Library Guides: Prices and Wages by Decade: 1920-1929

Wages, 1920-1929

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COST OF LIVING

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

NOTE: If you are looking for total family income data for 1929 that is not limited to salaries and wages, the best known source is a 1934 Brookings Institution report titled America's Capacity to Consume. It is not yet available to read online; check your local library.

Manufacturing job hours and earnings, 1919-1960
Very simple table shows average hours and earnings for all production workers in manufacturing for each year from 1919-1960.
Union wages by occupation and city, 1920-1929
Jump directly to years: 1920-1921, 1922-1923, 1924-1925, 1926-1927, 1928, and 1929-1930. Detailed occupations are listed alphabetically under industries, such as bakery trades, building trades, chauffeurs/teamsters/drivers, laundry workers, linemen, publishing, street railways, etc. Many unexpected occupations were unionized, for example musicians, hatters, actors, barbers, turkish bath attendants, artists and enbalmers. The wage tables continue for more than a hundred pages, listing many occupations within these industries. Be sure to scroll forward or try the "Find" tool, which looks like a magnifying glass just above the page frame.
Common labor - Average starting wage by industry, 1926-1934
Shows starting wages in cents for male laborers in each of 13 industries, as well as an overall average across industries.
War and Postwar Wages, Prices, and Hours, 1914-23 and 1939-44
Compares wage rates and hours of work for the WWI and WWII eras, focusing specifically on the manufacturing, mining, railroad, printing and maritime industries, as well as farm labor wages. Discussion puts wage data in context with price levels which were definitely affected by the wars.
Comparative wage rates in the United States and foreign countries, 1927
Foreign wage rates are arranged for easy comparison to U.S. wage rates for the same occupations. Provides foreign wage data in native currency alongside the U.S. dollar equivalent.
Wages for selected professional occupations in 1928
This source compares salaries for university professors to that of similarly-trained individuals working in private industry or for the government. It shows pay and earnings of engineers, Army and Navy officers, federal employees working in scientific bureaus, life insurance industry executives, public utility administrators, judges and more. This is a non-government source that cites government data.
Industrial wage rates and policy, 1929-1938
Focuses specifically on management/labor and pay issues in the shoe, paper, cotton textile industries, with some tables showing wages expressed in dollars. This work is part of a congressional hearing titled "Investigation of Concentration of Economic Power," published in 1940.
Ohio - Average annual wages and salaries by occupation, 1916-1932
The "Service Industries" chapter in this source breaks out wages paid to workers in hospitals, hotels, bowling alleys, theaters, parks, churches, country clubs, athletic clubs and yacht clubs, advertising agencies, banks, laundries, schools/colleges, and restaurants (making no distinction between waiters, cooks or bus boys). Lists wages paid to auto mechanics, office workers, window cleaners, barbers and hairdressers, bartenders in saloons, domestic servants, people working in social agencies, and more. Source: U.S. BLS Bulletin, No. 613. Check the Table of Contents page for even more wages in manufacturing and construction industries and for people working in retail trades and in transportation.
Wages by Occupation in Louisiana, 1929
Shows wages for common and semi-skilled workers in manufacturing and construction industries, in baking, agriculture, metal and printing trades. From the Louisiana Department of Labor and Industrial Statistics Biennial Report for 1929-1930.

WAGES BY INDUSTRY / OCCUPATION

Agriculture - 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 here.
Agriculture - Farm wages by state, 1927-1929

