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Cost of Living Indicators, 1941
One of the most difficult tasks in dealing with the past
is to get people to think historically about prices and income. Remembering what
something cost 40 years ago does not tell us much; knowing how long the person
had to work to acquire it does. The best way make comparisons is to determine
how many hours (or fraction of an hour) a person had to work to buy something.
An hour's work is the same across time or across cultures in terms of time. Of
course, the amount paid to an investment bankers is greater than that paid to a
ditch digger but the time unit is the same.
Here are some data to show what people in the United
States earned in 1941 if they received the minimum wage or if they received the
average annual wage. With this data one can figure out how many hours a person
would have had to work at minimum wage in 1941 to purchase one of the objects in the 1941 Cost
column. Similarly, the 1941 Cost is expressed as a percentage of the average
annual wage in the United States.
The minimum wage did not apply to persons working in
restaurants, hotels, and on farms. Often, their income was even lower than 30
cents an hour. It was not uncommon for minimum wage workers not to be able to
work 40 hours a week, 50 or 52 weeks a year (2000 or 2080 hours a year). The
average annual wage more closely represents what the average person had
available.
To obtain an idea of what the equivalent cost would be in
2001 dollars, the multiplier of $12.05 was used. Rounding was applied to
simplify matters. problems.
As one can see, household appliances were very expensive.
Most people still used ice boxes in 1941. Automobiles are not comparable to 2001
automobiles. They did not have air conditioning. Except for the luxury models,
heaters were not standard equipment. Radios were extra as were power steering,
power brakes, and automatic transmission.
1941
2001 equivalent
Hourly Minimum
Wage
$0.30 $
3.62
Average annual
wage
$1,492 $17,979
| ITEM |
|
|
|
1941 COST |
Hours Work to buy |
% of Average Annual Wage |
|
1941
$ Converted to 2001 $ |
|
|
|
|
|
at Minimum Wage |
of $1492 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
of $0.30 |
|
|
|
|
| Coffee, pound |
|
|
|
$0.24 |
0.80 |
0.016% |
|
$2.89 |
|
| Milk, quart |
|
|
|
$0.14 |
0.47 |
0.009% |
|
$1.69 |
|
| Butter, pound |
|
|
|
$0.41 |
1.37 |
0.027% |
|
$4.94 |
|
| Sugar , pound |
|
|
|
$0.06 |
0.20 |
0.004% |
|
$0.70 |
|
| White bread, pound |
|
|
|
$0.08 |
0.27 |
0.005% |
|
$0.96 |
|
| Royal Crown Cola |
|
|
|
$0.05 |
0.17 |
0.003% |
|
$0.60 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Jarmans Mens shoes |
|
|
|
$5.00 |
16.67 |
0.335% |
|
$60.00 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| RCA Victor radio |
|
|
|
$19.95 |
66.50 |
1.337% |
|
$240.00 |
|
| Philco, radio-phonograph
(cheap) |
|
|
|
$59.95 |
199.83 |
4.018% |
|
$722.00 |
|
| Philco, radio-phonograph
(expensive) |
|
|
|
$395 |
1316.67 |
26.475% |
|
$4,760.00 |
|
| Hoover vacuum cleaner |
|
|
|
$48.95 |
163.17 |
3.281% |
|
$590.00 |
|
| Bell & Howell home
movie camera |
|
|
|
$49.50 |
165.00 |
3.318% |
|
$596.00 |
|
| Frigidaire Refrigerator |
|
|
|
$167.50 |
558.33 |
11.227% |
|
$2,018.00 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| First letter stamp |
|
|
|
$0.03 |
0.10 |
0.002% |
|
$0.36 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Studebaker Champion Sedan |
|
|
|
$730 |
2433.33 |
48.928% |
|
$8,797.00 |
|
| Oldsmobile car |
|
|
|
$852 |
2840.00 |
57.105% |
|
$10,266.00 |
|
| Pontiac 2-Door Sedan |
|
|
|
$874 |
2913.33 |
58.579% |
|
$10,532.00 |
|
| Chevrolet station wagon |
|
|
|
$995 |
3316.67 |
66.689% |
|
$11,990.00 |
|
| Buick
4-Door |
|
|
|
$1,314 |
4380.00 |
88.070% |
|
$15,834.00 |
|
| Buick, 1942 model (low end) |
|
|
|
$1,046 |
3486.67 |
70.107% |
|
$12,604.00 |
|
| Buick, 1942 model (high
end) |
|
|
|
$2,667 |
8890.00 |
178.753% |
|
$32,137.00 |
|
| Nash Ambassador |
|
|
|
$1,745 |
5816.67 |
116.957% |
|
$21,027.00 |
|
| Cadillac |
|
|
|
$4,045 |
13483.33 |
271.113% |
|
$48,742.00 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| National Gallery of Art
building |
|
|
|
$15,000,000 |
50000000.00 |
1005361.930% |
|
$189,750,000.00 |
|
Sources: 1941 Commemorative Yearbook, Times Passages, Inc. 1999.
LaMartin.com (http://www.lamartin.com/ASP/cost_of_living/cost.asp)
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