Library Guides: Prices and Wages by Decade: 1870-1879

Wages, 1870-1879

Wages for hundreds of occupations by state - 1870
Lists wages for apothecaries, book binders, bakers, barbers, brick makers, cooks, dressmakers, fishermen, florists, gardeners, grave diggers, hatters, jewelers, leather tanners, locksmiths, nurses, plumbers, watch makers, distillery workers, ship builders, seamen, deck hands, shepherds, tailors, waiters, factory workers making carriages, pianos and organs and much more than can be listed here. Wages for jobs in cotton mills, woolen mills and paper mills, iron foundries and machine shops which could include carpenters, engineers, blacksmiths, firemen as well as spinners, dyers, etc. Lists wages by state and territory for certain mechanical occupations. Wage tables extend from p. 201-223 so be sure to scroll forward in the volume. Source: Information for Immigrants, published 1871.
Average daily wages in the US, Britain, France and Belgium - 1870-1898
Very simple table compares average wages in the US, Great Britain, Paris France and Liege Belgium for each year from 1870-1898.
Daily wages by city in the United States and Europe, 1870-1898
Lists daily wages in dollars for many occupations including blacksmiths, bricklayers, cabinet makers, carpenters, railroad conductors, railroad engineers, street laborers, machinists, house painters, stone masons, teamsters, plumbers, and more, in the U.S. cities of Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburg, Richmond, St. Louis, St. Paul and San Francisco. The last column provides an average across all of these cities. Wage data tables for cities in Great Britain, France and Belgium begin on page 683. Source: Bulletin of the United States Department of Labor, no. 18, published September 1898.
Farm labor - Average wages by state, 1866-1909
Tables 11-13 on pages 29-31 show average wages with and without board. Table 17 shows average wages per day without board, and Table 18 shows the daily wages with board.

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Section titled "Extras Received by Laborers" explains the prevalence and value of non-monetary benefits paid to farm laborers, such as the use of a house or dwelling and garden plot, firewood for heat, stable and pasture for the worker's horse or cow, laundry service, occasional use of a buggy or a team for hauling, and one meal per day, pp. 49-52. Starting on page 53, there is discussion of the purchasing power of farm wages over the years.
Farm laborer monthly earnings, 1818-1948
Lists average monthly earnings with board, by geographic divisions. Data for years: 1818, 1826, 1830, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1890, 1909, 1919, 1929, 1940, 1948. Read the explanation and historical context for this table here.
Farm labor wages - 1875 and 1879
This source shows the national average for daily and monthly wages of hired farm labor, with board or without, at harvest or at other times.
Manufacturing wages, 1850s-1870s
Published in 1886 as part of the 10th U.S. Census. Also printed in Serial Set Vol. 2150.
History of Wages in the United States from Colonial times to 1928
Extensive tables show average wages paid each year for a variety of occupations, reported by state and sometimes by city, often broken out by sex, in the following industries:
- Building trades, 1840-1900
  Listed wages for bricklayers, carpenters, electricians, stationary engineers, stationary firemen, hod carriers, building laborers, marble cutters, stone masons, painters, plasterers, plumbers, stone cutters, granite cutters and tile layers.
- Clothing manufacture, 1851-1898
  Listed wages for dressmakers and sewing machine operators
- Farm labor, 1841-1899
  For further time series data, see USDA data showing farm labor wages from 1866-1920.
- Glass and clay products, 1841-1898
  Listed wages for glass blowers, potters, kiln placers and turners.
- Iron and steel workers, 1840-1899
  Listed wages for furnace keepers for pig-iron blast furnaces and other jobs in iron and steel.
- Laborers, 1840-1900
- Leather products, 1855-1900
  Listed wages for shoemakers, leather cutters, stitchers, vampers, lasters and tanners.
- Metal trades other than iron or steel, 1840-1900
  Listed wages for blacksmiths in railroad shops, machine shops and other places, boiler makers in foundries and machine shops, core makers, horseshoers, foundry laborers, lathe hands, machinists, millwrights in flour mills and other places, iron molders, pattern makers, tool and die makers.
- Mining -- Coal mine and iron mine industries, 1840-1900
  Wages for coal mine drivers, loaders, coal miners, iron miners, drilling machine operators, timbermen for the mines
- Printing and publishing, 1842-1900
  Wages for bookbinders, press feeders, proof readers, compositors for newspapers and other shops, pressmen (operators of the printing press), stereotypers
- Textiles - Cloth manufacture, 1842-1900
  Wages for doffers, drawing frame tenders, cotton dyers, loom fixers, cotton spinners, cotton weavers
- Textiles - Hosiery and underwear manufacture, 1842-1900
  Wages for knitters of hosiery and underwear, weavers and winders of silk goods, dressers and dyers of woolen and worsted goods, loom fixers, spinners, wool sorters
- Tobacco product manufacture, 1860-1900
  Wages for cigar makers, tobacco stemmers and strippers
- Transportation industry wages, 1840-1900
  Wages for railroad brakemen, conductors for passenger railroads, conductors for freight railroads, locomotive engineers and firemen, longshoremen, 1-horse teamsters, 2-horse teamsters and teamsters non-specified.
- Woodworking trades, 1845-1900
  Wages for cabinet makers, coopers, sawyers, loggers, lumber laborers, woodworkers
Congressional salaries, 1789-present
Historical chart shows salaries of members of the U.S. Congress, along with dates of enactment and statutory authority for each pay increase.
School teacher wages - 1870s
Monthly wages by occupation and sex, 1840-1891 (not averaged)
Reports monthly wages paid to individual, unnamed male and female employees in a variety of jobs at selected establishments in the northeast U.S. Industries covered: agricultural implement manufacture (MA), ale, beer and porter (NY), book and newspaper publishers (CT, NY, MD), building trades (CT, MD, MA, NJ, NY, PA, RI), railroad car and ship building (DE), wagon and carriage manufacture (NY), city public works (MA, NY, PA) and cotton milling (MA). Source: 1893 report of the U.S. Congressional Committee on Finance titled "Wholesale prices, wages and transportation."