Percent of population living on farms by state in 1920.
Source
A table from page 120 in the 1929 edition of Crops and Markets tells the average monthly and daily wages of hired farm labors. It is broken out by state and whether or not workers received board as part of the compensation package.
Agriculture - Farm workers' wages and income, 1909-1938
Farm wage rates are broken out by year and geographic location. Wages for farm workers are compared to that of factory workers. Article starts on page 59 of the BLS Monthly Labor Review, July 1939 issue.
Agriculture - Farm labor wages by state and county
Farm labor wage data is usually available in state government resources. For example, see farm labor wages in North Carolina counties in the early 1920s. If you need a different state, contact us at concannonm@missouri.edu.
Agriculture - Male farm labor average wages by state, 1929
Agriculture - 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.
Agriculture - Cotton picking wages by state, 1929-1935
Chart shows the wage for picking 100 pounds of cotton in 19 different states as well as the U.S. average.
Airplanes and aircraft engines manufacture - Hours and earnings, 1929
Average hours and earnings by occupation and district. Bulletin of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, No. 523
Automobile industry wages, 1922
The tables show pay for employees engaged in the manufacture of automobiles, trucks, car bodies and parts. Tables are broken down by type of job, gender of employee, and geography.
Automobile tire manufacturing wages, 1923
Bulletin of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, No. 358
Boot, shoe, hosiery and underwear manufacturing wages, 1907-1932
Building and construction trades - Union wages, 1913-1930
Arranged by occupation and then by city and year, this source shows wages and hours for union bricklayers, building laborers, carpenters, cement finishers, inside granite cutters, hod carriers, inside wiremen, painters, plasterers, plumbers, sheet-metal workers, stonecutters and structural iron workers.
Carpenter wages, 1920s
- Union carpenter wages in selected cities for 1924-1925
- Average hourly carpenter wage for the whole U.S. for 1926. This table compares the U.S. average to that earned by carpenters in other countries.
- In the book History of Wages in the United States from Colonial Times to 1928, Table B-4 shows carpenter wages for 1920-1928 for twelve major U.S. cities. The table spans pages 165-167.
Cement industry job wages and hours, 1929
Average earnings by occupation and districts. Pay for overtime and work on Sundays. Bulletin of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, No. 525
Clothing (men's) manufacturing wages and hours of labor, 1911-1932
Coal mining jobs - Hours and earnings, 1919-1933
Coal mining wages by state, 1923
This is a two-page table spanning pages 294-295. See appendixes in this book for additional data. Source: Miners' wages and the cost of coal: an inquiry into the wages system.... by Isador Lubin.
Convict labor in 1923 - Compensation
About half of the surveyed penal institutions gave prisoners some compensation, based on its use as incentive toward good work and better behavior, and to provide the convict with a small way to provide for his family.
Cotton-goods manufacturing - Wages, 1922
Tables are broken down by occupation, sex, and state. It also summarizes the years from 1907-1922.
Cotton goods manufacturing wages, 1924
The survey covered 114 different cotton mills in 12 different state, and generally divides tables by occupation, sex, and year or occupation, sex, and state.
Dentists' income, 1929-1948
Nine-page article includes breakouts by state, by size of community, by source of income, and more.
Domestic (household) service - Male workers' wages
Median wages for butlers, chauffeurs, gardeners, furnace men and "house men" employed to work in private households in Philadelphia in the late 1920s.
Education - School teachers and principals' salaries, 1921-1922
Covers elementary schools and junior high schools in American cities with populations of 2,500 or more. Data is broken out by states and cities. Gives the salary range (minimum-maximum). There are no breakouts by race, sex or educational attainment of the teachers.
Education - Teachers' salaries in 1922-1923
Source: Teachers' salaries and salary trend in 1923, a report of the National Education Association of the United States.
Education - Teachers' salaries by school level, 1923
Covers elementary, junior high, and high school teachers in American cities with populations of 2,500 or more. Data is organized based on city population. Includes salaries of men and of women high school teachers for select cities. Gives the salary range (minimum-maximum).
Education - Teachers' salaries by sex in large cities, 1926
Tables compare salaries of male and female teachers, principals and administrators in New York City, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Detroit, St. Louis, Chicago and Kansas City,
Education - Teacher's salaries by school level, 1924-1928
Shows average annual salaries nationwide, broken out by school level: kindergarten, elementary school, junior high, high school, vocational school, college, and normal school (teacher training academies).
Education - Teachers of high schools in Illinois, 1920-1921
Lengthy article reports how much educators earned in Illinois' high schools in 1920-1921.
Education - Teachers' salaries in New York state, 1920-1932
Table 41 in this source shows the average salary for all teachers in elementary and secondary schools in New York state, not including NYC. Some New York City teacher and principal salaries are shown on the following page in Table 42.
Education - Teacher salaries in North Carolina by race, 1922
Salary scale for white teachers begins here. Section titled Salary Scale for Colored Teachers is on the last page.
Engineers' earnings, 1929-1934
Source: U.S. BLS Bulletin #682. Note that few women had entered the engineering field in these early years. The Census Bureau counted only 41 female engineers in 1920.
Firemen and fire department salaries by city, 1927
Shows firemen salaries for 25 American cities including New York City, Chicago, New Orleans, Indianapolis, Buffalo, Boston, Detroit, Cleveland, St. Louis, Kansas City and more. Source: U.S. Congressional Serial Set Vol. No. 8836.
Foundries and machine shop jobs - Wages and hours, 1923-1931
Furniture manufacturing industry - Wages and hours, 1910-1931
Source: U.S. BLS Bulletin No. 571
Government (city) 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.
Government (federal) - Pay in leadership positions, 1926
This source tells the annual pay for individuals occupying administrative and supervisory positions in the executive and judicial branches. Note, these are not averages, but show the actual pay for each named individual.
