resentative industrial communities.

The Cost of Living Among Wage-Earners

Fall River, Massachusetts

October, 1919

PURPOSE OF THE INVESTIGATION

The following report summarizes the results of a study undertaken to
determine the cost of maintaining a minimum American standard of
living in Fall River, Massachusetts, in October, 1919, and also the
cost of maintaining a somewhat more liberal standard. At the same
time, an attempt was made to ascertain the increase in the cost of
living at identical standards during the five-year period beginning
with October, 1914.

METHOD

For the purpose of this study, the cost of living was estimated with
reference to the needs of a man, his wife and three children under
fourteen years of age. No attempt was made to secure family budgets
from representative wage-earners. Instead, the amount of food,
clothing, fuel, heat, light and other items needed to meet the
requirements of a decent standard of living was carefully estimated on
the basis of several budget studies made by other authorities, and
prices of these various items were obtained. Thus, while the final
estimate of the money cost of maintaining a definite standard of
living is not based on actual family expenditures, but rather is a
hypothetical budget designed to maintain a hypothetical family at a
specified standard, it should closely approximate the true conditions.
In practice, expenditures for the different items in the budget may
and undoubtedly will vary considerably to meet the needs or tastes of
individual families, but although the sums allowed for the total cost
of living may be distributed in a large variety of ways, the averages
given are as nearly representative as any that can be reached. It
should always be borne in mind, however, that the figures are
averages, even though they include a large variety of data.

The investigation covered a period of one week in October, 1919. A
study was made of available statistical data relating to Fall River,
and various sections or "villages" of the city were visited to obtain
a picture of the home surroundings of the people. The latter were
observed on the street, as purchasers in stores, at work in the mills,
at a dance for women wage-earners, and, in several instances, in their
own homes.

Visits were made to the headquarters of th