HarderToEarn.com

2018 vs 2021

The Cost of Living Comparison

Median Income

$63,180 $70,780

+12.0%

Median Home

$325,275 $383,000

+17.7%

Housing Labor

5.1yr 5.4yr

1.1x harder

📊 Full Item Comparison

Item 2018 Price 2021 Price Change Hours 2018 Hours 2021 Verdict
🥚 Eggs $1.74 $1.67 -4% 0.1h 0.0h Easier
🍞 Bread $1.29 $1.52 +18% 0.0h 0.0h Harder
🥛 Milk $2.90 $3.54 +22% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
⛽ Gas $2.74 $3.05 +12% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🥩 Ground Beef $3.72 $4.33 +17% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🐔 Chicken $1.50 $1.53 +2% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🥓 Bacon $5.47 $6.64 +21% 0.2h 0.2h Harder
☕ Coffee $4.30 $4.71 +9% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🍊 Oranges $4.74 $4.89 +3% 0.2h 0.1h Easier
🍬 Sugar $12.46 $13.19 +6% 0.4h 0.4h Easier
⚡ Electricity $0.14 $0.14 +3% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🎓 College Tuition $9,212 $9,375 +2% 303.3h 275.5h Easier
🚗 New Car $37,577 $42,258 +12% 1237.1h 1241.8h Harder
🏠 Monthly Rent $1,006 $1,100 +9% 33.1h 32.3h Easier
🏥 Doctor Visit $84.16 $92.47 +10% 2.8h 2.7h Easier
🎬 Movie Ticket $8.57 $9.12 +6% 0.3h 0.3h Easier

📈 Got Harder to Earn

Items where labor hours increased from 2018 to 2021, sorted by magnitude.

🥛
Milk

0.1h → 0.1h

1.1x

harder

🥓
Bacon

0.2h → 0.2h

1.1x

harder

🍞
Bread

0.0h → 0.0h

1.1x

harder

🥩
Ground Beef

0.1h → 0.1h

1.0x

harder

🚗
New Car

1237.1h → 1241.8h

1.0x

harder

📉 Got Easier to Earn

Items where labor hours decreased from 2018 to 2021, sorted by magnitude.

🥚
Eggs

0.1h → 0.0h

0.9x

easier

🎓
College Tuition

303.3h → 275.5h

0.9x

easier

🐔
Chicken

0.0h → 0.0h

0.9x

easier

🍊
Oranges

0.2h → 0.1h

0.9x

easier

Electricity

0.0h → 0.0h

0.9x

easier

🍬
Sugar

0.4h → 0.4h

0.9x

easier

🎬
Movie Ticket

0.3h → 0.3h

1.0x

easier

🏠
Monthly Rent

33.1h → 32.3h

1.0x

easier

Coffee

0.1h → 0.1h

1.0x

easier

🏥
Doctor Visit

2.8h → 2.7h

1.0x

easier

Gas

0.1h → 0.1h

1.0x

easier

💵 Purchasing Power

If you earned the median income in 2018 ($63,180), you'd need $68,179 in 2021 to maintain the same lifestyle.

Based on CPI adjustment (251.1 → 271.0).

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