Government (state level) employee pay, 1925-1928
Shows average public employee pay for each state. Source: National Municipal Review, January 1932 issue.
Government employee pay in New York state, 1911-1931
This source is entirely about compensation of state and local government employees in New York. See the table of contents for additional tables and discussion.
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.
Hosiery and underwear manufacturing - Wages and hours, 1907-1932
Industrial home work - Earnings
Industrial home work was the practice of allowing workers to do work at home. It was most common in clothing manufacture but was also prevalent in the making of tobacco products and the manufacture of other small items. Usually women and sometimes children did the work.
Iron and steel industry wages and hours, 1907-1931
Judge's pay in federal courts - 1926
Source shows annual compensation for judges including those on the U.S. Supreme Court, circuit courts and district courts. Also tells pay for court clerks and marshals. Note - this source tells what each individual was paid, not overall averages.
Lawyers' income, 1929-1948
Shows lawyers' incomes by regions and states, by size of community served, by the age of the lawyer and number of years in practice, by WWII veteran status, and more. Source: "Income of Lawyers, 1929-1948" in the August 1949 issue of Survey of Current Business.
Lumber industry job wages and hours, 1921-1932
Manufacturing industry - Average monthly earnings, 1918-1920
Shows breakouts by type of manufacturing operation: automobile manufacture, cigar making, boots/shoe making, men's clothing, iron/steel, hosiery/underwear manufacture, etc. Source: Survey of Current Business . Find additional data by checking other issues of this publication.
Metalliferous mining job wages and hours, 1924
Bulletin of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, No. 394
Mining metals - Wages and hours, 1924 and 1931
Bulletin of the United States BLS, no. 573.
Military pay for officers on active duty - 1926
Source shows pay tables, based on years of service, for Army and Navy officers including generals, admirals, colonels, lieutenants, captains, ensigns, etc.
Mining - anthracite and bituminous coal, 1922 and 1924
The 200 bituminous mines covered are in 11 States including Alabama, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Utah, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming. Wages on Pgs. 34-40.
Motor vehicle industry job wages and hours, 1922-1928
Nursing - Average salaries for public health and institutional nurses, 1927
This 1930 report by the Committee on the Grading of Nursing Schools presents the findings of a nation-wide study of nursing economics, including data on the number of nursing school graduates from 1880 to 1929 as well as salary information.
Paper and pulp industry job wages, 1923
These figures are shown by occupation, sex, and region. .
Paper box-board industry job wages and hours, 1926
Bulletin of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, No. 407
Petroleum industry, 1920
Average earnings per hour and average full-time hours, with average hours actually worked and average earnings actually received in a sample pay-roll period.
Police and fire department officers and personnel - Salaries, 1924
Police force salaries for Washington DC, Los Angeles, Providence RI and six additional cities begin on page 5. Includes inspectors in command of detective bureaus, superintendents, captains, privates, etc. Fire department salaries, by job title, for New York City, Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, San Francisco, Newark and Jersey City begins on page 44.
Police departments - Salaries, 1927
Gives salaries for seven different job titles in police departments in 25 major American cities, including Philadelphia, Kansas City, St. Louis, Minneapolis and more in 1927. Source: U.S. Congressional Serial Set vol. 8836.
Pottery industry job wages and hours, 1925
Bulletin of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, No. 412
Railroad worker earnings, 1922
Compares wages for 1922 to 1940 rates for a variety of railroad jobs. Taken from: Wages and labor relations in the railroad industry, 1900-1941, ... Bureau of Information of the Eastern Railways (not a government document)
Railroad employee wages, 1917 and 1921
Shows wage rates for a variety of occupations in the railroad industry, including engineers, conductors, passenger baggage men, coal passers, firemen, switch tenders, hostlers, signalmen, station agents, telegraphers, machinists, car cleaners, and more.
Railway workers' hours and wages by occupation, 1914-1923
Source: Wages, hours and employment of railroad workers published 1924 by the National Industrial Conference Board.
Railroad wage data (Pennsylvania) - 1927
From Report of Joint Fact Finding Committee in Wage Negotiations, 1927, in Bulletin of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, No. 514
Seamen and firemen on ocean ships - Wages, 1914-1918
Shows monthly wages based on the ocean routes traveled: San Francisco to points west, and New York City to points south and east.
Slaughtering and meat-packing industry, 1921-1927
Tables are divided by department, occupation, and district, as well as by sex.
Slaughtering and meat-packing industry, 1929
Report shows hours and earnings of workers in the slaughtering and meat-packing industry. Tables are divided by division, occupation, and district, as well as by sex. Table 52 provides information on overtime, Sunday and holiday pay.
Street laborers (unskilled) - Wages and hours, 1928
Unskilled labor hired by cities for construction, repair or cleaning of streets. Taken from Bulletin of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, No. 484
Teachers -- see above, under "Education"
Veterinarian's pay - 1920s
- Veterinarians for stock farms earned $1500-$5000 per year, according to the article "The Veterinary Profession" published in the March 1921 Ohio State University Bulletin. The article also lists annual pay for veterinarians with federal jobs, state jobs such as extension or experiment station work, lab experts, jobs in the commercial industry such as veterinary sales, and working as city food inspectors. Earnings listed on pages 7-11.
- In the article "Business Methods in Country Practice" published in the Oct 1922 Cornell Veterinarian, typical fees for veterinary visits are described on page 300.
- See 1926 annual salaries for individual veterinarians employed by the U.S. Dept of Agriculture's Bureau of Animal Industry and stationed anywhere in the United States. It will be necessary to scroll forward in this source and browse the job titles. This source does not show averaged figures.
Woolen and worsted goods manufacturing: 1910 to 1930
Woolen and worsted goods manufacturing, 1907-1922
Shows average hours and earnings. See earnings by state starting on page 16.

