HarderToEarn.com

2012 vs 2017

The Cost of Living Comparison

Median Income

$51,020 $61,140

+19.8%

Median Home

$244,400 $322,425

+31.9%

Housing Labor

4.8yr 5.3yr

1.1x harder

📊 Full Item Comparison

Item 2012 Price 2017 Price Change Hours 2012 Hours 2017 Verdict
🥚 Eggs $1.84 $1.47 -20% 0.1h 0.0h Easier
🍞 Bread $1.42 $1.33 -6% 0.1h 0.0h Easier
🥛 Milk $3.49 $3.23 -8% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
⛽ Gas $3.64 $2.41 -34% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🥩 Ground Beef $3.03 $3.64 +20% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🐔 Chicken $1.42 $1.47 +3% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🥓 Bacon $4.56 $5.77 +27% 0.2h 0.2h Harder
☕ Coffee $5.68 $4.45 -22% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
🍊 Oranges $5.04 $4.69 -7% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
🍬 Sugar $10.28 $12.66 +23% 0.4h 0.4h Harder
⚡ Electricity $0.13 $0.14 +6% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🎓 College Tuition $8,070 $9,037 +12% 329.0h 307.4h Easier
🚗 New Car $31,252 $36,113 +16% 1274.1h 1228.6h Easier
🏠 Monthly Rent $820 $971 +18% 33.4h 33.0h Easier
🏥 Doctor Visit $109 $74.24 -32% 4.4h 2.5h Easier
🎬 Movie Ticket $7.51 $8.40 +12% 0.3h 0.3h Easier

📈 Got Harder to Earn

Items where labor hours increased from 2012 to 2017, sorted by magnitude.

🥓
Bacon

0.2h → 0.2h

1.1x

harder

🍬
Sugar

0.4h → 0.4h

1.0x

harder

🥩
Ground Beef

0.1h → 0.1h

1.0x

harder

📉 Got Easier to Earn

Items where labor hours decreased from 2012 to 2017, sorted by magnitude.

Gas

0.1h → 0.1h

0.6x

easier

🏥
Doctor Visit

4.4h → 2.5h

0.6x

easier

Coffee

0.2h → 0.2h

0.7x

easier

🥚
Eggs

0.1h → 0.0h

0.7x

easier

🥛
Milk

0.1h → 0.1h

0.8x

easier

🍊
Oranges

0.2h → 0.2h

0.8x

easier

🍞
Bread

0.1h → 0.0h

0.8x

easier

🐔
Chicken

0.1h → 0.1h

0.9x

easier

Electricity

0.0h → 0.0h

0.9x

easier

🎬
Movie Ticket

0.3h → 0.3h

0.9x

easier

🎓
College Tuition

329.0h → 307.4h

0.9x

easier

🚗
New Car

1274.1h → 1228.6h

1.0x

easier

🏠
Monthly Rent

33.4h → 33.0h

1.0x

easier

💵 Purchasing Power

If you earned the median income in 2012 ($51,020), you'd need $54,472 in 2017 to maintain the same lifestyle.

Based on CPI adjustment (229.6 → 245.1).

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