h Easier

📈 Got Harder to Earn

Items where labor hours increased from 2006 to 2018, sorted by magnitude.

🥩
Ground Beef

0.1h → 0.1h

1.3x

harder

🎓
College Tuition

244.5h → 303.3h

1.2x

harder

🥓
Bacon

0.1h → 0.2h

1.2x

harder

🍬
Sugar

0.3h → 0.4h

1.2x

harder

🚗
New Car

1119.8h → 1237.1h

1.1x

harder

🐔
Chicken

0.0h → 0.0h

1.1x

harder

🏠
Monthly Rent

30.6h → 33.1h

1.1x

harder

Coffee

0.1h → 0.1h

1.0x

harder

🥚
Eggs

0.1h → 0.1h

1.0x

harder

📉 Got Easier to Earn

Items where labor hours decreased from 2006 to 2018, sorted by magnitude.

🥛
Milk

0.1h → 0.1h

0.7x

easier

Gas

0.1h → 0.1h

0.8x

easier

🏥
Doctor Visit

3.3h → 2.8h

0.8x

easier

🍞
Bread

0.0h → 0.0h

0.9x

easier

Electricity

0.0h → 0.0h

0.9x

easier

🍊
Oranges

0.2h → 0.2h

1.0x

easier

🎬
Movie Ticket

0.3h → 0.3h

1.0x

easier

💵 Purchasing Power

If you earned the median income in 2006 ($48,200), you'd need $60,047 in 2018 to maintain the same lifestyle.

Based on CPI adjustment (201.6 → 251.1).

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