Things look pretty good. The economy is strong, and unemployment is low.

Yet in some locales, people are finding it tougher to afford the basics, according to GOBankingRates, which surveyed 5,000 people online in August.

Based on data from the Consumer Price Index, the cost of living in the U.S. has shot up by 14 percent in just the past three years, the personal finance site said.

If that doesn't sound like much, consider that if you paid $2.69 for a dozen eggs, a 14 percent increase would mean you now pay $3.07.

The numbers are worse if you look at bigger-ticket items, such as rent. The median rent in the U.S. was $981 in 2016, according to the Department of Numbers, a data-crunching website. That rate of increase would now mean writing a check for $1,118.