WOMEN'S WAGES

See list of the most common occupations for women in 1910 and 1920 (source: Census Bureau).

Women's wages in 13 states - 1920s
Dates for most tables range from 1920-1925. States that are included: Rhode Island, New Jersey, Ohio, Delaware, Oklahoma, Missouri, Georgia, Tennessee, Arkansas, Kentucky, South Carolina, Alabama and Mississippi. Published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Women's Bureau. Bulletin #85.
Women's wages in Alabama
Report published in 1924.
Women's wages in Arkansas
Report published in 1923 gives wages for Arkansas women by occupation and race. Some occupations covered include telephone operators, waitresses, hotel maids, chambermaids, elevator girls, laundry workers, retail clerks, and factory workers in the wood working industry.
Women's wages in Kansas
Report published in 1921 tells wages for women working in offices, in meat and poultry packing, restaurants, food manufacturing, clothing manufacturing, laundries, and more.
Women's wages in Kentucky
Report published in 1923 tells wages by race and by industry. Mostly covers manufacturing industries (tobacco was prominent), but there is some data for women who worked in mercantile stores, 5-and10-cent stores, and in laundries.
Women's wages in Missouri
Report published in 1924.
Women's wages in Ohio
Report published in 1925 mainly covers wages in manufacturing industries.
Women's wages in New Jersey
Report published in 1924.
Women's wages in South Carolina
Report published in 1923.
Women in Tennessee industries - Hours, wages and working conditions, 1925
Report published in 1927 includes extensive wage data for women in Tennessee by race, industry, education, and more, circa 1925.
Women's median wages by state and industry - 1910s-1920s
This Women's Bureau report, The Development of Minimum Wage Laws in the United States, shows changes in wages around the time that minimum wage laws for women were being passed. For simplicity, look for tables giving median values. "First quartile" and "third quartiles" are statistical terms explained on page 334.
Negro womens' earnings by state, 1920-1925
Shows median weekly earnings for the states of GA, KY, SC, AL, AR, MO, NJ, OH, MS, TN. The chapter on earnings extends from pages 39-48 and includes much analysis and discussion.
Women employed as household servants in Philadelphia - late 1920s
Chart shows median wages of women employed in Philadelphia households as chambermaids, cleaners, cooks, waitresses, laundress, seamstress, and children's nurses (nannies.) Includes breakouts for those who lived with the family and those who did not.
Women employed as cleaners, maids, and elevator operators in Washington DC, 1920
Wages of certain women in the District of Columbia. The study pays particular attention to women who made less than the average wage.
Women's wages in the candy industry in St. Louis and Chicago, 1920-1921
Women's Bureau Bulletin #25.
Library assistants' salaries, 1923
This article reprinted from a January 1923 edition of Library Journal tells how much library assistants were earning and also shows typical budgets for unmarried, working women.

Significant Legislation concerning Wages, 1920s

Development of minimum wage laws in the U.S., 1912-1927
During the 1910s and 1920s, minimum wage laws were effected by a handful of states and generally applied only to women and children.
Minimum wage laws of the U.S., construction and operation, 1921
Bulletin of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, No. 285
Laws relating to payment of wages, 1926
Bulletin of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, No. 408

Wages in MULTIPLE COUNTRIES, 1920s

Click the tabs above for single countries.

