Library Guides: Prices and Wages by Decade: 1880-1889

Wages, 1880-1889

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WAGES -- GENERAL SOURCES (all occupations and worker types)

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:
- Bakers, 1880-1900
- 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
Average daily wages for occupations before and after labor strikes, 1881-1886
Hundreds of pages document labor strikes taking place in the US from 1881-1886, showing wages paid before and after the strike. Data is broken out by male and female workers. Tables arranged by state then locality, and by the occupational group on strike. How to use this source -- Each table is horizontal and continues for a total of four book pages. Scroll forward to the third page of each table in order to find "AVERAGE DAILY WAGE" in the column headings.
Wages before strikes, 1887-1894
Annual report of the US Commissioner of Labor lists all strikes in the United States by state, locality and occupation of the strikers. A description field tells the reason for each strike, and in some entries, it will tell the workers' present wage and the increase they wanted. The table also tells whether each strike was successful. Note that each table is horizontal and extends across four book pages.
Average wages for occupations (mainly manufacturing) by state - early 1880s
Table extends from pp. 143-167. Average wages paid to children in various occupations by state are listed on pages 168-174.
Manufacturing wages, 1850s-1870s
Published in 1886 as part of the 10th U.S. Census. Also printed in Serial Set Vol. 2150.
Steamboat and towboat workers' wages - 1880
This link leads to the beginning of a section in the 1880 U.S. Census for Transportation, where steamboat statistics are given by U.S. region (the link above leads to the section on New England states.) Read the section carefully to find average wages - it is provided for only some of the regions. Scroll forward to see additional riverboat regions such as Lower Mississippi, Northern Lakes or Pacific Coast. Much more detailed than overall averages are average wage rates paid to each type of worker on the boats: masters, mates, pilots, watchmen, engineer, stewards, steersmen, carpenters, deck hands, chambermaids, cabin crew, roustabouts and more, by river where the boat traveled, for example see wage rates on the Ohio River and Upper Missouri River
Railroad employees - Average pay by company - 1880
Provides average monthly wage across all jobs at each railroad company. Some companies represented include Union Pacific; Chicago Burlington & Quincy; Baltimore & Ohio; Philadelphia & Reading, and more.
Railroad employees - Average pay by job title and company, 1881
The state of Illinois required all RR companies operating in that state to report average pay given to employees by job title, such as civil engineers, clerks, flagmen, brakemen, passenger conductors, machinists, freight conductors, baggage men, firemen, station agents, telegraph operators, and more.
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.
Judicial branch salaries (federal employees), 1884
Arranged geographically, this source shows the salaries of federal circuit judges, district judges, supreme court justices, district attorneys, U.S. marshals, court clerks, and more. Source: Register of the Department of Justice and the Judicial Officers of the United States, 1885 ed.
Pensions for military service as of 1883
Source tells the monthly pension payment for service rendered as far back as the War of 1812. Widows and surviving dependent parents and children were also eligible. This source spans five volumes but does not provide average figures.
Convict labor wages by state, sex and occupation - 1886
Compares wage rates for convict labor to that for free labor available near the prisons, by state and by sex. Also tells the average daily hours worked by convicts. Published in the 2nd annual report, U.S. Commissioner of Labor.

FARM WAGES, 1880s

Farm wages by state - 1880
This table is shown in a section of the book for wages on farms, and includes breakouts for blacksmiths, carpenters, machine makers, wheelwrights and shoemakers. Also breaks out wages for transient and non-transient workers, during harvest or not.
Farm wages by state - 1881
Same breakouts as above but also includes wage data for Indian Territory.
Farm labor wages by state - 1866-1892
Reported with and without board. Data for years: 1866, 1869, 1875, 1879, 1882, 1885, 1888, 1890, 1892. This book also contains an explanation of labor and wage conditions in the South following the Civil War.
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 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.
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 - 1866-1922
In one simple table, 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. Data available for years 1866, 1869, 1875, 1879, 1882, 1885, 1888, 1890, 1892, 1893, 1894, 1895, 1898, 1899, 1902, and each year from 1910-1922.

