HarderToEarn.com

2009 vs 2022

The Cost of Living Comparison

Median Income

$49,780 $74,580

+49.8%

Median Home

$215,650 $432,950

+100.8%

Housing Labor

4.3yr 5.8yr

1.3x harder

📊 Full Item Comparison

Item 2009 Price 2022 Price Change Hours 2009 Hours 2022 Verdict
🥚 Eggs $1.66 $2.86 +72% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🍞 Bread $1.39 $1.70 +23% 0.1h 0.0h Easier
🥛 Milk $3.11 $4.09 +32% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
⛽ Gas $2.35 $4.09 +74% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🥩 Ground Beef $2.22 $4.81 +117% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🐔 Chicken $1.28 $1.80 +41% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🥓 Bacon $3.61 $7.31 +103% 0.2h 0.2h Harder
☕ Coffee $3.67 $5.89 +61% 0.2h 0.2h Harder
🍊 Oranges $4.32 $5.43 +26% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
🍬 Sugar $10.07 $13.48 +34% 0.4h 0.4h Easier
⚡ Electricity $0.13 $0.16 +25% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🎓 College Tuition $6,695 $9,750 +46% 279.7h 271.9h Easier
🚗 New Car $28,400 $48,008 +69% 1186.7h 1338.9h Harder
🏠 Monthly Rent $784 $1,166 +49% 32.7h 32.5h Easier
🏥 Doctor Visit $70.76 $121 +72% 3.0h 3.4h Harder
🎬 Movie Ticket $7.18 $9.67 +35% 0.3h 0.3h Easier

📈 Got Harder to Earn

Items where labor hours increased from 2009 to 2022, sorted by magnitude.

🥩
Ground Beef

0.1h → 0.1h

1.4x

harder

🥓
Bacon

0.2h → 0.2h

1.4x

harder

Gas

0.1h → 0.1h

1.2x

harder

🥚
Eggs

0.1h → 0.1h

1.1x

harder

🏥
Doctor Visit

3.0h → 3.4h

1.1x

harder

🚗
New Car

1186.7h → 1338.9h

1.1x

harder

Coffee

0.2h → 0.2h

1.1x

harder

📉 Got Easier to Earn

Items where labor hours decreased from 2009 to 2022, sorted by magnitude.

🍞
Bread

0.1h → 0.0h

0.8x

easier

Electricity

0.0h → 0.0h

0.8x

easier

🍊
Oranges

0.2h → 0.2h

0.8x

easier

🥛
Milk

0.1h → 0.1h

0.9x

easier

🍬
Sugar

0.4h → 0.4h

0.9x

easier

🎬
Movie Ticket

0.3h → 0.3h

0.9x

easier

🐔
Chicken

0.1h → 0.1h

0.9x

easier

🎓
College Tuition

279.7h → 271.9h

1.0x

easier

🏠
Monthly Rent

32.7h → 32.5h

1.0x

easier

💵 Purchasing Power

If you earned the median income in 2009 ($49,780), you'd need $67,890 in 2022 to maintain the same lifestyle.

Based on CPI adjustment (214.6 → 292.6).

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