vitrine · US · the 1930s

The 1930s room

The composite family. Each room is a statistical composite, assembled from separate distributions with separate sources. The family at the median income did not also have the median house, the median car, and the median diet. No single family described here ever existed; each fact tells you, in its provenance drawer, which real population it was measured from.

Decade 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s

era-graded light · absent technology isn't drawn · every glyph opens its specimen label

The home

The home · 1930s

47.8%A

Homeownership rate, 1930

% of occupied dwelling units (owner-occupied)

MeasuredAll U.S. occupied housing units (decennial census)

provenance

Homeownership Rate by State: 1900 to 2000
U.S. Census Bureau, 2000 · source
Confidence: A — Official series
Curator note: From Census Bureau decennial time series (owner.pdf). Up from 45.6% in 1920 — the 1920s boom had raised the rate. The Depression would drive it down to 43.6% by 1940 (foreclosures, ~1,000/day at peak). The Home Owners' Loan Corporation (HOLC, 1933) and FHA (1934) were created to stabilize the housing market.
Source note: Time series of homeownership rates from 1900 to 2000 by state and nationally. 1950 national rate: 55.0%. 1940: 43.6%. 1960: 61.9%. Also see companion table: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial/tables/time-series/census-housing-tables/ownerchar.pdf
Assumption: The composite family

The home · 1930s

no reliable record accessible onlineD

Home value, rooms, plumbing, electricity

n/a

MeasuredAll US housing units and residents (decennial census)

provenance

Census of Population and Housing — Decennial Publications
U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 · source
Confidence: D — Scholarly estimate
Curator note: No Census of Housing until 1940. The 1930s saw the beginning of rural electrification (REA, 1936): ~11% of farms had electricity in 1935, rising to ~25% by 1940. Indoor plumbing remained rare in rural areas. New Deal housing programs built greenbelt towns and public housing.
Source note: Historical Census publications. Census of Housing 1940 was first to ask about amenities (plumbing, electricity, radio, refrigerator). Census 1930 asked about radio ownership — first census technology-diffusion question. Census 1950/1960 asked about TV, telephone, automobile, refrigerator, washing machine.

The budget

The budget · 1930s

no reliable record accessible onlineD

Median family income, 1930s

n/a

MeasuredAll US families (two or more related persons), CPS money income

provenance

Historical Income Tables: Families
U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 · source
Confidence: D — Scholarly estimate
Curator note: No national family income survey before 1947. The 1940 Census asked about wage/salary income in 1939: median civilian wages of primary families was $1,389 (P-60 No. 1). Simon Kuznets produced retrospective national income estimates showing aggregate income fell ~47% from 1929 to 1932. Manufacturing wages: $0.55/hr in 1930, falling to $0.44/hr in 1933.
Source note: Landing page listing Tables F-1 through F-23. Continuously updated. Last revision Sep 2025 (2024 data).

The table

The table · 1930s

no reliable record accessible onlineD

The food basket, 1930s

n/a

MeasuredUrban and rural families in 42 cities + 66 rural areas — broadest pre-war survey but NOT a national median

provenance

Consumer Expenditures in the United States: Estimates for 1935-36 (Study of Consumer Purchases)
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics / NBER, 1939 · source
Confidence: D — Scholarly estimate
Curator note: The BLS 1935-36 Consumer Purchases Survey collected detailed expenditure data, but it has not been transcribed into our data files. Wartime food controls and the 1935-36 survey bracket the decade. Food prices collapsed during the Depression (farm prices fell ~60% from 1929 to 1932).
Source note: Covered ~300,000 families. FRASER: 'Family Expenditures in Selected Cities, 1935-36' (Bulletin No. 648) at https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/title/family-expenditures-selected-cities-1935-36-4161. Digitized microdata: ICPSR 8908 (Tier B potential). NBER chapters use this data.

