Prices and Wages by Decade: 1900-1909

• Building and construction wages, 1890-1903
  Provides tables that compare wage rates in U.S., Great Britain, Germany, France and Belgium for specific occupations, including blacksmith, boiler makers, bricklayers, carpenters, compositors, hod carriers, iron molders, general laborers, machinists, house painters, plumbers, stone cutters, and stone masons. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Bulletin #53, pp 724-728.
• Building and construction wages by occupation and city, 1902-1910
  Wages in 1902, 1904, 1907, 1908, 1909 and 1910 for bricklayers, stone masons, structural-iron setters, ornamental-iron setters, plasterers, tile setters, plumbers, steam fitters, gas fitters, carpenters, painters, stonecutters, electricians, sheet-metal workers, marble setters and cement finishers in each of 25 major American cities.
• 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.
• Farm laborers, 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 hands and ranch hands - Wages, 1900-1910
  Members of the agricultural industry from select states report average wages (with and without board) per month at their farms, ranches, or dairies for the years 1900-1910.

• Government - 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.
• Iron and steel industry workers, 1907-1924
  Earnings per hour, customary hours of labor, and actual hours and earnings in one pay period in 1924 are presented in this report for wage earners in ten departments of the iron and steel industry in the United States. Summary figures for preceding years are also shown for each department.
• Iron and steel industry -- Wages and hours, 1912
  Wages and hours of labor for workers in the steel industry, broken up by location and occupation. Source: U. S. Congressional Serial Set Vol. No. 6096.
• Lumber, millwork, and furniture industries, 1907-1912
  Wages and hours of labor in lumber manufacturing for the years 1907 to 1912, including information from 1890 to 1912. Source: U.S. BLS Bulletin no. 129.
• Military pay for enlisted men
  Many military job titles are listed separately such as electrician, band leader, sergeant major, etc. Pay tables extend from pages 775-782. Source: Soldiers' adjusted compensation: hearings ... Published 1920.

• Nurses salaries by state, 1909
  Includes a directory of organizations that employ visiting nurses, along with salaries paid. Use the table of contents to find a state. Source: Visiting nursing in the United States... by Y. Waters, (1909).
• Railway employee wages, 1896-1907
  Lists average daily compensation for station agents, conductors, telegraph operators, enginemen, firemen, track men, switch tenders, crossing tenders, machinists, carpenters and more; as shown in the 1908 Statistical Abstract (source). For further detail on RR wages around the year 1900, see this additional congressional report.
• Railroad cars, building and repair - 1890 to 1912
  Shows wages per hour and hours of work per week for the years 1907 to 1912, with breakouts by state. Includes a comparison from 1890 to 1912. Source: U.S. BLS Bulletin no. 137

• Street railways - Employee wages by town, 1905
  Shows hours, wages and policies for sick leave. Source: 1905 Yearbook of the Amalgamated Association of Street and Electric Railway Employees of America, pp. 7-23.
• Teacher wages by state and sex, 1894-1902
  Taken from the U.S. Commissioner of Education Report for 1902. Starting on page LXXXI, the average monthly wages of teachers in 1902 are listed.

