Jump down to WAGES ...
by RACE and SEX
by STATE
by OCCUPATION
in FOREIGN COUNTRIES
Jump down to PRICES for ...
FOOD
CLOTHING
COMMON HOUSEHOLD ITEMS
HOUSING
HEALTH & MEDICINE
TRANSPORTATION
COLLEGE EDUCATION
ENTERTAINMENT
COMMUNICATION
GASOLINE, ENERGY and FUEL
MISCELLANEOUS
PRICES in FOREIGN COUNTRIES
WAGES - GENERAL SOURCES (all occupations and worker types)
INCOME STATISTICS for the 1970s
EARNINGS by RACE AND SEX, 1970s
EARNINGS by SEX, 1970s
Source: Industry Wage Surveys in the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Bulletin series.
Source: Industry Wage Surveys in the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Bulletin series.
Source: Industry Wage Surveys in the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Bulletin series.
Medical and health industries
Source: Industry Wage Surveys in the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Bulletin series.
Private nonfarm economy - Employee compensation - 1970, 1972, 1974
Source: Industry Wage Surveys in the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Bulletin series.
Truck drivers and helpers - Union wages and hours - 1970s
Clothing, apparel and footwear manufacturing wages
Work clothing manufacturing industry - Wages and demographic characteristics - 1972
WAGES in MANUFACTURING, 1970s
Unless otherwise noted, the following are Industry Wage Surveys from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Bulletin series.
Click on a state tab above to see cities and metro areas. These are U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Area Wage Surveys that show pay for occupations such as secretary, stenographer, typist, messenger, file clerk, bookkeeper, payroll clerk, keypunch operator, computer systems analyst, computer programmer, registered nurse, carpenter, electrician, painter, machinist, mechanic, pipefitter, toot and die maker, janitor, porter, cleaner, and laborer and more.
Alaska
Alabama
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Area Wage Surveys:
Arizona
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Area Wage Surveys:
Arkansas
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Area Wage Surveys:
California
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Area Wage Surveys:
California Labor Market Bulletin - Statistical Supplements
Shows earnings and hours of labor by industry and by city or metro area.
Colorado
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Area Wage Surveys:
Connecticut
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Area Wage Surveys:
District of Columbia
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Area Wage Surveys:
Delaware
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Delaware State Planning Office, Social and Economic Analysis Section:
Florida
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Area Wage Surveys:
Georgia
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Area Wage Surveys:
Idaho
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Area Wage Surveys:
Illinois
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Area Wage Surveys:
Indiana
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Area Wage Surveys:
Iowa
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Area Wage Surveys:
Kansas
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Area Wage Surveys:
Wichita Municipal Government Wage Survey
Kentucky
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Area Wage Surveys:
Louisiana
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Area Wage Surveys:
Maine
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Area Wage Surveys:
Maryland
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Area Wage Surveys:
Massachusetts
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Area Wage Surveys:
Michigan
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Area Wage Surveys:
Minnesota
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Area Wage Surveys:
Mississippi
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Area Wage Surveys:
Missouri
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Area Wage Surveys:
Nebraska
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Area Wage Surveys:
New Hampshire
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Area Wage Surveys:
New Jersey
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Area Wage Surveys:
New Mexico
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Area Wage Surveys:
New York
These bulletins are part of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Area Wage Surveys unless otherwise noted.
North Carolina
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Area Wage Surveys:
Ohio
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Area Wage Surveys:
Oklahoma
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Area Wage Surveys:
Oregon
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Area Wage Surveys:
Pennsylvania
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Area Wage Surveys:
Rhode Island
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Area Wage Surveys:
South Carolina
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Area Wage Surveys:
South Dakota
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Area Wage Surveys:
Tennessee
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Area Wage Surveys:
Texas
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Area Wage Surveys:
Utah
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Area Wage Surveys:
Vermont
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Area Wage Surveys:
Virginia
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Area Wage Surveys:
Washington
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Area Wage Surveys:
West Virginia
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Area Wage Surveys:
In addition to the above, there is also a Hospital Wage Survey for Selected Occupations covering West Virginia only. It was published in 1973.
Wisconsin
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Area Wage Surveys:
PRICES for CLOTHING, 1970s
See tabs above for additional price categories
The source Average Retail Prices of Selected Commodities and Services, Fall 1971 provides prices for various articles of clothing in each of the 56 American urban areas that constituted the Consumer Price Index "city sample," and included nationwide averages. Direct links to the latter are below.
