HarderToEarn.com

2006 vs 2021

The Cost of Living Comparison

Median Income

$48,200 $70,780

+46.8%

Median Home

$243,750 $383,000

+57.1%

Housing Labor

5.1yr 5.4yr

1.1x harder

📊 Full Item Comparison

Item 2006 Price 2021 Price Change Hours 2006 Hours 2021 Verdict
🥚 Eggs $1.31 $1.67 +28% 0.1h 0.0h Easier
🍞 Bread $1.08 $1.52 +41% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🥛 Milk $3.08 $3.54 +15% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
⛽ Gas $2.59 $3.05 +18% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🥩 Ground Beef $2.22 $4.33 +95% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🐔 Chicken $1.05 $1.53 +45% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🥓 Bacon $3.44 $6.64 +93% 0.1h 0.2h Harder
☕ Coffee $3.20 $4.71 +47% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🍊 Oranges $3.75 $4.89 +30% 0.2h 0.1h Easier
🍬 Sugar $7.90 $13.19 +67% 0.3h 0.4h Harder
⚡ Electricity $0.11 $0.14 +25% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🎓 College Tuition $5,666 $9,375 +65% 244.5h 275.5h Harder
🚗 New Car $25,950 $42,258 +63% 1119.8h 1241.8h Harder
🏠 Monthly Rent $709 $1,100 +55% 30.6h 32.3h Harder
🏥 Doctor Visit $76.82 $92.47 +20% 3.3h 2.7h Easier
🎬 Movie Ticket $6.65 $9.12 +37% 0.3h 0.3h Easier

📈 Got Harder to Earn

Items where labor hours increased from 2006 to 2021, sorted by magnitude.

🥩
Ground Beef

0.1h → 0.1h

1.3x

harder

🥓
Bacon

0.1h → 0.2h

1.3x

harder

🍬
Sugar

0.3h → 0.4h

1.1x

harder

🎓
College Tuition

244.5h → 275.5h

1.1x

harder

🚗
New Car

1119.8h → 1241.8h

1.1x

harder

🏠
Monthly Rent

30.6h → 32.3h

1.1x

harder

Coffee

0.1h → 0.1h

1.0x

harder

📉 Got Easier to Earn

Items where labor hours decreased from 2006 to 2021, sorted by magnitude.

🥛
Milk

0.1h → 0.1h

0.8x

easier

Gas

0.1h → 0.1h

0.8x

easier

🏥
Doctor Visit

3.3h → 2.7h

0.8x

easier

Electricity

0.0h → 0.0h

0.9x

easier

🥚
Eggs

0.1h → 0.0h

0.9x

easier

🍊
Oranges

0.2h → 0.1h

0.9x

easier

🎬
Movie Ticket

0.3h → 0.3h

0.9x

easier

🍞
Bread

0.0h → 0.0h

1.0x

easier

🐔
Chicken

0.0h → 0.0h

1.0x

easier

💵 Purchasing Power

If you earned the median income in 2006 ($48,200), you'd need $64,798 in 2021 to maintain the same lifestyle.

Based on CPI adjustment (201.6 → 271.0).

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