HarderToEarn.com

2012 vs 2021

The Cost of Living Comparison

Median Income

$51,020 $70,780

+38.7%

Median Home

$244,400 $383,000

+56.7%

Housing Labor

4.8yr 5.4yr

1.1x harder

📊 Full Item Comparison

Item 2012 Price 2021 Price Change Hours 2012 Hours 2021 Verdict
🥚 Eggs $1.84 $1.67 -9% 0.1h 0.0h Easier
🍞 Bread $1.42 $1.52 +7% 0.1h 0.0h Easier
🥛 Milk $3.49 $3.54 +1% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
⛽ Gas $3.64 $3.05 -16% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🥩 Ground Beef $3.03 $4.33 +43% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🐔 Chicken $1.42 $1.53 +7% 0.1h 0.0h Easier
🥓 Bacon $4.56 $6.64 +46% 0.2h 0.2h Harder
☕ Coffee $5.68 $4.71 -17% 0.2h 0.1h Easier
🍊 Oranges $5.04 $4.89 -3% 0.2h 0.1h Easier
🍬 Sugar $10.28 $13.19 +28% 0.4h 0.4h Easier
⚡ Electricity $0.13 $0.14 +9% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🎓 College Tuition $8,070 $9,375 +16% 329.0h 275.5h Easier
🚗 New Car $31,252 $42,258 +35% 1274.1h 1241.8h Easier
🏠 Monthly Rent $820 $1,100 +34% 33.4h 32.3h Easier
🏥 Doctor Visit $109 $92.47 -15% 4.4h 2.7h Easier
🎬 Movie Ticket $7.51 $9.12 +22% 0.3h 0.3h Easier

📈 Got Harder to Earn

Items where labor hours increased from 2012 to 2021, sorted by magnitude.

🥓
Bacon

0.2h → 0.2h

1.1x

harder

🥩
Ground Beef

0.1h → 0.1h

1.0x

harder

📉 Got Easier to Earn

Items where labor hours decreased from 2012 to 2021, sorted by magnitude.

Coffee

0.2h → 0.1h

0.6x

easier

Gas

0.1h → 0.1h

0.6x

easier

🏥
Doctor Visit

4.4h → 2.7h

0.6x

easier

🥚
Eggs

0.1h → 0.0h

0.7x

easier

🍊
Oranges

0.2h → 0.1h

0.7x

easier

🥛
Milk

0.1h → 0.1h

0.7x

easier

🐔
Chicken

0.1h → 0.0h

0.8x

easier

🍞
Bread

0.1h → 0.0h

0.8x

easier

Electricity

0.0h → 0.0h

0.8x

easier

🎓
College Tuition

329.0h → 275.5h

0.8x

easier

🎬
Movie Ticket

0.3h → 0.3h

0.9x

easier

🍬
Sugar

0.4h → 0.4h

0.9x

easier

🏠
Monthly Rent

33.4h → 32.3h

1.0x

easier

🚗
New Car

1274.1h → 1241.8h

1.0x

easier

💵 Purchasing Power

If you earned the median income in 2012 ($51,020), you'd need $60,216 in 2021 to maintain the same lifestyle.

Based on CPI adjustment (229.6 → 271.0).

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