HarderToEarn.com

2016 vs 2018

The Cost of Living Comparison

Median Income

$59,040 $63,180

+7.0%

Median Home

$305,125 $325,275

+6.6%

Housing Labor

5.2yr 5.1yr

1.0x easier

📊 Full Item Comparison

Item 2016 Price 2018 Price Change Hours 2016 Hours 2018 Verdict
🥚 Eggs $1.68 $1.74 +3% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🍞 Bread $1.37 $1.29 -6% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🥛 Milk $3.20 $2.90 -10% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
⛽ Gas $2.14 $2.74 +28% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🥩 Ground Beef $3.75 $3.72 -1% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🐔 Chicken $1.46 $1.50 +2% 0.1h 0.0h Easier
🥓 Bacon $5.42 $5.47 +1% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
☕ Coffee $4.39 $4.30 -2% 0.2h 0.1h Easier
🍊 Oranges $4.76 $4.74 -0% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
🍬 Sugar $12.33 $12.46 +1% 0.4h 0.4h Easier
⚡ Electricity $0.14 $0.14 +1% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🎓 College Tuition $8,804 $9,212 +5% 310.2h 303.3h Easier
🚗 New Car $35,309 $37,577 +6% 1243.9h 1237.1h Easier
🏠 Monthly Rent $935 $1,006 +8% 32.9h 33.1h Harder
🏥 Doctor Visit $65.64 $84.16 +28% 2.3h 2.8h Harder
🎬 Movie Ticket $8.18 $8.57 +5% 0.3h 0.3h Easier

📈 Got Harder to Earn

Items where labor hours increased from 2016 to 2018, sorted by magnitude.

🏥
Doctor Visit

2.3h → 2.8h

1.2x

harder

Gas

0.1h → 0.1h

1.2x

harder

🏠
Monthly Rent

32.9h → 33.1h

1.0x

harder

📉 Got Easier to Earn

Items where labor hours decreased from 2016 to 2018, sorted by magnitude.

🥛
Milk

0.1h → 0.1h

0.8x

easier

🍞
Bread

0.0h → 0.0h

0.9x

easier

Coffee

0.2h → 0.1h

0.9x

easier

🥩
Ground Beef

0.1h → 0.1h

0.9x

easier

🍊
Oranges

0.2h → 0.2h

0.9x

easier

Electricity

0.0h → 0.0h

0.9x

easier

🥓
Bacon

0.2h → 0.2h

0.9x

easier

🍬
Sugar

0.4h → 0.4h

0.9x

easier

🐔
Chicken

0.1h → 0.0h

1.0x

easier

🥚
Eggs

0.1h → 0.1h

1.0x

easier

🎓
College Tuition

310.2h → 303.3h

1.0x

easier

🎬
Movie Ticket

0.3h → 0.3h

1.0x

easier

🚗
New Car

1243.9h → 1237.1h

1.0x

easier

💵 Purchasing Power

If you earned the median income in 2016 ($59,040), you'd need $61,769 in 2018 to maintain the same lifestyle.

Based on CPI adjustment (240.0 → 251.1).

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