HarderToEarn.com

2016 vs 2021

The Cost of Living Comparison

Median Income

$59,040 $70,780

+19.9%

Median Home

$305,125 $383,000

+25.5%

Housing Labor

5.2yr 5.4yr

1.0x harder

📊 Full Item Comparison

Item 2016 Price 2021 Price Change Hours 2016 Hours 2021 Verdict
🥚 Eggs $1.68 $1.67 -1% 0.1h 0.0h Easier
🍞 Bread $1.37 $1.52 +11% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🥛 Milk $3.20 $3.54 +11% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
⛽ Gas $2.14 $3.05 +42% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🥩 Ground Beef $3.75 $4.33 +15% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🐔 Chicken $1.46 $1.53 +4% 0.1h 0.0h Easier
🥓 Bacon $5.42 $6.64 +22% 0.2h 0.2h Harder
☕ Coffee $4.39 $4.71 +7% 0.2h 0.1h Easier
🍊 Oranges $4.76 $4.89 +3% 0.2h 0.1h Easier
🍬 Sugar $12.33 $13.19 +7% 0.4h 0.4h Easier
⚡ Electricity $0.14 $0.14 +4% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🎓 College Tuition $8,804 $9,375 +6% 310.2h 275.5h Easier
🚗 New Car $35,309 $42,258 +20% 1243.9h 1241.8h Easier
🏠 Monthly Rent $935 $1,100 +18% 32.9h 32.3h Easier
🏥 Doctor Visit $65.64 $92.47 +41% 2.3h 2.7h Harder
🎬 Movie Ticket $8.18 $9.12 +11% 0.3h 0.3h Easier

📈 Got Harder to Earn

Items where labor hours increased from 2016 to 2021, sorted by magnitude.

Gas

0.1h → 0.1h

1.2x

harder

🏥
Doctor Visit

2.3h → 2.7h

1.2x

harder

🥓
Bacon

0.2h → 0.2h

1.0x

harder

📉 Got Easier to Earn

Items where labor hours decreased from 2016 to 2021, sorted by magnitude.

🥚
Eggs

0.1h → 0.0h

0.8x

easier

🍊
Oranges

0.2h → 0.1h

0.9x

easier

Electricity

0.0h → 0.0h

0.9x

easier

🐔
Chicken

0.1h → 0.0h

0.9x

easier

🎓
College Tuition

310.2h → 275.5h

0.9x

easier

🍬
Sugar

0.4h → 0.4h

0.9x

easier

Coffee

0.2h → 0.1h

0.9x

easier

🥛
Milk

0.1h → 0.1h

0.9x

easier

🍞
Bread

0.0h → 0.0h

0.9x

easier

🎬
Movie Ticket

0.3h → 0.3h

0.9x

easier

🥩
Ground Beef

0.1h → 0.1h

1.0x

easier

🏠
Monthly Rent

32.9h → 32.3h

1.0x

easier

🚗
New Car

1243.9h → 1241.8h

1.0x

easier

💵 Purchasing Power

If you earned the median income in 2016 ($59,040), you'd need $66,657 in 2021 to maintain the same lifestyle.

Based on CPI adjustment (240.0 → 271.0).

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