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Prices and Wages by Decade: 1990-1999

Links to government documents and primary sources listing retail prices for products and services, as well as wages for common occupations.

Wages in the United States, 1990-1999

Jump down to WAGES ...

by RACE and SEX
by LOCATION
by OCCUPATION
in FOREIGN COUNTRIES

Jump down to PRICES for ...

FOOD
MERCHANDISE
HOUSING and LAND
ENERGY & FUEL
HEALTH CARE
COMMUNICATION
TRANSPORTATION
COLLEGE EDUCATION
ENTERTAINMENT

 

WAGES - GENERAL SOURCES (all occupations and worker types)

Earnings by race and sex, 1990-1999

EARNINGS by BOTH RACE AND SEX, 1990s

EARNINGS by SEX, 1990s

Wages by local area for selected occupations, 1990-1999

Most reports under the tabs above are a mix of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics National Compensation Surveys and Occupational Compensation Surveys.  The corresponding national and regional reports are below.

WAGES and SALARIES BY CITY IN ALASKA

SELECTED OCCUPATIONAL PAY IN ALASKA:

  • Air transportation jobs in Alaska, June 1990, July 1994.  Source: Occupational Compensation Survey.
  • Restaurants, fast food - wages in Alaska,1992

PAY BY CITY or METRO AREA IN CALIFORNIA:

PAY BY SELECTED OCCUPATIONS IN CALIFORNIA:

  • Fast food restaurant jobs - Pay in California
    • Kings County, 1990
    • Oxnard-Ventura, 1990, 1992
    • San Diego, 1990, 1992
    • San Jose, 1990, 1993
    • Solano County, 1991
  • Colorado Springs, CO, Metropolitan Area - Occupational Compensation Survey: Pay and benefits
  • Colorado Springs, CO
    • Restaurant jobs, fast food - 1990
  • Denver, CO, Metropolitan Area - Occupational Compensation Survey: Pay and benefits
  • Denver, CO - Occupational Compensation Survey: Temporary Help Supply Services
  • Pueblo, CO - Occupational Compensation Survey: Pay and benefits

PAY BY CITY / METRO AREA IN FLORIDA:

PAY BY SELECTED OCCUPATIONS IN FLORIDA:

  • Fast food restaurant job pay in Florida:
    • Duval County, 1990
    • Orange County, 1990
    • Panama City, 1990
    • Santa Rose County, 1990
  • Honolulu, HI - National Compensation Survey
  • Honolulu, HI, Metropolitan Area - Occupational Compensation Survey: Pay only
  • Restaurant jobs, fast food - Hawaii, Honolulu,
  • Boise City, ID - Occupational Compensation Survey: Pay only -- Health Services
  • Cincinatti-Hamilton, OH-KY-IN - National Compensation Survey
  • Clarksville-Hopkinsville, TN-KY - Occupational Compensation Survey: Pay and benefits
  • Louisville, KY-IN - National Compensation Survey
  • Louisville, KY-IN, Metropolitan Area - Occupational Compensation Survey: Pay and benefits
  • Louisville, KY-IN - Occupational Compensation Survey: Pay and benefits
  • Restaurant jobs, fast food - Kentucky
    • Christian County, 1991
    • Hardin County, 1991
  • Acadia Parish, LA - Occupational Compensation Survey: Pay only
  • Alexandria-Leesville, LA - Occupational Compensation Survey: Pay only
  • Baton Rouge, LA - Occupational Compensation Survey: Pay and benefits
  • Beaumont-Port Arthur and Lake Charles, TX-LA - Occupational Compensation Survey: Pay only
  • New Orleans, LA, Metropolitan Area - Occupational Compensation Survey: Pay and benefits
  • Orleans Parish, LA - Restaurant jobs, fast food
  • Central Nebraska - Occupational Compensation Survey: Pay and benefits
  • Lincoln, NE - National Compensation Survey
  • Omaha, NE-IA - Occupational Compensation Survey: Pay and benefits
  • Reno, NV - National Compensation Survey
  • Crook County, OR - National Compensation Survey
  • Eugene-Springfield-Medford-Roseburg-Klamath Falls-Grants Pass, OR - Occupational Compensation Survey: Pay and benefits
  • Oregon - Occupational Compensation Survey: Pay only -- Forestry and logging
  • Portland, OR, Metropolitan Area- Occupational Compensation Survey: Pay only
  • Portland, OR - Occupational Compensation Survey: Temporary Help Supply Services
  • Wasco County, OR - National Compensation Survey
  • Yakima-Richland-Kennewick-Pasco-Walla Walla-Pendleton, WA-OR - Occupational Compensation Survey: Pay and benefits
  • Newport County, RI - Restaurant jobs, fast food
  • Providence, RI - Occupational Compensation Survey: Pay only