Wages in Foreign Countries, 1914-1921
Covers Great Britain, France, Belgium, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, Italy and Austria. Wages are expressed in both foreign currency and dollars. Data gathered by the National Industrial Conference Board (a group of industry associations) which used European government publications for information.
Wages in Great Britain, France and Germany (with addendum for Switzerland)
Provides detailed breakouts by occupation. Figures expressed in both foreign currency and in dollars. Data gathered by the National Industrial Conference Board using foreign government sources. Published 1921.
Minimum Wage Legislation in Various Countries
Discussion covers the history of minimum wage legislation in Australia, New Zealand, Great Britain, Canada, South Africa, Mexico, France, Norway, Argentina, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Uruguay, Hungary, Poland, Italy, and Rumania (Romania) up to 1928. It may be necessary to read the chapters pertaining to the country, but you can find the actual minimum wages in the discussion.

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Bulletin of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, No. 467
Comparative Wage Rates in the United States and in Foreign Countries, 1927
Wage rates by occupation in foreign countries (sometimes just to a certain city in the foreign country), assembled for easy comparison to U.S. wage rates for the same occupations. Provides foreign wage data in native currency alongside the U.S. dollar equivalent to assist in comparing the rates.
Wages paid on steamships by country and occupation, 1922
Shows wages paid on American, Belgian, British, Danish, Dutch, French, Spanish and Swedish cargo ships, by occupations including seamen, engineers, first mates, second mates, radio operators, boatswains, firemen, coal passers, stewards, cooks, waiters, messmen, mess boys, carpenters, deck engineers, quartermasters, store keepers, donkey men, and more. There is also a table showing wages paid to Chinese and Lascar (Indian or southeast Asian) employees on British and Dutch steamships.

Wages in GERMANY, 1920s

"Real wages" in Germany by industry, 1923
The explanation states: "real wage rates have been computed by the Statistical Office on the basis of the official German cost-of-living index. Since money wage rates of foreign countries have little meaning for economists in America, only the real wage rates are given...."
Metal industry wages in Germany, 1928
Wages for workers engaged in the manufacture of iron and steel goods, machinery, railway rolling stock, boilers, vehicles, aircraft, electrical apparatus, scientific instruments and more.
Trends of German wages, 1929-1942
Shows average wages alongside a cost of living index for Germany between 1929-1942.
Automobile manufacturing wages in Germany, 1929
Chart indicates hourly earnings ranges for piecework at automobile manufacturing companies in Germany. The wage data is broken out by sex.

Wages in GREAT BRITAIN, 1920s

Earnings and hours of labor for workers in Great Britain and Northern Ireland, 1924
Article includes tables showing average weekly earnings by industry and sex and average hourly earnings.
Iron and steel industry wages - Great Britain, 1926
Extensive article provides wage detail by occupation and city. Spans pages 131-146 in the source.
Average earnings of workers in Great Britain and Northern Ireland, 1924 and 1928
Two-page table shows average weekly earnings by industry in English and U.S. currency.
Average earnings per shift for coal miners - Great Britain for 1921-23
Includes district-specific information and the average output of coal per person per shift.
Source: Trade Information Bulletin no. 247.

Wages in the SOVIET UNION, 1920s

Earnings for industrial and construction workers in Soviet Union, 1926-1927
These two tables show average daily wages in various industries and building occupations. Rates are shown in both rubles and US currency.
Average yearly wages in the Soviet Union, 1929-1932
This table provides average yearly wages per industry or trade type, including transportation, education and agriculture, among others.
Wages in Russia, 1923
Estimates that the average wage for labor would seldom exceed 12 rubles per month in late 1923. Source: congressional speech (Serial Set 8246)

Prices, 1920-1929

Jump down to PRICES for ...
FOOD
MERCHANDISE
HOUSING, REAL ESTATE and UTILITIES
SERVICES
TRAVEL and TRANSPORTATION
COST OF LIVING ANALYSIS
PRICES in FOREIGN COUNTRIES

FOOD PRICES

Food prices - U.S. average retail prices, 1920-1928
Shows prices by month along with yearly averages. Note that tables are intended to span across two pages in a book, so row labels will only show on even-numbered pages. Click "more..." for direct links to prices for different types of foods.

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See prices for meats and eggs,
butter, cheese, milk, bread and flour,
corn meal, rice, potatoes, granulated sugar, coffee and tea,
onions, navy beans, prunes, raisins, canned salmon,
evaporated milk, margarine, lard, oats, corn flakes, wheat cereal, macaroni, canned baked beans, canned corn, canned peas, canned tomatoes, bananas, oranges,
and more.
Retail prices of food,1923-36
Shows the retail prices for specific foods averaged across 51 U.S. cities. Source: U.S. BLS Bulletin no. 635.
Retail prices of food in the United States, 1923-24
Tells the retail prices of food, such as sirloin, eggs, oranges, and butter in cents as well as percent changes in cost for 1923-24.
Grocery prices in Washington DC, August 1929
Source shows long list of typical items available in food stores, along with brand names and package sizes. Compares average retail selling prices for each item in independent stores and in chain stores. Source: Chain Stores (Serial Set #9742)

