Then and Now: 1860 and 2010

Posted By Brian Tomlin on January 30, 2012

To get a better understanding of how different the world and the United States was in 1860, we can compare some basic statistics from the beginning of the Civil War and the present day.

	1860	2010
World’s Population	1.27 billion	6.989 billion
U.S. Population	31,443,321	308,745,538
Pennsylvania Population	2,906,215	12,702,379
Dauphin County PA population	46,756	268,100
Harrisburg, PA population	13,405	49,529
Gratz, PA population		765

Largest U.S. Cities

1860	2010
1. New York City, NY 813, 669	1. New York City, NY8,175,133
2. Philadelphia, PA 565,529	2. Los Angeles, CA3,792,621
3. Brooklyn, NY 266, 661	3. Chicago, IL2,695, 598
4. Baltimore, MD 212,418	4. Houston, TX2,099,451
5. Boston, MA 177, 840	5. Philadelphia, PA 1,526, 006
6. New Orleans, LA 168, 675	6. Phoenix, AZ1,445,632
7. Cincinnati, OH 161, 044	7. San Antonio, TX1,327, 402
8. St. Louis, MO 160, 773	8. San Diego, CA1,307, 402
9. Chicago, IL 112,172	9. Dallas, TX1,197, 816
10. Buffalo, NY 81, 129	10. San Jose, CA945, 942

Top Occupations

1860	2010
Farm Owners and Tenants (10%)	Retail Salesperson (6%)
Farm Laborers (3.2%)	Cashiers (2.64%)
General Laborers (3.0%)	Office Clerks (2.19%)
Shoe Maker	Food Service/ Preparation (2.12%)
Hired Servant	Nurses (2.09%)
	Waiters/Waitresses (1.76%)

Cost of Living

	1860	2010
wheat flour	$7.14/barrel (200 lbs)	$52.00/ 200 lbs.
rice	7 cents/lb.	85 cents/lb.
sugar	8 cents/lb.	$1.25/lb.
roast beef	11 cents/lb.	$4.50/lb.
cheese, cheddar	13 cents/lb.	$5.24/lb.
eggs	20 cents/dozen	$1.95/dozen
firewood	$6.49/cord	$155/cord
rent, 2 bedroom apt	$4.45/month	$575 month (median, Harrisburg metro)

Category: Culture, Overviews
Tags: daily life

Comments

One Response to “Then and Now: 1860 and 2010”

Alana says:

February 26, 2013 at 6:54 am

Great information here. Very helpful!

Reply

Please note: Comment moderation is currently enabled so there will be a delay between when you post your comment and when it shows up. Patience is a virtue; there is no need to re-submit your comment.

Historical Society

The Gratz Historical Society was organized in 1977. The mission of the society is to preserve and protect the history of the upper part of Dauphin County, PA. The Society has a museum and research library at 8 W. Market Street in Gratz. Today the society has over 300 members. Visit the Society'sWebsite or follow us on Twitter @HistoryGratz and @GratzCivilWar

Project Director

Norman Gasbarro, Ed.D., is a genealogical/historical researcher and writer living in Philadelphia, PA, who is the Library Director of the Gratz Historical Society and heads the Civil War Research Project. Norm taught history for over twenty-five years. He is a graduate of Muhlenberg College with a major in history and holds advanced degrees from Rowan University (NJ) and Columbia University (NY).

About the Author

Brian Tomlin is a writer and editor interested in history, literature and popular culture of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. He serves as the Web Site and newsletter editor for the Gratz Historical Society. His website can be found at briantomlin.com You can Email or follow him on Twitter

Praise

"I like this website because it gets into the individual lives of those who lived through very hard times. It lets us know what became of them even after the Civil War besides what it was like to go through the war. I also like the ancestral connections so that whoever is reading this, has a lot of what it takes to put their family tree together, therby decreasing their work load." P, Gammill

Civil War Blog