WAGES reported at the STATE AND LOCAL LEVEL

Connecticut (New Haven) city employee salaries, 1873-1921
This series of Municipal Year Books from New Haven, Connecticut, show salaries for police, firemen, school teachers, principals, building inspectors, clerks and other jobs working for city government.
Illinois school teacher pay by gender, 1855-1874
Table shows the high, low and average pay received by school teachers in each year from 1855 to 1874 in Illinois. Source: 11th Biennial report of the Superintendent of Public Instruction of the State of Illinois.
New York City women's wages by occupation, 1870
Shows weekly pay and hours worked per day for women employed as tailoresses, seamstresses, operators, cloak makers, dressmakers, lace makers, hat makers, shoe fitters, glove sewers, and more. These figures were collected by a journalist and published in the New York Tribune on Feb 26, 1870 and later quoted in a federal report.
Kansas City MO wages for common occupations, late 1870s
This report from the Missouri Immigration Society showed average wages paid to bookkeepers, bartenders, teamsters, laborers, plasterers, painters, carpenters, bricklayers, stone masons, dry goods clerks, clothing house clerks, grocery clerks and drug store clerks. Published in 1880, it probably drew from 1870s data. This is not a government document.
Wage rates on the Erie Canal, 1828-1881
This item is presently in copyright so it will be necessary to either find it in a library, or contact us for a lookup.
Unskilled labor wages - Massachusetts, 1873
Detailed breakouts by occupation, without board. Also tells the number of hours per week typically worked.
Massachusetts - Wages by occupation, 1860-1897
Shows average weekly wages for 1860, 1872, 1878, 1881 and 1897 for hundreds of detailed occupations. This is an extensive table, scroll forward to see it all. Source: Massachusetts Bureau of Statistics of Labor 28th annual report.
California wages, 1850s-1902
This index to California state government publications shows where one can find wages for various occupations such as teachers (1850s-1880s), railroad employees (1870s-1880s), farm workers (1890s), miners and lumbermen (1902), sailors (1904) and more. If you need assistance tracking down publications listed in this source, do not hesitate to contact us.
Wages - Index of all reports issued by bureaus of labor statistics, 1870-1900
This is an index to topics covered in all labor statistics bureaus, both state and federal and even some foreign countries. There are ten pages of entries under "Wages" listing wages shown in state and federal reports. Find report abbreviations spelled out here. The strategy for using this source is to identify a report you want to track down and then look for it in Hathi Trust's online digital library. Contact us if you would like assistance with this.

Wages in MULTIPLE COUNTRIES, 1870s

Click the tabs above for single countries.