The day

The day · 1930s

59.1 male, 62.7 female (white)A

Life expectancy at birth, 1929-31

years

MeasuredVarious national aggregates (depends on table)

provenance

Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1970 (Bicentennial Edition)
U.S. Census Bureau, 1975 · source
Confidence: A — Official series
Curator note: From Historical Statistics Vol 1, Series B 116-117 (white population, at birth). Despite the Depression, life expectancy continued to rise: up from 56.3/58.5 in 1919-21. By 1939-41: 62.8 male, 67.3 female — the decade saw +3.7 male, +4.6 female years.
Source note: Free on Internet Archive. Contains population, labor, prices, housing, and diffusion series spanning colonial times to 1970. Essential for pre-1940 decades where no dedicated survey exists. Predecessor to the Millennial Edition.

The day · 1930s

1930: $0.55/hr, 42.1 hrs/wk, $23.00/wk | 1933: $0.44/hr, 38.1 hrs/wk, $16.65/wkA

Manufacturing production worker wages, 1930 and 1933

USD, nominal (hourly earnings, weekly hours, weekly earnings)

MeasuredVarious national aggregates (depends on table)

provenance

Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1970 (Bicentennial Edition)
U.S. Census Bureau, 1975 · source
Confidence: A — Official series
Curator note: From Historical Statistics Vol 1, Series D 802-804. The Depression crushed wages: hourly earnings fell 20% from 1930 to 1933, and weekly hours fell from 42.1 to 38.1 (part-time work, layoffs). Recovery: by 1935: $0.54/hr, 36.6 hrs/wk, $19.91/wk. The NIRA (1933) established minimum wages and maximum hours.
Source note: Free on Internet Archive. Contains population, labor, prices, housing, and diffusion series spanning colonial times to 1970. Essential for pre-1940 decades where no dedicated survey exists. Predecessor to the Millennial Edition.
Assumption: Values are shown in period money
Assumption: Shortage economies

The day · 1930s

43.2C

Women's weekly unpaid home-production hours, 1930

hours per week, prime-age women (ages 18–64)

MeasuredPrime-age women and men, ages 18–64 (benchmark years 1900–2005); also all-ages per-capita and per-household aggregates

provenance

Time Spent in Home Production in the Twentieth-Century United States: New Estimates from Old Data
Cambridge University Press (Journal of Economic History), 2009 · source
Confidence: C — Reconstructed from period surveys
Curator note: Ramey (2009) Table 6A, 'All Prime-Age Women' column. Reconstruction from historical time-diary studies (Purnell Act 1920s, Wilson 1929, USDA 1944) linked to AHTUS/BLS surveys from 1965. Includes food prep, house cleaning, clothing care, childcare, purchasing, and household management. Numbers in italics in source = partially extrapolated. Draft version (NBER w13985) has identical values. Splice caveat: Ramey measures women-specific home production ages 18-64; ATUS (2020s room) measures all-adult household activities age 15+ — a concept change that must caveat when plotted together.
Source note: Valerie A. Ramey, JEconHist 69(1), March 2009, pp. 1–47. Reconstruction from historical time-diary studies (Purnell Act studies 1920s, Wilson 1929, USDA 1944) linked to AHTUS/BLS modern surveys. Draft version: NBER Working Paper w13985 (May 2008, 63pp) — data tables are numerically identical to the published version; differences are prose tightening and table reformatting (5→5A/5B, etc.). Tier C (period-survey reconstruction). Key tables: Table 5A (nonemployed women), Table 6A (all women, prime-age), Table 7 (men, prime-age), Table 8A (all ages), Table 3 (component breakdown). Note: Ramey does not use the 1992-94 survey (missing data), so no 1990s benchmark. Splice point to ATUS: Ramey measures women-specific home production ages 18-64; ATUS measures all-adult household activities age 15+ — a concept splice that must caveat (Plan 004 Measure guard).
Assumption: The composite family

The day · 1930s

6.0C

Men's weekly unpaid home-production hours, 1930

hours per week, prime-age men (ages 18–64)