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Recognizable name brand items in the price lists include Canada Dry Ginger Ale, Quaker Oats, Cream of Wheat, Hershey's Cocoa, Aunt Jemima Pancake Flour, Mazola Oil, Wesson Oil, Coleman's Mustard, Post Toasties, Morton's Salt, Knox Gelatin, Sun Maid Raisins, Palmolive soap, Log Cabin syrup, Del Monte canned goods, Heinz ketchup, Gold Medal flour, Carnation Milk, Life Savers candy, Bon Ami scouring powder, Lucky Strike cigarettes, Camel cigarettes, Scott Tissue toilet paper, and many other brand name items that are not as recognizable.
Average retail food prices reported annually from 1890-1970
This one-page table shows the average retail prices for bread, milk, eggs, meats, fruits, vegetables, coffee, beans, sugar, margarine, etc. each year from 1890-1970. Data collection took place in about 30-60 U.S. cities. Jump to page 193 of this resource for an excellent explanation of the historical table and the methodology of data collection.
Food prices paid by farmers, 1910-1943
Prices paid by farmers for a pound of butter, coffee, rice, bacon or lard. Also prices for 24-pound sack of flour and 10-pound sack of sugar. Covers the years 1910-1914 (5 year average), 1919,1929, 1939 and 1943.
Restaurant food and drink prices, 1920s
New York Public Library site has over 400 scanned restaurant menus from the 1920-1929 decade. This is not a government resource but it can be useful for spot-checking prices for specific food or beverages at restaurants.

PRICES for MERCHANDISE

Prices of articles bought by farmers, 1909-1924
Table 679 of this 1923 USDA Yearbook tells how much U.S. farmers paid for farm tools, implements and supplies, work gloves, shirts and shoes, shotguns, tobacco, wagons, building materials such as nails and shingles, and household items such as dishes and fruit jars, washtubs and buckets in 1909, 1914-1922. Prices for 1923 and 1924 begin on page 1152.
Apparel prices in retail shops, 1921
Shows prices for articles of clothing sold in 35 retailer shops in twelve cities. Source: Dry Goods Economist, a trade publication.
Sears Roebuck mail order catalog, 1922
. Young mens clothing shown in 1922 Sears catalog
This nearly 1,000-page mail order catalog lists clothing, home furnishings and appliances, musical instruments, hardware, tools and much more, along with prices. (Such a catalog represents only one retailer's prices, not average prices from all retailers). Use the "Search in this text" box to find particular items, or refer to the catalog's own index. Shipping rates are included as well.
Montgomery Ward catalog, 1920
Over 1,000 pages show prices for clothing, toys, jewelry, tools, farm implements and more. See index to quickly find page numbers for items featured.
Women's clothing by mail order, 1920
B. Altman & Co. mail order catalog shows images and prices for women's garments for Summer 1920.
Retail prices for imported merchandise, 1922
Fascinating book that shows various imported items (such as kid gloves, bloomers, silk nightgown, men's pipe, electric flatiron, glass lamp, etc.) along with the country of origin, value in that country, transportation charges, duty charges and retail price in the U.S. Includes a photo of most items. For easier browsing, the information is shown in table format in the Oct 1922 issue of the BLS Monthly Labor Review
Radio price catalog, 1925
Montgomery Ward catalog shows prices of radios and radio supplies on 60+ pages.