Daily wages by occupation for selected European cities, 1870-1898
Lists average daily wages (in dollars) for common occupations in London, Manchester, Glasgow, Paris France and Liege Belgium.
Wages by country and occupation, 1870s-1880s
Shows average wage for each year and each place, whether it be an American state or European country. Some countries represented: Ireland, Scotland, Wales, England, Great Britain, Saxony, France, Belgium, Denmark, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Bohemia, Moravia, Prussia, Russia, Australia, Argentine Republic, Canada, Hawaiian Islands, Mexico, New Zealand.
Wages in European countries, 1878
Full title: "State of Labor in Europe, 1878: Reports from the United States Consuls in the several countries of Europe on the rates of wages, cost of living to the laborers...." Includes detail on the countries of Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, England, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, Netherlands, Spain. See a single table showing wages expressed in dollars for all countries and many occupations, comparing those wages to that in the United States.
European countries - Average daily wages in Britain, France and Belgium - 1870-1898
Very simple table compares average wages in the US, Great Britain, Paris France and Liege Belgium for each year from 1870-1898.
Wages and cost of living in foreign countries, early 1870s
Source: British publication titled "Further reports from Her Majesty's diplomatic and consular agents abroad respecting the condition of the industrial classes and the purchase power of money in foreign countries," published in London, 1872. Use the Table of Contents to find page numbers for each country report.

Wages in AUSTRALIA, 1870s

Australia (Melbourne) Wages ca. 1873
Wages expressed in pounds, shillings and pence for agricultural laborers, shepherds, masons, bricklayers, carpenters, blacksmiths, cooks, grooms, gardeners, laundresses, maids, nursemaids, household servants, ocean seamen, and more. Source: 1873 edition of the Victorian year-book, an Australian government publication.
Australia, Melbourne - Wages, 1878
Lists wages in pounds, shillings and pence for the above occupations and also for workers employed in printing and publishing, watchmakers, jewelers, tinsmiths, ironworkers, plumbers, gasfitters, carriage makers, painters, saddlers, workers on boats, ship carpenters, cabinet makers, coopers, tailors, milliners, dressmakers, boot makers, hatters, carpet salesmen, butchers, bakers, teamsters, tanners, brickmakers, miners, engineers, legal managers in mining industry, and more.

Wages in FRANCE, 1870s

France, Lyons - Wages, 1870 to 1896
Lists wages for occupations such as blacksmiths, bricklayers, cabinet makers, carpenters, street laborers, machinists, house painters, stone cutters, teamsters, and more. Source: U.S. BLS Bulletin no. 22, published May 1899.

Wages in INDIA, 1870s

India - Wages by place and occupation, 1873-1890
Shows wages in rupees by provinces and districts for every year from 1873-1890 for occupations such as agricultural laborer, mason, carpenter, horse-keeper and blacksmith. Scroll forward; this is a multi-page table.

Wages in IRELAND, 1870s

Ireland - Farm laborer wages, 1850 and 1870
Article in the Royal Statistical Society Journal (p 153-157) reprinted Irish farm laborer wages as they were reported in the Pall Mall Gazette. Page 156 shows prices of food and other items commonly needed by laborers.

Wages in SWEDEN, 1870s

Sweden - Farming wages for male and female workers, 1866-1900
Shows average yearly salaries (besides room and board) for servants, the value of tenement laborers entire pay (including wages and provisions), summer and winter wages per day, and the wages earned in 300 days in Sweden for the years 1866-1900. Figures shown are in Kronor, but conversion rates for shillings and dollars are included. Source: Sweden: its people and its industry; historical and statistical handbook published by order of the government, Stockholm, 1904.

Wages, 1870s - Analysis

Nineteenth Century Wage Trends
Brief 30-page booklet reviews overall wage trends from 1800-1899. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Staff Paper #2.
"How Much is that in Real Money? A Historical Price Index..."
Provides explanations and charts to help users calculate the current value of historic dollar amounts. Source: Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Association, Vol. 101 #2. Source
Measuring Worth (website)
Website provides online calculators, guides and tutorials to help researchers understand the modern value of historic money in America, Australia, Spain and the United Kingdom.

Prices, 1870-1879

Food
Clothing and merchandise
Transportation
Medicine
Services
Houses and Farms
Items for Home and Farm
Education

PRICES for FOOD, 1870s

Average retail prices of necessities of life in 15 states, 1851-1880
The 1890 U. S. census shows changing retail prices over time in about 65 towns for items such as fabrics and men's heavy boots. Flours, meats, fish, cheese, butter, beans, eggs, rice, milk and other provisions are in a separate section; click "More" to get links directly to towns.