MeasuredPrime-age women and men, ages 18–64 (benchmark years 1900–2005); also all-ages per-capita and per-household aggregates

provenance

Time Spent in Home Production in the Twentieth-Century United States: New Estimates from Old Data
Cambridge University Press (Journal of Economic History), 2009 · source
Confidence: C — Reconstructed from period surveys
Curator note: Ramey (2009) Table 7, 'All Prime-Age Men' column. Early estimates from Purnell Act studies and Lundberg et al. (1934); 1965+ from AHTUS/BLS. Men's hours rose 13 hrs/week across the century (3.9→16.8), partially offsetting women's decline. Numbers in italics in source = partially extrapolated.
Source note: Valerie A. Ramey, JEconHist 69(1), March 2009, pp. 1–47. Reconstruction from historical time-diary studies (Purnell Act studies 1920s, Wilson 1929, USDA 1944) linked to AHTUS/BLS modern surveys. Draft version: NBER Working Paper w13985 (May 2008, 63pp) — data tables are numerically identical to the published version; differences are prose tightening and table reformatting (5→5A/5B, etc.). Tier C (period-survey reconstruction). Key tables: Table 5A (nonemployed women), Table 6A (all women, prime-age), Table 7 (men, prime-age), Table 8A (all ages), Table 3 (component breakdown). Note: Ramey does not use the 1992-94 survey (missing data), so no 1990s benchmark. Splice point to ATUS: Ramey measures women-specific home production ages 18-64; ATUS measures all-adult household activities age 15+ — a concept splice that must caveat (Plan 004 Measure guard).
Assumption: The composite family

What had arrived

What had arrived · 1930s

~41 per 1,000 population (1935)A

Telephone diffusion, 1930s

telephones per 1,000 population

MeasuredVarious national aggregates (depends on table)

provenance

Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1970 (Bicentennial Edition)
U.S. Census Bureau, 1975 · source
Confidence: A — Official series
Curator note: From Historical Statistics Vol 2, Series R 1-2. In 1935: ~41 per 1,000 population (~16.2 million total phones). Telephone growth slowed during the Depression as households cut discretionary spending. By 1940: ~47 per 1,000. Household percentage not directly reported until 1944.
Source note: Free on Internet Archive. Contains population, labor, prices, housing, and diffusion series spanning colonial times to 1970. Essential for pre-1940 decades where no dedicated survey exists. Predecessor to the Millennial Edition.

What had arrived · 1930s

Radio: ~40% of households (1930), ~80% by 1940. Automobile: ~26.7M registrations (1930).A

Radio and automobile, 1930s

n/a

MeasuredVarious national aggregates (depends on table)

provenance

Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1970 (Bicentennial Edition)
U.S. Census Bureau, 1975 · source
Confidence: A — Official series
Curator note: From Historical Statistics Vol 2. Radio was the dominant new technology of the era — FDR's fireside chats (1933- ) reached millions. Automobile registrations stagnated during the Depression (new car sales fell 75% from 1929 to 1932) but the installed base remained high.
Source note: Free on Internet Archive. Contains population, labor, prices, housing, and diffusion series spanning colonial times to 1970. Essential for pre-1940 decades where no dedicated survey exists. Predecessor to the Millennial Edition.

A day's work buys

A day's work buys · 1930s

no reliable record accessible onlineD

Affordability comparisons, 1930s

n/a

MeasuredVarious national aggregates (depends on table)

provenance

Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1970 (Bicentennial Edition)
U.S. Census Bureau, 1975 · source
Confidence: D — Scholarly estimate
Curator note: Without a median family income figure, affordability comparisons cannot be computed. The Depression makes the 1930s unusual: deflation meant nominal prices fell, but incomes fell faster. Unemployment reached 25% in 1933.
Source note: Free on Internet Archive. Contains population, labor, prices, housing, and diffusion series spanning colonial times to 1970. Essential for pre-1940 decades where no dedicated survey exists. Predecessor to the Millennial Edition.

Confidence & flags

A — official statistical series

B — official microdata, computed by this project

C — reconstructed from period surveys

D — scholarly estimate

Gap — no reliable record; shown as the gap it is

Reading the museum

Every fact is behind glass: its placard names the source, the year, who was measured, and how sure we are. Chart points and stage glyphs deep-link to their placards.

Falling metrics render in copper, rising in brass. Absent technology isn't drawn — a bare house says more than ghosts.