The 1940s room

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). The 1940 rate was the lowest of the century — the Great Depression had driven it down from 47.8% in 1930. By 1950 it would surge to 55.0% with postwar GI Bill financing and suburban expansion.
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

Homeownership Rate by State: 1900 to 2000
U.S. Census Bureau, 2000 · source
Confidence: A — Official series
Curator note: From Census Historical Housing Tables (values-unadj.txt). National median value of owner-occupied homes. Adjusted for inflation: $30,600 in 2000 dollars. By 1950: $7,354 nominal — more than doubling as postwar construction and inflation reshaped the 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: Values are shown in period money

Historical Census of Housing Tables: Plumbing
U.S. Census Bureau, 2000 · source
Confidence: A — Official series
Curator note: From Census Historical Housing Tables: Plumbing (plumbing-tab.txt, US row: 15,852,098 of 35,026,442 occupied units lacking). Complete plumbing = hot and cold piped water + flush toilet + bathtub/shower for exclusive use. The 1940 Census of Housing was the first to ask about plumbing. 45.3% of American homes lacked complete plumbing — the worst point in the series. By 1950: 35.5% lacked (64.5% had). By 1960: 16.8% lacked (83.2% had). Rural areas were far worse: many farm homes still used outhouses and hand pumps. Figures verified against the Census time-series file 2026-07-07.
Source note: Complete plumbing = hot and cold piped water + flush toilet + bathtub/shower for exclusive use. Lacked complete plumbing (US row of plumbing-tab.txt, verified 2026-07-07): 1940 45.3%, 1950 35.5%, 1960 16.8%, 1970 6.9%, 1980 2.7%, 1990 1.1%. Exact data file: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial/tables/time-series/coh-plumbing/plumbing-tab.txt. The 1940 Census of Housing was the first to ask about plumbing.
Assumption: The composite family

Historical Census of Housing Tables: House Heating Fuel
U.S. Census Bureau, 2000 · source
Confidence: A — Official series
Curator note: From the 1940 Census of Housing, Historical Census of Housing Tables: House Heating Fuel. Coal dominated American heating in 1940 — over half of all homes. Utility gas and bottled/LP gas were combined in 1940 (electricity was collected but not tabulated separately). By 1950, coal dropped to 35% as gas rose to 27%. Source: fuels1940.txt, www2.census.gov.
Source note: Heating fuel data from 1940-1980 decennial census. Files: fuels1940.txt through fuels1980.txt at www2.census.gov. Coal dominated 1940 (55%), gas overtook by 1960 (43%), electricity rose from 0.7% (1950) to 18.4% (1980).

Census Historical Income Table F-8: Families by Size and Median and Mean Income (All Races)
U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 · source
Confidence: A — Official series
Curator note: From Census F-8 (Table F-8, Size of Family--All Families by Median Income). All families: 37,240 thousand, median $3,031 ($35,010 in 2024 dollars). This is the first year of the CPS income series. By 1950: all-family median $3,319.
Source note: Excel file. The 4-person-family column is the primary source for the museum's family-of-four medians. Coverage window starts at 1947 — verify the 4-person column covers the full window. Also available: f08ar (All Races revised), f08w (White), f08b (Black), f08h (Hispanic), f08wnh (White not Hispanic).
Assumption: The composite family
Assumption: Values are shown in period money

Census Historical Income Table F-8: Families by Size and Median and Mean Income (All Races)
U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 · source
Confidence: A — Official series
Curator note: From Census F-8. 4-person families: median $3,292 ($38,020 in 2024 dollars). By 1950: 4-person median $3,675. Average family size in 1947: 3.64 persons.
Source note: Excel file. The 4-person-family column is the primary source for the museum's family-of-four medians. Coverage window starts at 1947 — verify the 4-person column covers the full window. Also available: f08ar (All Races revised), f08w (White), f08b (Black), f08h (Hispanic), f08wnh (White not Hispanic).
Assumption: The composite family
Assumption: Getting to a family of four
Assumption: Values are shown in period money

Census Historical Income Table F-8: Families by Size and Median and Mean Income (All Races)
U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 · source
Confidence: A — Official series
Curator note: From Census F-8. All families: 37,240 thousand in 1947, rising to 39,930 thousand by 1950.
Source note: Excel file. The 4-person-family column is the primary source for the museum's family-of-four medians. Coverage window starts at 1947 — verify the 4-person column covers the full window. Also available: f08ar (All Races revised), f08w (White), f08b (Black), f08h (Hispanic), f08wnh (White not Hispanic).