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Food prices are for cities in alphabetical order by state:
CT: Bridgeport, Collinsville, Danielsonville, Jewett City, Middletown, New Haven, New London, Plainville, Waterbury, Wauregan,
FL: Jacksonville,
IL: Alton, Belleville, Jacksonville, Rock Island,
IN: Evansville, Indianapolis, Lawrenceburg, Washington,
IA: Cedar Rapids,
KS: Leavenworth,
KY: Louisville,
MD: Baltimore,
MA: Boston, Holyoke, Springfield, Woburn,
MO: Bonne Terre, Pilot Knob, St. Louis,
NJ: Camden, Elizabeth, Jersey City, New Brunswick,
NY: Amsterdam, Buffalo, Cohoes, Homer, Oswego, Rome, Schenectady, Troy, Watertown,
OH: Alliance, Canton, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Hamilton, Ravenna, Sloan’s Station, Springfield, Steubenville, Wellsville, Xenia, Zanesville,
PA: Beaver Falls, New Castle, Norristown, Philadelphia, Sharon, Williamsport,
TN: Jackson, Memphis, Nashville,
WV: New Cumberland.
Coffee, tea and sugar prices by town in 15 states, 1851-1880
Shows a progression of changing retail prices over time in about 65 towns. Also includes price of molasses and syrup. Source: 1890 Census.

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Listings are for cities in alphabetical order by state:
CT: Bridgeport, Collinsville, Danielsonville, Jewett City, New Haven, Plainville, Waterbury, Wauregan,
FL: Jacksonville,
IL: Alton, Belleville, Jacksonville, Rock Island,
IN: Lawrenceburg, Washington,
IA: Cedar Rapids,
KS: Leavenworth,
KY: Louisville,
MD: Baltimore,
MA: Boston, Springfield,
MO: Pilot Knob, St. Louis,
NJ: Jersey City,
NY: Amsterdam, Buffalo, Cohoes, Homer, Oswego,Troy, Watertown,
OH: Alliance, Canton, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Hamilton, Ravenna, Sloan’s Station, Springfield, Steubenville, Zanesville,
PA: New Castle, Norristown, Philadelphia, Sharon, Williamsport,
TN: Jackson, Memphis, Nashville,
WV: New Cumberland.
Food, grocery and provision prices in Massachusetts, 1872 and 1878
Shows food prices by the pound, quart or gallon. Also shows the cost of soap, fuel wood and coal. Source: Massachusetts Annual Report on the Statistics of Labor, 1884.
Board rates by city for men and women, 1851-1880
Weekly boarding rates by selected cities and small towns in CT, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, MO, NY, OH, PA, TN, and WV.

PRICES for CLOTHING and MERCHANDISE, 1870s

Clothing pattern prices (mail order catalog) - 1876
Well-illustrated mail order catalog shows paper pattern prices for men's, women's, boy's and girl's clothing, coats, underwear, pajamas, caps and bonnets.
Montgomery Ward catalogue, 1875
Mail order catalog shows prices for fabrics and sewing supplies, clothing, hats, boots and shoes, soap, stationery, watches, jewelry, trunks, valises, satchels, traveling bags, pocketbooks, lead pencils, and more.
Personal effects - Prices circa 1875-1885
The Franklin Jewelry Company's Illustrated Catalog and price list (ca. 1880) is a commercial wholesale catalog. Yet by carefully checking the text, one can often find the suggested retail price for specific items. This company sold jewelry, pocket watches, pens, pocket knives, etc. Non-jewelry items are listed after page 57, such as cuckoo clocks, silver tea services, autograph books, hand mirrors, perfume bottles, candle sticks, picture frames, etc. Men's razors and steel spectacles are listed on page 75.

TRANSPORTATION FARES, 1870s

Railroad passenger fares by RR company, 1850-1897
Source passenger fares expressed in cents per mile. The tables extend from pages 65-77. See title page of this source.
Passenger train fare in the U.S., 1871-1933
Average railroad passenger fare (ticket price) expressed in cents per mile.
Ship passage from America to Europe - 1875
The 1875 traveler's guide titled Europe on $2 a Day quotes steamship ticket prices on pages 40-42.
Ship passage from America to Europe - 1878
The 1878 book, Practical suggestions to the American Tourist Visiting Europe for the First Time contains a chapter beginning on page 15 titled "Expenses of a tour."

PRICES for MEDICINE, 1870s

Medicine for Ague, Fever, Malaria, etc. - Prices (retail and wholesale) - 1876
Shows consumer prices for bottled medicines, including Ayer's Ague Cure, Wilhoft's Antiperiodic Fever and Ague Cure, Christie's Ague Mixture, Peterman's Michigan Ague Cure, Jayne's Ague Mixture, Rhode's Fever and Ague Cure, or Antidote to Malaria. Source: American Journal of Pharmacy Sep 1876 issue.
Opium price to druggists, 1878
The monthly Druggists' Circular included a regular section titled "Prices Current," showing the wholesale price of ingredients used to compound medicines. See the price of opium in this list. Check other issues in different years to track price changes.