PAY BY CITY / METRO AREA IN TEXAS:

PAY BY SELECTED OCCUPATIONS IN TEXAS:

  • Fast food restaurant job pay:
  • Virgin Islands of the U.S. - Occupational Compensation Survey: Pay only
  • Restaurant jobs, fast food - Guam​​​​​​

Wages by occupations and industries (A to Z), 1990-1999

The U.S. Department of Labor's annual Occupational Outlook Handbook is the best and most comprehensive source for occupational pay.  Select any year in the 1990s, then look up an occupation in the edition's table of contents.  Earnings are listed near the end of each chapter.  1990-1991, 1992-1993, 1994-1995, 1996-1997, 1998-1999.

  • Systems Analysis, March 1990
  • Government - Congressional salaries, 1789-present 
  • Hospital jobs, 1991
    • Shows pay for medical and administrative positions by city.  Includes RNs, LPNs, physical therapists, EKG technicians, pharmacists, nurse anesthetists as well as medical records technicians, accountants, auditors, engineers, directors of personnel, attorneys, buyers, secretaries, typists, file clerks and many more hospital jobs. A companion volume listing all job titles and job descriptions is also available online.  Source: Occupational Wage Survey, 1991.
  • Information technology jobs - hourly wages in 1994 (source)
  • Lawyers' and judges' earnings, 1990-1991
    • Source: U.S. BLS Bulletin on social science and legal occupations.
  • Managers, March 1990
  • Manufacturing industry jobs, 1954-2007
    • Look for tables describing EARNINGS expressed in "current dollars." This source mostly covers jobs in manufacturing, industry and production. 
  • Meat packing jobs, 1990
    •  Includes earnings data for employees of the meat-packing and prepared meat products industries by selected characteristics and region.  Source: Industry wage survey, BLS Bulletin 2416.
  • Metalworking machinery manufacturing - Detroit, MI
    • From a Industry Wage Survey from the USDOL reporting data from February 1990.
  • Military pay charts, U.S., 1790s-present

Non-wage income, 1990-1999

Foreign wages by country, 1990-1999

Prices in the United States, 1990-1999

PRICES for FOOD and DRINK, 1990s

PRICES for MERCHANDISE, 1990s

PRICES for HOUSING and LAND, 1990s

ENERGY and FUEL PRICES, 1990s

HEALTH PRICES, 1990s

COMMUNICATION PRICES, 1990s

PRICES for TRANSPORTATION, 1990s

For GASOLINE and DIESEL prices, click the "ENERGY & FUEL" tab above.

COST of a COLLEGE EDUCATION, 1990s

In 1990, 40.6% of people aged 18-21 were enrolled in college (U.S. Census) and 21.3% of people aged 25 years or older have completed 4 years (U.S. Census, Table A-2).

ENTERTAINMENT PRICES, 1990s

Inflation and buying power, 1990s

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

Consumer income and expenditures, 1990-1999

Quotable facts for the 1990-1999 decade

In the United States...

  • Minimum wage was $3.80 per hour in 1990.  Source: U.S. Dept of Labor
  • The personal income per capita in the US in 1990 was $19,354. Source: US Census Bureau
  • The median money income of families in the US in 1990 was $35,353. Source: US Census Bureau
  • Homes had a median value of $79,100 in 1990. Source: US Census Bureau
  • Milk cost an average of $1.42 per gallon in 1990. Source: USDA Economic Research Service
  • Coffee cost an average of $2.92 per pound in 1990. Source: U.S. BLS (use drop-down box to select year)
  • College education at 4-year, public universities cost an average of $5,243 for tuition, room & board in 1990-91. Source: U.S. Dept of Education.
  • New cars cost an average of $14,483 in 1990. Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
  • The top selling car in America in 1990 was the Ford Taurus, which sold for $14,722 new. Source: MMVA Motor Vehicle Facts & Figures '92.
  • Gasoline cost an average of $1.00 per gallon in 1990. Source: Energy Information Administration
  • 17.3% of U.S. households in 1990 had 3 or more vehicles, compared to 2.5% in 1960. Source: U.S. Dept of Energy
  • Out-of-pocket health expenditures averaged $546.75 in 1990. This was 22.5% of the total $2,430 annual health care cost per person. Source: NCHS
  • The average annual per-capita health expenditure was 19.44 times more in 1990 than 1960. Compare this to the broader inflation rate of 4.348 for this same time period. Source: NCHS and U.S. BLS

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Marie Concannon, Government Information Librarian
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Phone (573) 882-0748