A dozen eggs cost $0.879 in January 1980 in the BLS US city average series, or about 8.0 minutes of work at the hourly earnings used here. In September 2026, eggs cost $2.272, or about 4.2 minutes.
Eggs reached $6.227 per dozen in March 2025, equal to about 12.0 minutes of work. By September 2026 the same measure was about 4.2 minutes. Monthly observations preserve price swings that an annual average can hide.
White bread cost $0.501 per pound in January 1980 and $1.830 in September 2026; work time went from about 4.6 to 3.4 minutes. A gallon of gasoline went from about 10.3 to 8.2 minutes. The hourly earnings series rose from $6.57 to $32.60 over those months.
These examples use BLS average hourly earnings of production and nonsupervisory employees in the private sector. They do not use minimum wages, median wages or every worker's income. The example links set monthly pay to the 2025 average hourly earnings times 173.33 hours. Entering a different wage changes the absolute quantities and work minutes. The large paycheck follows CES earnings growth; the smaller line follows all-items CPI-U prices.
The series covers 15 items from January 1980 through September 2026. The milk and beer price series used here begin in July 1995. Missing price months, including October 2025, stay marked: the counter carries the previous price with a notice, and missing CPI displays a dash. Carried prices are not new observations for the missing month.
| Item | 1980-01 | 2026-09 |
|---|---|---|
| Eggs · dozen | $0.879 8.0 min | $2.272 4.2 min |
| Milk · gallon | — | $4.106 7.6 min |
| White bread · lb | $0.501 4.6 min | $1.830 3.4 min |
| Flour · lb | $0.203 1.9 min | $0.545 1.0 min |
| Sugar · lb | $0.273 2.5 min | $1.019 1.9 min |
| Bananas · lb | $0.319 2.9 min | $0.656 1.2 min |
| Tomatoes · lb | $0.703 6.4 min | $1.992 3.7 min |
| Whole chicken · lb | $0.699 6.4 min | $2.064 3.8 min |
| Ground chuck · lb | $1.821 16.6 min | $6.483 11.9 min |
| Bacon · lb | $1.453 13.3 min | $6.756 12.4 min |
| Potato chips · 16 oz bag | $1.981 18.1 min | $6.668 12.3 min |
| Ice cream · half gallon | $1.755 16.0 min | $5.931 10.9 min |
| Orange juice · 16 oz | $1.243 11.4 min | $4.817 8.9 min |
| Beer · 16 oz | — | $1.875 3.5 min |
| Gasoline · gallon | $1.131 10.3 min | $4.482 8.2 min |