PRICES for HOUSING, REAL ESTATE and UTILITIES

Average value of mortgaged homes - 1920
Shows average value of mortgaged homes, average debt remaining on the mortgages and average interest paid on mortgages annually, for 68 cities of 100,000 or more population.
Home ownership and rental costs - 1928
Page 243 reads: "The sum of $4,000 will buy only a very modest home and even then it will have to be in one of the smaller cities...or in a remote suburb of a large city." Click for more info about the kind of home a family earning less than $2,500 annually could buy in 1928.
Cost of materials to build a Sears home, 1908-1939
The Sears Archive site has digitized some pages from their home plan catalogs. Selected entries in their list are clickable. Shows drawing of the home, floor plan, and cost of materials. Shows estimated labor cost in some instances, but this would vary depending on the location.
Cost of materials to build a Sears home, ca. 1920
Full catalog of Sears "Honor Bilt" homes lists costs of materials to build any of dozens of homes. Does not show labor costs to build.
Bungalow home plans and costs to build in California, 1920
Bungalowcraft catalog shows home drawings and floor plans. Costs to build these bungalows are given on the last page of the booklet.
Retail prices of building materials by city, 1922
Retail prices for brick, cement, lumber of various kinds, window glass, shingles, nails and more. Source: U.S. Department of Commerce.
Cost to construct houses, by type of material - 1921
The Building Estimator's Reference Book gives detailed costs for the labor and materials for the construction of houses and office buildings.
Price of farm land by county in selected states, 1912-1924
Tables 6-13 show farm land prices by county in Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, Idaho, Ohio, Kentucky, North Carolina and Texas.
Farm real estate values in Missouri, Illinois and Iowa, 1912-2018
Shows average value per acre (statewide) for farm real estate including both land and buildings. Table shows price per acre for each year from 1912 to 2018. Compares the figures to the average for all other states.
Land in Missouri - Cost to rent or buy by county, 1922
Shows by county the price of undeveloped land, plow land and farm land. Also shows the average cost to rent farm land or pastures by the acre, by county. Data available for additional years in Missouri Farm Census by Counties, Missouri State Dept of Agriculture.
Changes in retail prices of electricity, 1923-38
Indicates prices per kilowatt-hour by areas and cities. Discusses household expenditures for electricity, and estimates the number of homes that had various electrical appliances (radios, refrigerators, irons, etc.) over the years. Source: U.S. BLS Bulletin, no. 664

PRICES for HEALTH CARE

Cost of hospital service, maternity care, and more
Hospital stays were $6 or $7 per day circa 1930. Physician fees for maternity patients are reported for a rural county in Indiana and also for Berkeley, California (scroll to pages 423-426 in the publication.) Source: Handbook of Labor Statistics, 1931 edition.
Cost of hospitalization, 1913 and 1926
Tells average length of stay and average cost per day based on whether the patient was in a ward or a private room.
Rates charges for hospital services, 1928
Much detail is provided in the book Hospital service for patients of moderate means; a study of certain American hospitals spans pages 28-41. Published in Washington, D.C. by the Committee on the cost of medical care in 1930. This is not a government document.
Rates charged for hospital services (two-page summary)
Source: Handbook of Labor Statistics, 1931 edition : Bulletin of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, No. 541
Drug prices, 1922
Lists single-unit prices for barbital, benzoyl peroxide, benzocaine, aspirin, quinoline, and more, showing proprietary and coined drug names. Priced by the single unit. Source: American Druggist, January 1923 issue.

PRICES for TRAVEL and TRANSPORTATION

Car prices as shown in "Pictorial History of the Automobile"
Arranged by make and model of car. Provides good representation for the cost of a new car from 1900 through the 1920s. Less for the 1930s and after. Source: A Pictorial History of the Automobile, as seen in Motor magazine, published 1953 (not a government publication or a primary source).
Gasoline prices paid by farmers, 1910-1943
Under the heading "Supplies" in the table on page 21, this source shows the average gasoline price per gallon for 1910-1914 (five year average), 1919, 1929, 1939, and 1943.
Gasoline - Retail price in Pensacola FL, 1929
Article indicates that the retail price for gasoline in Pensacola was 25 cents per gallon. Source: National Petroleum News , June 5, 1929, p. 11. col. 2.
Gasoline - Retail prices in Minneapolis and St. Paul, 1926-1929
Article discusses a gasoline price war in the twin cities in the late 1920s. Retail prices might normally have been 20-23 cents per gallon, but had slipped down to 14 cents at times. Source: National Petroleum News June 12, 1929.
Gasoline - Tank wagon price in nine U.S. cities, 1922-1923
Shows tank wagon prices in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Additional detail is available for Milwaukee. Note that a markup of a few cents would be charged if gasoline was purchased at a filling station. Source: Congressional hearing: High cost of gasoline and other petroleum products, 1923.
Passenger train fare in the U.S., 1871-1933
Average railroad passenger fare (ticket price) expressed in cents per mile.
Bus and railway fares, compared - 1920s
Quote from this 1932 report: "Since July 1920, railroad passenger fares have generally been on the basis of 3.6 cents per mile throughout the country," with extra charges for parlor or sleeping car accommodations. See exact fares for selected bus and railroad routes in the narrative spanning pages 28-32 of this publication. Source: 1932 Report to the U.S. Interstate Commerce Commission.
Railway passenger ticket prices - 1920s
Railroad passenger fares were generally calculated on a cents-per-mile basis. Ticket prices started dropping in 1926 in response to competition from the motor transportation industry. See full railroad passenger fare overview in the section titled "Carrier Price," in the U.S. document "Passenger Traffic Report" on pages 38-39.
Vacation to Yellowstone National Park - Prices in 1920
This booklet shows prices for hotels and amenities such as a shave and haircut, bath house rates, telephone rates, restaurant meals, etc. Also shows rowboat and pack horse rental rates, cost for guided tours, price of postcards, and transportation fares.
Steamship fares to China
The "Commercial Travelers' Guide to the Far East" published in 1926 by the U.S. Department of Commerce includes fares from Seattle to various points.
Steamship fares to Latin America - 1920
The "Commercial Travelers' Guide to Latin America" (1922, U.S. Dept of Commerce) lists one-way, first class steamship fares from New York to Caribbean islands, Mexico, and Central and South American countries. Also shows some fares originating from New Orleans and San Francisco. Fares are listed on pages 30-43; taxes on page 44. The guide strongly advises the traveler to always seek first class accommodation on these journeys to points south.