PRICES for SERVICES, 1870s

Cost to mail a letter, 1863-present
Chart shows postal rates for mailing a domestic letter. Source: the Historian of the U.S. Postal Service.
Price of a newspaper subscription, 1869-1920
Look up by year, then state, then city, then title to find the cost of a newspaper subscription. Source: Rowell's & Ayer's American newspaper directories.

PRICES for HOUSE RENT, FARMS and LAND, 1870s

House rent by city or town, 1851-1880
Average monthly rents by number of rooms in selected small towns and large cities in the states of CT, IL, IA, KS, KY, MO, MD, MA, MO, NJ, NY, OH, PA and TN. Source: 1890 Census.
Land prices, farm rent, and farm animal prices by state, 1869-1870
Prices by county for both improved and unimproved land, and also for oxen, horses, mules, milk cows, sheep and hogs. This 1871 U.S. Bureau of Statistics publication also shows the value of crop sales by county. Click "more" for direct links to each state...

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States available: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Dakota, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana Territory, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico Territory, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington Territory, West Virginia.
Land prices in New York by county, 1874
Lists average price for farm land by the acre in selected New York counties.
Price of land in Missouri by county - Late 1870s
In this 1880 publication "Handbook of Missouri" from the Missouri Immigration Society (not a government agency), a detailed section for counties begins on page 75. Most of the county entries include a section titled "Price of Land," such as these: Andrew County, Atchison County, Audrain County, Barry County, Barton County, etc.

PRICES for HOUSEHOLD & FARM MATERIALS, 1870s

Household items and furnishings prices, early 1870s
The book The Home: Where it Should Be and What to Put in it (published 1873) includes a price list for typical items that early 1870s homes might have. Prices were likely gathered from retailers the New York City area that are credited in the preface. This is not a government publication.
Prices of wagons, farm implements, machinery and hand tools, 1860-1900
Shows prices of carriages, buggies, surreys, farm implements such as plows and cultivators, carts, engines, tools, equipment and supplies for 1860, 1880, 1890, 1895 and 1900. Provides breakdowns by item category and type. Tables extend from page 14-28 in this source.
Furniture prices, 1870 and 1871 - Boston
This 1871 catalog from one Boston furniture maker shows images and prices for a variety of what appears to be upscale furniture. It is unclear whether the prices listed in this catalog are consumer prices, or wholesale prices. See an 1870 edition of this catalog in the Internet Archive.
Montgomery Ward catalogue, 1875
Mail order catalog shows prices for fabrics, linens, dishes, silverware, curtains, carpet, beds, feather ticking, mosquito nets and more.

EDUCATION expenses, 1870s

College tuition/expenses in Illinois colleges, ca. 1875
Lists every college and academy in Illinois and shows "average annual expense per student" at each. The introductory paragraph refers to it as "terms of tuition." Unclear how much of the expense may be attributed to room and board. Source: 11th Biennial report of the Superintendent of Public Instruction of the State of Illinois.

Prices in Foreign Countries, 1870-1879

Australia
Great Britain
India
Italy

Prices in AUSTRALIA, 1870s

Australia (Melbourne only) - Prices, 1873
Prices of food products (meat, vegetables, dairy), tobacco, soap, candles, salt, wine, rum, whiskey, brandy, and more. Prices expressed in pounds, shillings and pence. Source: 1873 Victorian year-book, an Australian government publication.
Prices in Melbourne, Australia - 1878
Source: 1888-1889 Victoria year-book, an Australian government publication.

Prices in GREAT BRITAIN, 1870s

England - Food prices and rent for cottages and land - 1770, 1850 and 1878
Table at bottom of page 531 compares the price of bread, meat and butter, as well as the rent for a laborer's cottage and rent of cultivated land per acre. Includes farm labor wages as well. All amounts expressed in shillings.
England - Bread prices, 1847-1880
Shows average prices of bread in England for each year from 1660-1899 on pages 27-35. Source: Three Centuries of Prices of Wheat, Flour and Bread (not a government document). The introduction to this table explains that these prices are for the type of bread consumed by lower middle classes, not the "fancy bread." Price sources are provided on page 21-22.

Prices in INDIA, 1870s

India - Salt retail price, annual averages for 1861-1890
Tells how much salt one rupee could buy in the various districts and provinces in India in each year from 1861-1890. The quantity of salt is given in seers. 80 tolahs = 1 seer.

Prices in ITALY, 1870s