How do Iowans work to provide for themselves, their families and their communities?

Every family needs a source of income to pay for essentials like food, clothing and housing. Most Iowans earn a salary or the profits from their business or services. Certain groups receive support from retirement funds or government programs in health care or public assistance. But it is safe to say that most Iowans work for a living. Recent government figures shows that some 1.6 million Iowans are currently in the work force.

Early 20th Century Jobs

The jobs Iowans have done have changed over the past 120 years. In 1900, a majority of Iowans lived on farms. Without the large-scale machinery we have today, farmers rarely managed over a half acre (320 acres) because it took too much time to plant, cultivate and harvest the crops. Most farm families, however, raised livestock for sale, milked cows for butter and their home use, and kept flocks of chickens for the eggs and meat. They also planted large gardens and canned vegetables for the winter. The husband and wife worked together on the farm as a team, each responsible for his or her own parts of the operation. Children learned farming and housekeeping from their parents and became an important part of the successful operation.

Cities and towns offered many manufacturing jobs in agricultural equipment and meat packing. There were many small coal mines that attracted immigrants from countries Italy, Croatia, Sweden and Wales. However, as railroads began shifting away from coal to diesel fuel and coal sources became depleted, the coal industry had all but disappeared by the 1940s.

Shift from Agriculture to Other Sectors

World War II brought a surge of industrial jobs to the state as the government needed supplies to fight the war. Farm machinery plants shifted to war equipment and smaller factories turned out ammunition. Meat packing continued to be an important source of factory work.

As farm machinery became bigger and more powerful, farmers could manage larger and larger operations. This, of course, meant that there were fewer farms and fewer farm families. Iowa cities began growing with the rise of manufacturing and financial occupations like insurance. Des Moines is one of the two largest centers for insurance in the nation. Education and health care are two more important sectors in the Iowa employment picture. Colleges and universities saw rapid growth after World War II with the GI Bill, making it possible for many more young people to afford college and Baby Boomers swelling the ranks of college-age youth.

The late 20th century saw a revolution in communication with the introduction of computers and cell phones. The first computer was invented by John Atanasoff at Iowa State University. Robert Noyes, a graduate of Grinnell College, did pioneering work in the development of microchips which did much to make the computer revolution possible. While there was a decline in some areas of manufacturing toward the end of the century and a continued decline in farm employment, computers sparked the growth of new industries. Wind and solar energy also began needing workers to build, install and maintain clean energy equipment. Government saw an expansion at all levels with the growth of regulation and support programs.

To provide Iowan with the training they need to fill positions in today's job market, the state created a system of community colleges geared to job training programs. The state also began investing in work placement programs to match workers with job openings. Today, Iowa has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the nation. Unfortunately, many jobs in the service and health care areas pay wages so low that workers struggle to meet their expenses even if they work full time.

Education is a critical factor in the employment picture. Many high schools offer job-training classes and coordinate curriculum with nearby universities and community colleges. The state itself is critically invested in producing and supporting a skilled labor force that allows Iowans to work and support families here.

About the Source Set

The first two supporting questions list the top five occupations self-reported by Iowans (by gender) in 1900 and 1950. This information was compiled by Willis Goudy, a professor of sociology at Iowa State University, who published this chart in his 2008 book, Iowa’s Numbers: 150 Years of Decennial Census Data With a Glance to the Future. The third supporting question looks at how occupations changed over time in regard to sex and cultural norms. 

Supporting Questions

How did Iowans make a living to support their families and communities in 1900 according to census records?

• Men:
  1. Farmer Plowing with a Two-Horse Team, ca. 1900 (Image)
  2. Man Feeding Pigs in the Barnyard, ca. 1895 (Image)
  3. Farm Laborers Gathering Potatoes in Fort Bend County, Texas, 1909 (Image)
  4. Men Outside the Des Moines Brick Company, ca. 1900 (Image)
  5. E.J. Crane, Watchmaker and Jewelry Store, in Richmond, Virginia, 1899 (Image)
  
  
• Women:
  1. Servants in Bulloch Hall's Dining Room in Roswell, Georgia, March 27, 1907 (Image)
  2. Teacher and Students at Whittier Primary School in Hampton, Virginia, ca. 1899 (Image)
  3. Dressmaker Angelina Guinzali in Boston, Massachusetts, January 25, 1917 (Image)
  4. Mountain Milk Maids, ca. 1900 (Image)
  5. Cook in White House Kitchen, ca. 1890 (Image)
  
  

How did Iowans make a living to support their families and communities in 1950 according to census records?

• Men:
  1. Elias Eliason Cultivating Corn in Kanawa, Iowa, 1949 (Image)
  2. Farm Laborers in Fort Dodge, Iowa, August 1957 (Image)
  3. Two Men Working on a Maytag Washing Machine in Newton, Iowa, October 1949 (Image)
  4. Construction Workers at Mercy Hospital in Des Moines, Iowa, July 1957 (Image)
  5. Salesman Selling a Hat to a Customer in Chicago, Illinois, April 1952 (Image)
  
  
• Women:
  1. Saleswoman Arranging Figurines at J.C. Penney in Des Moines, Iowa, February 1949 (Image)
  2. Teacher and Students at Wheatly Elementary School, September 16, 1957 (Image)
  3. Secretary Betty Goodell in Clear Lake, Iowa, 1950 (Image)
  4. Women Working Bore Presses at Wood Brothers Plant in Des Moines, Iowa, 1955 (Image)
  5. Workers Harvesting Cucumbers in Muscatine Iowa, July 1959 (Image)
  
  

How do people make a living to support their family and community in the 2000s that is different than previous eras?

• Flight Attendant for Southwest Airlines, June 25, 2012 (Image)
• Second-Grade Teacher at Canaan Elementary in Patchogue, New York, June 18, 2015 (Images)
• Iowa Astronaut Peggy Whitson, 2017 (Image)
• Registered Nurses, 2018 (Images)
• Des Moines Firefighters Stand by a Fire Engine, 2019 (Image)
• News Anchor Rheya Spigner in Des Moines, Iowa, 2019 (Images)
• Park Ranger with Volunteers at Stone Park in Iowa, 2019 (Images)
• Receptionist Helping a Guest at the State Historical Museum, 2019 (Image)
• State Historical Society of Iowa Librarian Helping a Patron, 2019 (Images)
• U.S. Senator Joni Ernst from Iowa, 2019 (Images)