14 Ways Kids Earned Money in the 1960s That Disappeared

Children in the 1960s often earned small amounts of money through simple neighborhood jobs that built responsibility, creativity, and community trust.

Alyana Aguja
March 17, 2026
10 min read

14 Ways Kids Earned Money in the 1960s That Disappeared — Artem Kniaz from Unsplash

For kids, the 1960s provided many ways to earn a little money in their own neighborhoods. It was a slower-paced, more neighborhood-oriented era in which people relied on trust and conversations to get by. Kids in this era delivered newspapers in the morning, collected money for returning soda bottles, shoveled coal into furnaces, and ran errands for small shops. Some even helped on farms during harvest season, washed cars in driveways, or babysat for families in their neighborhoods. Others operated lemonade stands or ran errands for grocery stores. Some mowed grass and raked leaves for neighbors. Some even polished shoes on busy streets, walked dogs for neighbors, or hauled scrap metal to local junkyards.

1. Delivering Newspapers on Early Morning Routes

Before the sun rises high enough to illuminate the sky, in many American towns in the 1960s, a familiar routine takes place on the streets. Teenagers, and even younger kids, ride their bikes with canvas bags stuffed with folded newspapers slung over their shoulders. The job entails waking up early before school, collecting many papers at a local hub, and planning a delivery route that takes riders past many homes. The Chicago Tribune, The New York Times, and many community newspapers heavily depend on these kids for delivery. Time is the keyword in this line of work, as people want their newspapers before breakfast. No rain, snow, or extreme weather conditions excuse a late delivery.

2. Collecting Glass Soda Bottles for Deposit Money

In the 1960s, nearly every soda bottle had a deposit, and children quickly learned that an empty bottle could mean a small fortune. Sidewalks, parks, and even baseball fields were often littered with glass bottles from Coca-Cola, Pepsi, and RC Cola. After weekend events, children would often wander through these areas collecting empties and stacking them in wooden crates or boxes. Returning a soda bottle to a grocery store or local market meant a few cents, and the process, as easy as it was, required patience. Gathering enough bottles to create some real money sometimes required hours of searching.

3. Shoveling Coal into Basement Furnaces

Coal heat was still quite common in old homes back in the early 1960s, with many families using coal-fired furnaces, often hidden in basement boiler rooms. Maintaining these furnaces required regular shoveling, and kids in the neighborhood would often get paid for this messy job. At times, someone would ask kids in the neighborhood to carry coal-filled buckets down to the basement, which required navigating the narrow basement stairs. It wasn’t exactly an attractive job, with dusty shovels, heavy buckets, and the distinctive smell of burning coal wafting through the air, but it was lucrative, especially during the winter months when many homes needed this service.

4. Running Errands for Local Shopkeepers

Small stores were common in many neighborhoods in the 1960s, and shop owners often relied on kids for small tasks. For instance, a shop owner might ask a kid to drop off a customer who had forgotten his bag of sugar at home. The customer might be a few blocks away. Another shop owner, such as a pharmacist, might need someone to deliver a small package across town before closing time. After school, kids would hang out near the stores, waiting for a shop owner to ask for their services. The tasks were not time-consuming, but they required someone who was reliable and had good knowledge of the area. If a kid were reliable, he might become the first person a shop owner called for when he had a small task to be done.

5. Helping Farmers with Seasonal Harvest Work

In the rural towns of the 1960s, it was common to have the experience of seasonal work, and many farms welcomed kids from the area to come and lend a hand during harvest time. Depending on where they lived, kids picked strawberries, beans, apples, tomatoes, and so on. In the morning, they started early while the air was still cool, which made the picking slightly easier. A basket or pail was hung from their arms as they systematically went from row to row, making sure each one was filled with care. It was necessary to be patient, as the harvest had to be done neatly, and the fruit and vegetables had to be unbruised. While it was tiring work in the hot sun, it was also somewhat fulfilling to see the baskets fill up with the brightly colored food.

6. Washing Neighbors’ Cars by Hand

The Swinging Sixties saw the rise of car ownership everywhere, and having a brand-new set of wheels was a source of pride for many families. Weekends spent afternoons turned into informal car-washing sessions in the driveways of suburban blocks. Young kids saw an opportunity and began offering to wash cars in exchange for some cash. With their trusty buckets, sponges, and hose, they rinsed away dust and road grime from chrome-plated bumpers and paintwork. This was not an easy task, as the soap had to be applied to every nook and cranny, including the corners of the wheels and hubcaps. The neighbors appreciated the assistance, as it gave them more time to do other things while their cars looked sparkling clean.