WAGES reported by STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS, 1880s

Unlike the federal sources above which can show wages in many places, the links below point to publications that focus only on individual states.

California wages by occupation, ca. 1883
This chapter in California's first Bureau of Labor Statistics report (covering the years 1883-1884) shows average wages for hundreds of occupations. Tables extend from pages 211-233.
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.
Connecticut (New Haven) - City government 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 wages, 1850s-1900s
Bibliography of Illinois state government publications tell which reports show wages for various occupations: farm labor, mill workers, factory workers, teachers, miners, railroad workers, and more. Contact us if you need assistance tracking down any of the listings in the bibliography, concannonm@missouri.edu.
Kansas - Wages, 1887-1888
This report shows extensive wage data by cities and counties, industries, and broken out by men, women and child laborers. Tables extend for many pages. See manufacturing wages, wages for jobs associated with flour mills and wages for jobs with the railroads, broken out by occupation and by the RR company. In addition, there is an extensive section showing wages for a wide variety of occupations in 14 Kansas towns and cities, along with a detailed report of retail prices and monthly household expenditures on food, rent, fuel, clothing, sickness and other categories.
Maine wages, early 1880s
Daily wages for hundreds of occupations listed.
Massachusetts (Boston) - Women's wages by occupation
Working Girls of Boston gives women's wages in Boston, in Massachusetts, in other states and (where data is available) in European countries for the time around 1883. Of those in Boston, the average age of these workers was 25. Most were single (89%) and most lived with parents or other family (69%) and their average pay overall was $4.91 per week. Also gives fascinating detail on working conditions for many occupations, see chapter beginning on page 58.
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.
Michigan railway employee wages, 1885
Wage reports from payroll data of 24 railroads operating in Michigan, furnished by the Bureau of Labor in 1885. Shows wages for railway agents, baggagemen, boiler makers, blacksmiths, brakemen, carpenters, car oilers and inspectors, cashiers, clerks, civil engineers, coal heavers, conductors, dining car waiters and cooks, porters, depot police, railroad engineers for freight and passenger trains, firemen, dispatchers, foremen, mail carriers and many more.
Minnesota - Jailer's salaries at county jails
The biennial reports of the Minnesota State Board of Corrections and Charities include salaries of jailers by county for 1887, 1888, and 1889.
New York wages by occupation, 1888
Remarkably detailed report shows wages for hundreds of industries and occupations in New York City. Some entries indicate the wage was for children (boys or girls) or for women workers. Very occasionally there is an entry for "colored" workers. For example the chapter on Hotels and Restaurants shows wages for each of these (colored bellmen, cleaning women, store-room girls and elevator boys). Use the Table of Contents to find a chapter and then use the "Jump to ... page" box in HathiTrust.
Pennsylvania wages, 1875-1883
Many occupations listed. Tables extend from pages 99-105 in this source.
Index to wages reported 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.

Sources showing wages in MULTIPLE COUNTRIES

Click the tabs above for individual countries.

Wages by country and occupation, 1870s-1880s
Shows average wage for occupations listed alphabetically from H-O 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 and cost of living in European countries, ca. 1885
Provides extraordinary detail. Extensive chapter on each country with both numeric tables and description of job conditions, manner of living, social conditions, etc. for men, women and children. Source: United States consular reports.
Wages by occupation in Europe, ca. 1885
Comparative wage table shows the range of daily pay for workers in Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Russia, France, England and Belgium. Occupations include shepherds, boot-makers, painters and paper-hangers, bakers, tailors, watch makers, tinsmiths, plumbers, pantaloon-makers, paper-mill hands and about 20 additional occupations. Note that this source is not a government document; researchers are advised to check for corroboration with other historical materials.
Earnings and expenses of wage earners in Europe, ca. 1885.
Source spotlights individual workers and families that might be considered typical; it does not give overall averages. See start pages for the sections on Belgium, England, Germany, and Switzerland.
Wages in European cities, 1870-1896
Lists average daily wages by occupation in London, Manchester, Glasgow, Paris and Liege (Belgium) for each year from 1870-1896.
Wages and cost of living around the world, ca. 1885
Extensive data on wages in Canada, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, South America, Asia, Africa, Australia and Polynesian islands. Source: U.S. Consular report published 1885.