PRICES for SERVICES

Average funeral cost by state and city, 1927
This source shows the cost of funerals and burial in 18 states and in 10 major cities. Includes breakouts for adults and children, and breakouts for type of expense such as a hearse, embalming, cremation, religious services, flowers and more. Source: Funeral costs: what they average. Are they too high? Can they be reduced? published 1928.
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.

Cost of Living Analysis, 1920s

In addition to the links below, we highly recommend the book America's Capacity to Consume, published in 1934 by the Brookings Institution. It is unparalleled for its detailed analysis of personal and household income as well as consumer expenditures in the late 1920s and early 1930s.

Changes in cost of living in large cities of the United States, 1913-1941
This document looks only at whether the cost of living was going up or down for families, in relative terms. It compares the affordability of food and consumer goods from one year to the next and provides price indexes but not actual prices. Bulletin of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, No. 699
Minimum quantity budget necessary to maintain a worker's family of five in health and decency, 1920
A study to determine how much a family of five would need to live comfortably in 1920. Includes the numbers on the approximate annual wage the family would need to live this lifestyle.
Cost of living among wage earners, Detroit, Michigan, 1921
Lists prices of typical food items, housing expenses, clothing, fuel, light and sundries, including typical expenditure on recreation. Puts all of this into context with the cost of living for single men and for families with children. Published by the National Industrial Conference Board, a group of industry associations.
Virginia - Cost of living and expenditures, 1928-1929
Compares expenditures among urban and rural Virginia families for food, housing, clothing, automobiles, health insurance, recreation, personal items and more. Source: Rural and Urban Living Standards in Virginia, published 1929.
Medical care, average expenditures per family and individual, 1929
Although services are not priced out, the chart does tell the average amounts families were spending on medical care per year, broken out by family income.
Ability to pay and standard of living among farmers, 1926
Cost of living and family expenditures in Kentucky, Tennessee and Texas. Includes a table showing farmers' disposable net income.
Costs involved in running a farm, 1921
Lists costs of running a farm, including costs of power, labor, insurance, interest on loans, etc. Taken from the 1921 U.S. Department of Agriculture Yearbook, starting on page 804.
Average annual costs of keeping work horses, 1921
This Farmers' Bulletin, Cost of Using Horses on Corn-Belt Farms, goes into great detail about the costs of keeping work horses, including a cost per day breakdown (see table on page 13).
Farm taxes - 1929
Table shows average tax by acre for each state in 1929. Tax covers both land and buildings. Expressed in dollars and also as a percentage of the property value. Source: 1934 Statistical Abstract of the United States.

Buying power of historic wages expressed in today's dollars

Consumer Price Index Inflation Calculator
This calculator allows you to compare the buying power of wages earned at different points in history. For example, a dollar earned in 2016 had the same buying power as 4 cents in 1913. Conversely, a dollar earned in 1913 had the same buying power as $24.24 in the year 2016.

Prices in Foreign Countries, 1920-1929

Ireland - Retail prices, 1914 and 1922
Shows prices in shillings and pence for various food items; articles of clothing for men, women, boys and girls; fuel for heating and cooking; soap, tobacco and cigarettes. Source: Report on the Cost of Living in Ireland, pages 7-9. Elsewhere in the same volume, find average rents and typical family budgets.
Canada - Prices of staple foods, fuel and rent in 1913, 1920-1927
Expressed in dollars. Source: Statistics Canada.
Canada - Food and rents by province and city, 1923
Shows prices of dozens of food and grocery items, soap, coal, wood by the cord, matches by the box and rent for a 6-room house, with and without modern conveniences. Source: Labour Gazette, Canada Department of Labor.
New Zealand - Food and cigarette retail prices by city, 1921
Each table is for a different New Zealand city. Scroll forward and back to see the various cities for which average food prices are available. This is a New Zealand government document.
New Zealand - House rent by city, 1921
Table shows average cost to rent houses by the number of rooms in each of 25 New Zealand cities and towns.