Hoover Dam

Wages

Many of us today don't think that we make enough money. Check out what the workers who built Hoover Dam made in the early 1930's. The amounts shown are per hour of work, and the men worked eight-hour days. If you see an entry like .825 it means that person earned eighty two and a half cents per hour.

The lowest wage was 50 cents an hour, and the highest was $1.25. The average for all of the workers at the dam was about 62.5 cents an hour. How does that compare to the rest of the country at that time? It was pretty good, actually. Fifty cents an hour, eight hours per day for a year works out to $1460.00. The average 62.5 cents an hour works out to an annual income of $1825.00, and the highest wage, $1.25, works out to $3650.00 per year.

It still does not seem like much until you compare it to what other people were making at that time. Below is a table showing some comparisons on an annual basis.