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 of the source.

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Source: Bulletin of the United States Bureau of Labor, No. 18, Volume III. Published September 1898.
Farm laborer wages, 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.
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.
Farm labor wages, 1866-1909
Browse this book's table of contents for wage rates for all states and the US as a whole, including some rates from prior to 1866.
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
The best source for school teacher wages are state government publications. If you do not see the state/year you are looking for, do not hesitate to contact us.
- California average statewide teacher wages, 1871, 1872 and 1873
- California teacher wages by sex by county, 1872 and 1873
Unskilled labor wages - Massachusetts, 1873
Detailed breakouts by occupation, without board. Also tells the number of hours per week typically worked.
Wages for common occupations in Kansas City - 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.
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.

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If you need assistance tracking down publications listed in this source, do not hesitate to contact us at concannonm@missouri.edu.
City government employees - Salaries in New Haven, CT from 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.
Monthly wages by occupation and sex, 1840-1891
Reports monthly wages paid in January and July of each year to individual, unnamed male and female employees in a variety of jobs at selected establishments in the northeast U.S. This advantage of the source is that it tracks how much individual businesses paid for specific jobs over several decades, and it shows pay for male and female employees, sometimes for the same job title (see example). Pay for apprentices or "learners" are listed separately from more experienced staff. 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 - 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 Foreign Countries, 1870-1879

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 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.
Australia, Melbourne - Wages, 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.
France, Lyons - Prices, 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.
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, 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 and CLOTHING

Average retail prices of necessaries of life, 1851-1880
Shows changing retail prices over time in about 65 towns for items such as fabrics, men's heavy boots, coffee, tea, sugar, molasses, soap and starch. Flours, meats, fish, cheese, butter, beans, eggs, rice, milk and other provisions are in a separate section. Source: 1890 Census.

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Listings are for cities in alphabetical order by state:
CT: Bridgeport, Collinsville, Danielsonville, Jewett City, Middletown, New Haven, New London, Plainville, Waterbury, Wauregan,
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.
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.
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.

HOUSEHOLD ITEMS and MERCHANDISE

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.
Furniture prices, 1871 - Boston
Catalog from one Boston furniture maker shows drawings and prices for a variety of what appears to be upscale furniture.
Montgomery Ward catalogue, 1875
Mail order catalog shows prices for fabrics and sewing supplies, clothing, hats, boots and shoes, linens, dishes, silverware, carpet, 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.

HOUSING and REAL ESTATE

House rent by city, 1851-1880
Average monthly rents by number of rooms in selected cities across 15 states. Source: 1890 Census.
Land prices, rent on small farms and farm animal prices by state and county - 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.

TRANSPORTATION

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.
Price to travel by ship from America to Europe - 1875
Traveler's guide titled Europe on $2 a Day (published 1875) quotes steamship ticket prices on pages 40-42.
Price to travel 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." This is not a government document.

PRICES for MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS and SERVICES

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 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.

Prices in Foreign Countries, 1870-1879

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.
Prices of Wheat, Bread, Etc. in Milan, Italy, 1801 to 1908
Bulletin of the United States Bureau of Labor, No. 87, Volume XX. Published March 1910.
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.

Timeline -- Major Economic Events of the 1870s

Taken from a 75-year graphical timeline of financial events in America, the links below each lead to a single year on the chart. To see the full chart in context, go to the St. Louis Federal Reserve website.

Prices and Wages by Decade: 1870-1879