WAGES in CLOTHING MANUFACTURING, 1900s

WAGES in TEXTILE MANUFACTURING, 1900s

WAGES in CONNECTICUT, 1900s

WAGES in HAWAII, 1900s

WAGES in MICHIGAN, 1900s

WAGES in MISSOURI, 1900s

WAGES in MONTANA, 1900s

WAGES in NEW JERSEY, 1900s

WAGES in TEXAS, 1900s

WAGES in VERMONT, 1900s

WAGES in WISCONSIN, 1900s

Wages in AUSTRALIA, 1900s

Wages in AUSTRIA, 1900s

Wages in BELGIUM, 1900s

Wages in BULGARIA, 1900s

WAGES on CARIBBEAN ISLANDS, 1900s

Wages in CANADA, 1900s

Wages in FINLAND, 1900s

WAGES in FRANCE, 1900s

Wages in GERMANY, 1900s

Wages in IRELAND, 1900s

WAGES in ITALY, 1900s

Wages in JAPAN, 1900s

WAGES in MEXICO, 1900s

WAGES in NEW ZEALAND, 1900s

WAGES in NORWAY, 1900s

WAGES in the PHILIPPINES, 1900s

WAGES in POLAND, 1900s

Wages in RUSSIA, 1900s

Wages in SPAIN, 1900s

WAGES in the UNITED KINGDOM, 1900s

PRICES of FARM IMPLEMENTS and TOOLS, 1900s

MAIL ORDER MERCHANDISE

PRICES for HOUSING, 1900s

HOME PLANS and COSTS

PRICE of BUILDING MATERIALS

LAND and FARM PRICES

HOUSEHOLD UTILITIES

COST of HEALTH CARE, 1900s

PHYSICIANS and DOCTORS' FEES, 1900s

• ILLINOIS, 1909:
  Physicians fees for end-of-life settings in Chicago around 1909 are discussed in the chapter The Cost of Dying in book Funeral Management and Costs (1921). This is not a government document.
• MARYLAND, 1907: 
  Fee table shows price ranges for medical and surgical services. Source: Dec 1907 issue of the Maryland Medical Journal.
• MICHIGAN, 1907: 
  The physicians fee chart adopted by the Ionia County Medical Society in 1907 is shown in the May 1908 issue of The Journal of the Michigan State Medical Society.
• NORTH CAROLINA, 1909:
  Physician fees for the following counties appear on pages 685-725 of the proceedings of the Medical Society of the State of North Carolina's 56th annual meeting: Anson, Beaufort, Catawba, Caldwell, Columbus, Cherokee, Craven, Durham, Lexington, Davie, Winston-Salem, Franklin, Gaston, Harnett, Haywood, Henderson-Polk, Lenoir, Lincoln, Martin, Charlotte, Montgomery, Pitt, Rowan, Rutherford, Sampson, Surry, Scotland, Vance, Wilkes, Wilson, and Yadkin.
• TEXAS:
  • See fee tables established by the Llano-Mason County Medical Society and the Stephens County Medical Society in the Sep 1905 and Feb 1906 issues of The Texas State Journal of Medicine.
  • The charge for a doctor's house call could vary significantly by area and the ability of the family to pay. Yet a rough estimate is quoted from a doctor in Eastland, Texas: [In 1900], "the usual charge for a doctor's visit was, on the average over the country, one dollar. Often a half-dollar was tacked on for night calls, and for mileage in the country it ran $0.50 a mile" (page 34 of source).

PRICES for COMMUNICATION, 1900s

See transportation prices below

COST of a COLLEGE EDUCATION, 1900s

In the 1900-1909 decade, 4% to 5% of the population aged 18-21 enrolled in college. Source: U.S. Bureau of Education.

OTHER COLLEGE EXPENSES

ENTERTAINMENT - TICKET PRICES

PRICES for ANIMALS, 1900s

• Horses and mules (p. 653)
• Milk cows and other cattle (p. 658)
• Sheep (p. 668)
• Swine (p. 675)