COST of a COLLEGE EDUCATION, 1970s
In 1970, 34% of people aged 18-21 were enrolled in college and 11% of people aged 25 years or older had completed 4 years (source: U.S. Census, Table A-2).
See tabs above for additional price categories
COLLEGE COST DETAIL BY YEAR:
ENTERTAINMENT PRICES, 1970s
GASOLINE PRICES, 1970s
GAS MILEAGE PER GALLON
ENERGY PRICES, 1970s
Shows average electric bills for residential as well as commercial and industrial customers.
For HOUSING, TRANSPORTATION and HEALTH, see boxes below.
Source: U.S. Census of Housing, choose unadjusted figures.
Washington state - Average monthly cost of home ownership, 1970-1980
Source: Washington State Planning and Community Affairs report (see title page)
The U.S. Census Bureau's Characteristics of New Housing series tells average and median sale prices of new homes by number of bedrooms, square feet, and also by region of the country. First choose a report by date, then use the "Search in this Text" feature for the phrase "SALES PRICE," or just "price." Here is an example of a table from 1979 showing average sales price and median sales price of houses according to the number of bedrooms, bathrooms, fireplaces, etc.
Gross rent is defined as "the monthly amount of rent plus the estimated average monthly cost of utilities (electricity, gas, water and sewer) and fuels (oil, coal, kerosene, wood, etc.). This source shows data by state and for the U.S. as a whole. Source: U.S. Census of Housing, choose unadjusted figures.
Shows average value for farm land and buildings from 1850-1982. Use the following hyperlinks to see values for AL, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MS, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY. See data considerations for explanation. Source: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture report.
Includes both land and buildings. Compares to national averages. Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service.
Tells how much a one-way bus ticket might have cost from New York, Miami, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles or Montreal to any of 30 other major American cities.
With breakouts for first class and coach, expressed in cents. Source: U.S. GAO.
Shows fares between New York City and Boston and Washington DC. Source: U.S. Dept of Transportation staff papers, Table 5.
For the cost per day to stay in a hospital, see column labeled "current dollars," as that refers to the dollar cost at the time. Compares the cost of a hospital stay from 1950 to 1976. See page 31 for a chart showing how much of this cost was paid by insurance.
Tables compare the average cost per patient day and per case for 1972-1975 in New York, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. See page 1701 for average costs per patient stay and patient day in Vermont and the U.S. for each month from May 1976 to Feb 1977. Source: Congressional hearing: Hospital cost containment act of 1977.
Indicates the range of physician fees for mastectomy, tonsillectomy, appendectomy, hernia, vasectomy, hysterectomy, obstetrical services and more. Note that the physician fee may have have been just one part of the total medical bill.
The average U.S. price to visit a general practitioner or internist was $7.98 for an office visit, $13.30 for a house call and $9.24 for patients in hospitals. This source also tells the prices for dental services (fillings, extractions and cleaning) and for eyeglasses (exam, prescription, and eyeglasses). Scroll forward in this source to see doctor visit prices broken out by city. Specifications on how such visits were defined are included.
Table shows average cost to receive maternity care, get treated for appendicitis, breast cancer, heart attack (myocardial infarction), pneumonia, and duodenal ulcer. Also shows the average cost for a child to be treated for a forearm fracture or an ear infection (otitis media). Also shows average length of hospital stay for relevant conditions.
Source: Skyrocketing health care costs, a 1978 congressional investigation.
What is the Consumer Price Index (CPI)?
"The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measure of the average change over time in the prices paid by urban consumers for a representative basket of consumer goods and services" with respect to a given base year with value 100. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
What is inflation?
As measured with CPI, it is the percent change in the CPI between two different years, showing the "annual percentage change in the cost to the average consumer of acquiring a basket of goods and services". Source: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
CPI Inflation Formula: CPIx-1-CPIx ⁄CPIx*100
What is the Consumer Price Index (CPI)?
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measure of the average change over time in the prices paid by urban consumers for a representative basket of consumer goods and services, with respect to a given base year with value 100. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
In the United States...
Marie Concannon, Government Information Librarian
Government Documents Department, Ellis Library
University of Missouri, Columbia
Email: concannonm@missouri.edu
Phone (573) 882-0748