How much does a Amish person make a year?

Answer 1

An Amish construction worker tends to make the same kind of hourly income that an English construction worker earns. However, as Amish tend to be reliable, hard workers, and customers tend to be impressed by "Amish-built", they often are first-hired and last-fired in periods of economic slowdown.

In the 1980s, a lot of English farmers were battered by high fuel costs, high fertilizer costs, high interest costs, and low commodity prices, with the result that many of them lost up to $100,000 or more instead of having any income for the year. The plain sect farmer down the road grew oats and hay for his fuel, produced organic fertilizer as a byproduct, used equipment that was auctioned cheap because it was too small for the expanding operations of mega-farms - and in many cases, they grew labor-intensive crops such as vegetables, that commanded significantly higher per-acre incomes.

Of late, farming has been profitable, and those who operate mega-farms are doing quite well, and Amish farmers aren't able to scale up to take advantage, but they're probably more profitable in the long run, and a lot of that is due to the fact that Amish farmers are in the habit of paying off their farms quickly. A bank in Lancaster County lends to plain sect farmers, which most banks won't do; since the housing doesn't meet the Electrical Code or have flush toilets, banks cannot package up these mortgages and sell them to investors. Never the less, they are quite happy to make these mortgages because they have a 100% rate of being paid in full, and on time.

There's only so much land, and construction goes up and down, so there are a lot of the plain sects engaged in their own small businesses. They don't buy franchises and try to sell cheap; they try to maximize the labor content, and sell at a premium price. Instead of selling eggs, for instance, they add the eggs to flour and sell egg noodles. They sell produce directly to the consumer, or baked goods, or they make furniture or quilts, again selling at retail instead of wholesale.

In the last five years, unemployment rates have soared - but among the plain sects, unemployment has effectively been zero. That gives them an above average income, simply by avoiding all the economic "valleys."

Add to this the fact that the Amish aren't having buy fancy clothes to work in, aren't having to pay vast amounts to commute to work, and they aren't having to pay anything for child care, and a dollar goes a lot farther.

I wouldn't want to give up air conditioning, flush toilets, microwaves, satellite TV and a button to fill my glass with ice without opening my fridge - but true wealth is being able to buy anything you want, and most plain sect families meet that rule. There are a lot of us English who can't even afford what we need.