PRICES for SERVICES, 1900s

• New car prices, 1904
  This Ford automobile cost $750 in 1904
  
  See pictures, specifications and prices of "gasoline carriages" in article titled "Pleasure Automobiles: A List of Those on the American Market," printed in Frank Leslie's Popular Monthly magazine, January 1904, pp. 359-374.
• New car prices, 1905-1909
  Use these quick links to the years 1905, 1906, 1907, 1908 and 1909. The annual editions of Handbook of Gasoline Automobiles gave prices, specifications and pictures of passenger cars on the market at the time - including Buick, Cadillac, Studebaker, Daimler, Stevens-Duryea, Packard and more
• • Domestic gasoline motor-cars in order by price
    • costing less than $1000
    • costing $1000-1499
    • costing $1500-1999
    • costing $2000-2499
    • selling at $2500
    • costing $2600-2699
    • costing $3000-3499
    • costing $3500-3999
    • costing $4000-4999
    • costing $4500-4999
    • costing $5000-5500
    • costing $5500-5999
    • costing $6000-6999
    • costing $7000-7999
    • costing $8000 and over
  • Imported gasoline pleasure vehicles
    • costing less than $5000
    • costing $5000-6499
    • costing $6500-7999
    • costing $8000-8999
    • costing $9000 and over
  • Electric pleasure cars
    • costing less than $1600
    • costing $1600-2499
    • costing $2500 and over
  • Steam pleasure vehicles
    • all price points
  less...Motor car list prices, 1905-1916
  Reference book for automobile insurers shows the list price for each make/model/year of car and truck sold between 1905-1916, including American made cars and imports such as Mercedes, Benz and Fiat. The explanation section is helpful. See separate sections for gasoline powered cars and electric pleasure vehicles. This book lacks images.
• Used car prices in newspapers, 1904
  Check classified ad sections in newspapers for a sample of used car prices at any given time and place. Here is one example from Minneapolis in 1904. Use the Chronicling America website to find more.

MOTOR TRUCKS and COMMERCIAL VEHICLE PRICES

• Commercial vehicle list prices, 1905-1916 Tells whether each vehicle was powered by gasoline, steam or electricity. This source was produced for the automotive insurance industry.
• Motor business wagon and commercial truck prices, 1907 Illustrated directory published by MoToR, the national monthly magazine of motoring, in 1907.
4-ton Mack truck priced at $4250 in 1907
• Gasoline motor business wagons
  • costing $1500 or less
  • costing $1550-2499
  • costing $2500-3999
  • costing $4000 or more
• Electric motor business wagons
  • costing less than $3000 
  • costing $3000 or more
• Steam business wagons
  • all price points

GASOLINE PRICES

• Gasoline price, 1900
  Gasoline storage tank for private homes, 1901 (Source)
  
  In congressional testimony dated 1900, one gas engine owner reported that he expected to pay 7 or 9 cents a gallon for gasoline, but within a short time, the price had doubled. A corroborating advertisement in the July 19, 1899 issue of Horseless Age stated that gasoline "is available in almost any town at 7 cents a gallon" (see tenth point in this ad). Side note: Inventor Hiram Percy Maxim wrote in the preface to his memoir Horseless Carriage Days (not available online) that between 1893-1901, gasoline was typically purchased from paint shops or drug stores.
• Gasoline retail price, 1902
  Article "The Rising price of gasoline" cites the retail price of gasoline as 18¢ to 20¢ per gallon. Source: The Horseless Age, Aug 13, 1902, p. 158.
• Gasoline retail price, April 1906
  In late April 1906, the price of gasoline for automobiles ranged from 16¢ to 21¢ per gallon. Source: Horseless Age, April 25, 1906, p. 611. col. 3.
• Gasoline retail price, 1907
  Article suggests that gasoline could be purchased for 20¢ a gallon. Source: Scientific American, Feb 9, 1907, p. 127, c. 3.
• Gasoline - Mileage per gallon
  The distance one could travel on a gallon of gasoline depended on the weight of the automobile, the condition of roads, the design of the vehicle itself and other factors. To find mentions of MPG in the historic literature, search for the phrase "miles to the gallon" in HathiTrust's full text search, limiting to the date range desired.

RAILROAD FARES

• Railway passenger fare, 1894-1918
  
  1902 Railway guide showed mileage on routes between cities Railway ticket prices were calculated on a formula of cents per mile, and from the time period 1894 until World War I they remained fairly constant at 2 cents per mile. See railroad passenger fare overview from 1890s-early 1930s in the section titled "Carrier Price," in the U.S. document "Passenger Traffic Report" on pages 38-39.
• Passenger train fare in the U.S., 1871-1933
  Average railroad passenger fare (ticket price) expressed in cents per mile.
• Passenger fare in Illinois, ca. 1900-1916
  Railroad passenger fares in Illinois (and some surrounding states) had generally been 3¢ per mile up until 1907, when they dropped to 2¢ and then rose to 2.5 ¢ in 1914. Source: IL State Public Utilities Commission 1916 report, p. 192.

