Painting houses in 1870 Virginia was a tough way to make a living. Most painters earned about $2 a day, or $12 a week, which added up to just $624 a year. They worked six days a week doing hard, gritty labor: mixing their own paint from scratch, using lead-based products, climbing rickety scaffolding without safety gear, and even handling wallpaper or repairs. And making ends meet wasn’t easy. A four-room rental cost $17.17 a month, soap was 8 cents a pound, potatoes were 86 cents a bushel, and fabric like Merrimac prints went for 11 cents a yard. Gold sat at $20.67 an ounce, and even though the federal income tax was briefly repealed in 1872, local taxes and tariffs still drove up prices. The job was seasonal, risky, and physically demanding. Fast forward to today, and house painters typically earn $20 to 25 an hour, about $41,000 to $52,000 a year. They now work with safer tools and materials, enjoy regulated hours, and have protections that didn’t exist back then. Still, the trade demands steady hands, strong backs, and real craftsmanship, just like it did over 150 years ago.
Painters Pay Wages – Virginia 1870