Census Historical Income Table F-8: Families by Size and Median and Mean Income (All Races)
U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 · source
Confidence: A — Official series
Curator note: From Census F-8. Declining from 3.64 in 1947 to 3.54 by 1950 as the postwar baby boom changed family composition.
Source note: Excel file. The 4-person-family column is the primary source for the museum's family-of-four medians. Coverage window starts at 1947 — verify the 4-person column covers the full window. Also available: f08ar (All Races revised), f08w (White), f08b (Black), f08h (Hispanic), f08wnh (White not Hispanic).

Income of Nonfarm Families and Individuals: 1946
U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, 1947 · source
Confidence: A — Official series
Curator note: From P-60 No. 1 (1947), reporting 1940 Census data. Median civilian money wages and salaries of primary families: $1,389 in 1939, rising to $2,697 by 1944 — nearly doubling during wartime. This is wages/salaries only, not total money income. The P-60 notes: 'The comparison of 1946, 1944, and 1939 income data is restricted to civilian money wages or salaries of primary families and individuals in private households because these were the family and income concepts used in the 1940 census.'
Source note: First P60 report. Median money income: $2,659 (1946), $2,410 (1944), $2,595 (1945). Civilian wages: $1,389 (1939) to $2,697 (1944). Scanned images — OCR'd via GLM-OCR. 11 pages.
Assumption: The composite family
Assumption: Values are shown in period money

Income of Nonfarm Families and Individuals: 1946
U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, 1947 · source
Confidence: A — Official series
Curator note: From P-60 No. 1 (1947): 'The average income of nonfarm families in 1946 was about $3,000.' Median total money income of urban and rural-nonfarm families and individuals: $2,410 (1944), $2,595 (1945), $2,659 (1946). This predates the CPS F-8 series (begins 1947) and covers nonfarm families only.
Source note: First P60 report. Median money income: $2,659 (1946), $2,410 (1944), $2,595 (1945). Civilian wages: $1,389 (1939) to $2,697 (1944). Scanned images — OCR'd via GLM-OCR. 11 pages.
Assumption: The composite family
Assumption: Values are shown in period money

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 (life expectancy at birth, white population). The 1940s saw dramatic gains: +3.5 years male, +4.7 years female in a single decade — driven by sulfa drugs, penicillin, and improved public health. For comparison: 1929-31 was 59.1 male, 62.7 female; 1900-02 was 48.2 male, 51.1 female.
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.

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 740 (average annual earnings per full-time equivalent employee in manufacturing). 1947: $2,793; 1948: $3,038; 1949: $3,095; 1950: $3,302. Wartime manufacturing earnings: 1945: $2,517; 1944: $2,621. For context, median family income (all families) in 1947 was $3,031.
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

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

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

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 1-3 (telephones). Households with telephone: 1944: 45.1%; 1945: 46.2%; 1946: 51.4%; 1947: 54.9%; 1948: 58.2%; 1949: 60.2%; 1950: 61.8%. Total telephones in 1947: 34,867 thousand (239.7 per 1,000 population). The postwar surge added ~17 percentage points in six years as the Bell System expanded residential service.
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.

Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1970 (Bicentennial Edition)
U.S. Census Bureau, 1975 · source
Confidence: A — Official series
Curator note: Commercial television broadcasting began in the US in 1941 but was suspended during WWII. The Historical Statistics Vol 2 television series begins in 1950 at 9.0% of households. By the late 1940s, fewer than 1% of households had a TV set — the mass diffusion belongs to the 1950s. For the 1940s family, radio was the dominant broadcast medium.
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.

Homeownership Rate by State: 1900 to 2000
U.S. Census Bureau, 2000 · source
Confidence: C — Reconstructed from period surveys
Curator note: Computed: 1940 median home value ($2,938, from Census Historical Housing Tables) divided by 1947 median family income ($3,031, from F-8). A home cost roughly one year's income — the lowest ratio in the museum. Caveat: the home value is from 1940 and the income from 1947; wartime inflation had driven incomes up while the housing stock (and controlled prices) had not yet adjusted. By 1950: $7,354 home / $3,319 income = 2.2 years.
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 affordability axis
Assumption: Values are shown in period money