HarderToEarn.com

2021 vs 2023

The Cost of Living Comparison

Median Income

$70,780 $80,610

+13.9%

Median Home

$383,000 $426,525

+11.4%

Housing Labor

5.4yr 5.3yr

1.0x easier

📊 Full Item Comparison

Item 2021 Price 2023 Price Change Hours 2021 Hours 2023 Verdict
🥚 Eggs $1.67 $2.80 +67% 0.0h 0.1h Harder
🍞 Bread $1.52 $1.96 +29% 0.0h 0.1h Harder
🥛 Milk $3.54 $4.03 +14% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
⛽ Gas $3.05 $3.66 +20% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🥩 Ground Beef $4.33 $5.02 +16% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🐔 Chicken $1.53 $1.91 +25% 0.0h 0.0h Harder
🥓 Bacon $6.64 $6.65 +0% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
☕ Coffee $4.71 $6.16 +31% 0.1h 0.2h Harder
🍊 Oranges $4.89 $5.90 +21% 0.1h 0.2h Harder
🍬 Sugar $13.19 $13.40 +2% 0.4h 0.3h Easier
⚡ Electricity $0.14 $0.17 +19% 0.0h 0.0h Harder
🎓 College Tuition $9,375 $10,209 +9% 275.5h 263.4h Easier
🚗 New Car $42,258 $47,936 +13% 1241.8h 1236.9h Easier
🏠 Monthly Rent $1,100 $1,259 +14% 32.3h 32.5h Harder
🏥 Doctor Visit $92.47 $109 +18% 2.7h 2.8h Harder
🎬 Movie Ticket $9.12 $10.23 +12% 0.3h 0.3h Easier

📈 Got Harder to Earn

Items where labor hours increased from 2021 to 2023, sorted by magnitude.

🥚
Eggs

0.0h → 0.1h

1.5x

harder

Coffee

0.1h → 0.2h

1.1x

harder

🍞
Bread

0.0h → 0.1h

1.1x

harder

🐔
Chicken

0.0h → 0.0h

1.1x

harder

🍊
Oranges

0.1h → 0.2h

1.1x

harder

Gas

0.1h → 0.1h

1.1x

harder

Electricity

0.0h → 0.0h

1.0x

harder

🏥
Doctor Visit

2.7h → 2.8h

1.0x

harder

🥩
Ground Beef

0.1h → 0.1h

1.0x

harder

🏠
Monthly Rent

32.3h → 32.5h

1.0x

harder

📉 Got Easier to Earn

Items where labor hours decreased from 2021 to 2023, sorted by magnitude.

🥓
Bacon

0.2h → 0.2h

0.9x

easier

🍬
Sugar

0.4h → 0.3h

0.9x

easier

🎓
College Tuition

275.5h → 263.4h

1.0x

easier

🎬
Movie Ticket

0.3h → 0.3h

1.0x

easier

🚗
New Car

1241.8h → 1236.9h

1.0x

easier

🥛
Milk

0.1h → 0.1h

1.0x

easier

💵 Purchasing Power

If you earned the median income in 2021 ($70,780), you'd need $79,592 in 2023 to maintain the same lifestyle.

Based on CPI adjustment (271.0 → 304.7).

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