HarderToEarn.com

2012 vs 2015

The Cost of Living Comparison

Median Income

$51,020 $56,520

+10.8%

Median Home

$244,400 $294,150

+20.4%

Housing Labor

4.8yr 5.2yr

1.1x harder

📊 Full Item Comparison

Item 2012 Price 2015 Price Change Hours 2012 Hours 2015 Verdict
🥚 Eggs $1.84 $2.47 +34% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🍞 Bread $1.42 $1.44 +2% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🥛 Milk $3.49 $3.42 -2% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
⛽ Gas $3.64 $2.45 -33% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🥩 Ground Beef $3.03 $4.17 +38% 0.1h 0.2h Harder
🐔 Chicken $1.42 $1.49 +5% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🥓 Bacon $4.56 $5.45 +20% 0.2h 0.2h Harder
☕ Coffee $5.68 $4.72 -17% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
🍊 Oranges $5.04 $4.74 -6% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
🍬 Sugar $10.28 $12.25 +19% 0.4h 0.5h Harder
⚡ Electricity $0.13 $0.14 +7% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🎓 College Tuition $8,070 $8,778 +9% 329.0h 323.0h Easier
🚗 New Car $31,252 $34,428 +10% 1274.1h 1267.0h Easier
🏠 Monthly Rent $820 $901 +10% 33.4h 33.2h Easier
🏥 Doctor Visit $109 $74.01 -32% 4.4h 2.7h Easier
🎬 Movie Ticket $7.51 $7.90 +5% 0.3h 0.3h Easier

📈 Got Harder to Earn

Items where labor hours increased from 2012 to 2015, sorted by magnitude.

🥩
Ground Beef

0.1h → 0.2h

1.2x

harder

🥚
Eggs

0.1h → 0.1h

1.2x

harder

🥓
Bacon

0.2h → 0.2h

1.1x

harder

🍬
Sugar

0.4h → 0.5h

1.1x

harder

📉 Got Easier to Earn

Items where labor hours decreased from 2012 to 2015, sorted by magnitude.

Gas

0.1h → 0.1h

0.6x

easier

🏥
Doctor Visit

4.4h → 2.7h

0.6x

easier

Coffee

0.2h → 0.2h

0.8x

easier

🍊
Oranges

0.2h → 0.2h

0.8x

easier

🥛
Milk

0.1h → 0.1h

0.9x

easier

🍞
Bread

0.1h → 0.1h

0.9x

easier

🐔
Chicken

0.1h → 0.1h

0.9x

easier

🎬
Movie Ticket

0.3h → 0.3h

0.9x

easier

Electricity

0.0h → 0.0h

1.0x

easier

🎓
College Tuition

329.0h → 323.0h

1.0x

easier

🏠
Monthly Rent

33.4h → 33.2h

1.0x

easier

🚗
New Car

1274.1h → 1267.0h

1.0x

easier

💵 Purchasing Power

If you earned the median income in 2012 ($51,020), you'd need $52,668 in 2015 to maintain the same lifestyle.

Based on CPI adjustment (229.6 → 237.0).

Share on

🔗 Related Comparisons