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

Wages in the United States, 1870-1879

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ANALYSIS OF WAGE TRENDS

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PRICES in FOREIGN COUNTRIES

Farm Labor - Wages

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.
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.
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

Manufacturing wages, 1850s-1870s
Published in 1886 as part of the 10th U.S. Census. Also printed in Serial Set Vol. 2150.

School Teacher - Wages

School teacher wages - 1870s

Congressional Salaries

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.

WAGES -- GENERAL SOURCES

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.
Unskilled occupations - Average wages, 1840-1891
Shows average yearly wage earnings for laborers, yard hands, watchmen, teamsters, quarrymen, coal-heavers, helpers, unskilled factory operatives, without any geographic breakouts. Source: Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 13 (1905).
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.
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
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, 1870-1879

Multiple States
CA
CT
IL
MA
MO
NY

WAGES reported at the STATE and LOCAL LEVEL, 1870s -- Multiple States

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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 California, 1870s

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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 in Connecticut, 1870s

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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.

WAGES in Illinois, 1870s

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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.

WAGES in Massachusetts, 1870s

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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.

WAGES in Missouri, 1870s

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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.
Farm labor wages in Missouri, 1866-1930
Shows average farm labor wage in Missouri with and without board, during harvest time or at other times. Source: Missouri State Dept of Agriculture.

WAGES in New York, 1870s

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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.
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.

Wages in MULTIPLE COUNTRIES, 1870s

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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 in the UNITED KINGDOM, 1870s

United Kingdom - Wages, 1810-1886
Extensive, 437-page government report indicates detailed wages by occupation in many locations throughout the UK. Wages are reported in British currency.

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.