HarderToEarn.com

2012 vs 2020

The Cost of Living Comparison

Median Income

$51,020 $68,010

+33.3%

Median Home

$244,400 $328,150

+34.3%

Housing Labor

4.8yr 4.8yr

1.0x harder

📊 Full Item Comparison

Item 2012 Price 2020 Price Change Hours 2012 Hours 2020 Verdict
🥚 Eggs $1.84 $1.51 -18% 0.1h 0.0h Easier
🍞 Bread $1.42 $1.45 +2% 0.1h 0.0h Easier
🥛 Milk $3.49 $3.32 -5% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
⛽ Gas $3.64 $2.17 -40% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🥩 Ground Beef $3.03 $4.12 +36% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🐔 Chicken $1.42 $1.56 +10% 0.1h 0.0h Easier
🥓 Bacon $4.56 $5.58 +23% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
☕ Coffee $5.68 $4.43 -22% 0.2h 0.1h Easier
🍊 Oranges $5.04 $4.92 -2% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
🍬 Sugar $10.28 $12.42 +21% 0.4h 0.4h Easier
⚡ Electricity $0.13 $0.14 +4% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🎓 College Tuition $8,070 $9,349 +16% 329.0h 285.9h Easier
🚗 New Car $31,252 $40,107 +28% 1274.1h 1226.6h Easier
🏠 Monthly Rent $820 $1,076 +31% 33.4h 32.9h Easier
🏥 Doctor Visit $109 $68.24 -37% 4.4h 2.1h Easier
🎬 Movie Ticket $7.51 $8.87 +18% 0.3h 0.3h Easier

📈 Got Harder to Earn

Items where labor hours increased from 2012 to 2020, sorted by magnitude.

🥩
Ground Beef

0.1h → 0.1h

1.0x

harder

📉 Got Easier to Earn

Items where labor hours decreased from 2012 to 2020, sorted by magnitude.

Gas

0.1h → 0.1h

0.4x

easier

🏥
Doctor Visit

4.4h → 2.1h

0.5x

easier

Coffee

0.2h → 0.1h

0.6x

easier

🥚
Eggs

0.1h → 0.0h

0.6x

easier

🥛
Milk

0.1h → 0.1h

0.7x

easier

🍊
Oranges

0.2h → 0.2h

0.7x

easier

🍞
Bread

0.1h → 0.0h

0.8x

easier

Electricity

0.0h → 0.0h

0.8x

easier

🐔
Chicken

0.1h → 0.0h

0.8x

easier

🎓
College Tuition

329.0h → 285.9h

0.9x

easier

🎬
Movie Ticket

0.3h → 0.3h

0.9x

easier

🍬
Sugar

0.4h → 0.4h

0.9x

easier

🥓
Bacon

0.2h → 0.2h

0.9x

easier

🚗
New Car

1274.1h → 1226.6h

1.0x

easier

🏠
Monthly Rent

33.4h → 32.9h

1.0x

easier

💵 Purchasing Power

If you earned the median income in 2012 ($51,020), you'd need $57,524 in 2020 to maintain the same lifestyle.

Based on CPI adjustment (229.6 → 258.9).

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