Wages in AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND, 1880s

Wages in Australia, New Zealand and Tasmania - 1880
This emigrant's guide provides significant detail on retail prices, wages by occupations, cost to rent houses, and more. Jump to section for Tasmania, New Zealand, western Australia on pages 66-67, Queensland on pages 64-65, south Australia on pages 54-61, Victoria, Sydney Australia on pages 42-46. Includes a currency comparison table for Canandian, English and American money. Emigrant's guide published in London.
Australia, Melbourne - Wages, 1883 and 1888
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, 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.
Australia, Sydney - Wages,1880
Wages as reported in an emigrant's guide published in London. See wages and prices for other areas of Australia by paging forward.

Wages in CANADA, 1880s

Canada - Ontario wages, early 1880s
Emigrant's guide tells wages in the various Canadian provinces. Many prices are provided as well.
Canada wages and prices, ca. 1885
Data on prices and wages in Canada extends from page 1-115 in this U.S. Consular Report published 1885.

Wages in FRANCE, 1880s

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.

Wages in GERMANY, 1880s

Detailed wages and cost of living in Germany, early 1880s
Detailed wages for Germany are reported in this U.S. Consular report, published 1885. The data is printed on pages 195-586.

Wages in INDIA, 1880s

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 or back to see more; this table extends from pages 85-136.

Wages in IRELAND, 1880s

Wages by occupation and sex in Ireland, ca. 1883
Compares wages for male and female farm labor and female domestic service in Ireland as compared to England, Scotland and California, USA. Also compares wages paid in Ireland that that in three American cities (New York City, Chicago and San Francisco) for the building trades: bricklayers, masons, carpenters, gasfitters, painters, plasterers and plumbers.

Wages in ITALY, 1880s

Italy - Prices and wage earnings by occupation, 1885
Shows daily wages for shepherds, lady's maids, soldiers, stone cutters, cooks, tailors, glassmakers, weavers, and more. On the same page, see a table showing retail prices for common items.

Wages in SWEDEN, 1880s

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, 1880s

United Kingdom - Average wages for laboring classes, 1886 and 1891
Tells wages for men, women, boys and girls by occupation on pages 396-403.
Great Britain - Average wages by occupation, age and sex - 1886 and 1891
The tables in this book spread across two pages each. From pages 81-87, there are separate tables for men, women, boys and girls, showing average wages by occupation. Beginning on page 88, see tables divided by occupation and further broken out by worker age and sex. Under the heading Police, there are wages for inspectors, constables and sergeants. Page 102 shows an 1891 wage chart for each of the building trades such as carpenters, masons, plumbers, painters, etc. See title page for this source.
Great Britain - Wages compared to Massachusetts, 1883
The tables extend from pages 208-221. Breaks out wages for men, women and children. Tells average weekly working hours in both places. This is part of a larger section titled "Wages, Prices and Comparative Cost of Living, Massachusetts and Great Britain, 1860-1883." See start page of this section for context.
Wages and cost of living in England, early 1880s
This 1885 U.S. Consular report provides extremely detailed wage and cost of living data on pages 587-882.
Scotland - Wages by occupation and sex, ca. 1883
Shows wages for men and women farm laborers and for female domestic servants. Scroll forward to page 257 to see wages for 27 additional occupations, including all the building trades plus blacksmiths, bakers, bookbinders, coopers, cutlers, engravers, horse shoers, millwrights, printers, saddlers and harness makers, sail makers, tinsmiths, tailors, brass founders and laborers, porters, etc. Compares wages for the same occupations in New York, Chicago and San Francisco.

Wages, 1880s - 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