HOTEL RATES

• Hotel rates - U.S. and Canada, 1900-1908
  Each issue of Hotel Monthly had a hotel directory for the U.S. and Canada; find  the page number in the table of contents on the front cover of each issue. The directories list hotels by state and then by city, and tell the daily rates for each. For example, see the hotel directory published in the January 1904 edition, which would likely have had rates current for 1903. See also the New York Public Library site for hotel restaurant prices.
• St. Louis hotel rates, 1903-1904
  Boarding house rates were 75 cents to $1 per day. Travel guide also gives directions on how to take a streetcar to the World's Fair (p. 3)

OTHER TRANSPORTATION PRICES

• Street railway fares in the U.S., 1905
  Street railway fares in major cities tended to be 3 to 4 cents per ride according to an article in the American Monthly Review of Reviews, February 1905.
• Price to take a ferry or taxi
  Steamer trunks cost from $3 to $40 in 1908.
  Source: Macy's Catalog
  Municipalities could set prices of some services. For example, the fee schedule to take a ferry across the river at St. Louis is detailed in the 1907 city ordinances. Contact us for ferry and taxi rates for other cities.
• Cab rates - St. Louis, 1903
  Cab fares for one-horse or two-horse vehicles were calculated by the mile, the hour, the number of passengers, number of stops and amount of packages. Source: The official red book; official St. Louis city guide.
• Traveling bags and trunks, 1908
  Luggage available through the Macy's catalog, 1908.

Prices in AUSTRALIA, 1900s

Prices in AUSTRIA, 1900s

Prices in BELGIUM, 1900s

Prices in CANADA, 1900s

Prices in FRANCE, 1900s

Prices in GERMANY, 1900s

Prices in GREAT BRITAIN, 1900s

Prices in HUNGARY, 1900s

Prices in INDIA, 1900s

Prices in IRELAND, 1900s

Prices in ITALY, 1900s

Prices in MEXICO, 1900s

Prices in POLAND, 1900s

Prices in the PHILIPPINES, 1900s

Prices in RUSSIA, 1900s

Prices in SWEDEN, 1900s

Sources showing prices in MULTIPLE COUNTRIES, 1900s

"75 Years of American Finance: A Graphic Presentation 1861-1935"
Source: Federal Reserve Bank of Saint Louis.
(Click image for detail)

"75 Years of American Finance: A Graphic Presentation 1861-1935"
Source: Federal Reserve Bank of Saint Louis.
(Click image for detail)

"75 Years of American Finance: A Graphic Presentation 1861-1935"
Source: Federal Reserve Bank of Saint Louis.
(Click image for detail)

"75 Years of American Finance: A Graphic Presentation 1861-1935"
Source: Federal Reserve Bank of Saint Louis.
(Click image for detail)

"75 Years of American Finance: A Graphic Presentation 1861-1935"
Source: Federal Reserve Bank of Saint Louis.
(Click image for detail)

"75 Years of American Finance: A Graphic Presentation 1861-1935"
Source: Federal Reserve Bank of Saint Louis.
(Click image for detail)

"75 Years of American Finance: A Graphic Presentation 1861-1935"
Source: Federal Reserve Bank of Saint Louis.
(Click image for detail)

"75 Years of American Finance: A Graphic Presentation 1861-1935"
Source: Federal Reserve Bank of Saint Louis.
(Click image for detail)

"75 Years of American Finance: A Graphic Presentation 1861-1935"
Source: Federal Reserve Bank of Saint Louis.
(Click image for detail)

"75 Years of American Finance: A Graphic Presentation 1861-1935"
Source: Federal Reserve Bank of Saint Louis.
(Click image for detail)