HarderToEarn.com

2012 vs 2023

The Cost of Living Comparison

Median Income

$51,020 $80,610

+58.0%

Median Home

$244,400 $426,525

+74.5%

Housing Labor

4.8yr 5.3yr

1.1x harder

📊 Full Item Comparison

Item 2012 Price 2023 Price Change Hours 2012 Hours 2023 Verdict
🥚 Eggs $1.84 $2.80 +52% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🍞 Bread $1.42 $1.96 +38% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🥛 Milk $3.49 $4.03 +15% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
⛽ Gas $3.64 $3.66 +0% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🥩 Ground Beef $3.03 $5.02 +66% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🐔 Chicken $1.42 $1.91 +35% 0.1h 0.0h Easier
🥓 Bacon $4.56 $6.65 +46% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
☕ Coffee $5.68 $6.16 +8% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
🍊 Oranges $5.04 $5.90 +17% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
🍬 Sugar $10.28 $13.40 +30% 0.4h 0.3h Easier
⚡ Electricity $0.13 $0.17 +30% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🎓 College Tuition $8,070 $10,209 +27% 329.0h 263.4h Easier
🚗 New Car $31,252 $47,936 +53% 1274.1h 1236.9h Easier
🏠 Monthly Rent $820 $1,259 +53% 33.4h 32.5h Easier
🏥 Doctor Visit $109 $109 +0% 4.4h 2.8h Easier
🎬 Movie Ticket $7.51 $10.23 +36% 0.3h 0.3h Easier

📈 Got Harder to Earn

Items where labor hours increased from 2012 to 2023, sorted by magnitude.

🥩
Ground Beef

0.1h → 0.1h

1.0x

harder

📉 Got Easier to Earn

Items where labor hours decreased from 2012 to 2023, sorted by magnitude.

🏥
Doctor Visit

4.4h → 2.8h

0.6x

easier

Gas

0.1h → 0.1h

0.6x

easier

Coffee

0.2h → 0.2h

0.7x

easier

🥛
Milk

0.1h → 0.1h

0.7x

easier

🍊
Oranges

0.2h → 0.2h

0.7x

easier

🎓
College Tuition

329.0h → 263.4h

0.8x

easier

Electricity

0.0h → 0.0h

0.8x

easier

🍬
Sugar

0.4h → 0.3h

0.8x

easier

🐔
Chicken

0.1h → 0.0h

0.9x

easier

🎬
Movie Ticket

0.3h → 0.3h

0.9x

easier

🍞
Bread

0.1h → 0.1h

0.9x

easier

🥓
Bacon

0.2h → 0.2h

0.9x

easier

🥚
Eggs

0.1h → 0.1h

1.0x

easier

🚗
New Car

1274.1h → 1236.9h

1.0x

easier

🏠
Monthly Rent

33.4h → 32.5h

1.0x

easier

💵 Purchasing Power

If you earned the median income in 2012 ($51,020), you'd need $67,713 in 2023 to maintain the same lifestyle.

Based on CPI adjustment (229.6 → 304.7).

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