7. Babysitting for Neighborhood Families

Babysitting was one of the options that young people in the 1960s used to earn their pocket money. Adults, in this case, parents, would often rely on responsible young people in the neighborhood to take care of the young ones while they went out to social functions, ran errands, or went to work in the evenings. Most often, this would happen through word of mouth. For instance, a mother would approach a young person in the neighborhood and inquire if they were available to take care of the young ones for a few hours on Saturday night. Babysitters would come with some form of entertainment, such as board games, storybooks, and coloring books, to keep the young ones occupied.

8. Selling Lemonade from Homemade Stands

Lazy summer afternoons in the 1960s were not uncommon, and one could spot a familiar scene in suburban streets during those days. A small wooden table would appear by the roadside with a pitcher shining brightly with lemonade and a sign that read, “Drinks for Sale.” The kids made their own stands using pieces of board, a folding table, and sometimes even cardboard boxes from their garage. The lemonade was made from basic ingredients such as lemons, sugar, and water, mixed together in a pitcher in their kitchen. The curious passerby who chanced upon this roadside drink stall would stop and purchase a drink, providing refreshment and a little boost for the young entrepreneurs who had set up their own business venture.

9. Delivering Groceries for Corner Markets

Long before the advent of supermarket delivery fleets, small neighborhood stores relied on kids in the area to deliver groceries to nearby homes. After the customer finished their shopping, a clerk would fill the bags with bread, milk, canned goods, fruit, and everything else, and then seek out a neighborhood kid to deliver the goods to the customer’s house. The journey was usually on foot or by bike, depending on how far it was to the customer. The kid had to balance the goods, making sure not to jostle the fragile items, as they made their way through the neighborhood streets. They usually knocked at the door and delivered the goods directly to the customer, sometimes accompanied by a small tip as a thank-you.

10. Mowing Lawns with Push Reel Mowers

In the 1960s, you wouldn’t have heard the whir of busy lawn-cutting machines out in the suburbs just yet. Many lawns were still cut using good old-fashioned push reel mowers, which were manually powered. The kids in the area, sensing an opportunity, began offering lawn-cutting services to the neighbors. It was hard work, as the only way to cut the lawn was to push the mower at a consistent pace. A kid walking back and forth across the lawn at a slow pace would cut very neat, narrow lines into the lawn. It was hard work, especially on a hot summer afternoon, but the rewards were obvious: a newly cut lawn with crisp edges right along the sidewalk.

11. Polishing Shoes Outside Barber Shops

Shoe shining was a way for kids to make some money in the 1960s. There was plenty of foot traffic in the downtown area, especially at barber shops, train stations, and bus stations. Many kids made nice little shine boxes in these areas of constant movement. Inside the box, there were brushes, polish, and a cloth used to buff the shoes to a shine. A foot was placed in the box, and the kid would begin to shine the shoe. It was a process that involved polishing first, then brushing, and finally, a cloth to make a shiny surface. It was a successful endeavor when done patiently and with even strokes to make the surface shine. In the mornings, it was especially busy as people stopped by to shine their shoes before going to work.

12. Raking Leaves for Autumn Yard Cleanups

The autumn of the 1960s was also characterized by lawns painted in different hues of orange, gold, and red, with leaves scattered across suburban lawns. For many kids, this provided an opportunity to earn some money. People would hire the neighborhood kids to rake up the leaves scattered across the lawns and make piles along the sidewalks. It was not an easy job, as the rakes were quite tough, and one needed lots of energy to gather the scattered leaves and make piles of them. Once the kids gathered the leaves, they would be put into bags or burned in metal barrels, which was quite common at the time for yard cleanup.

13. Walking Dogs for Busy Neighbors

Many people in 1960s communities had pets at home, but due to busy schedules, had no time to take them for a walk. That is when the kids saw the opportunity to help out and offered to walk the neighbors’ pets for those parents who were at work or out of town. An afternoon helper might come, put a leash on a friendly dog, and walk it around the neighborhood, past the green spaces, and along the sidewalk. While this task may have looked easy, it took patience and responsibility. Some of the pets would pull hard, while others would walk slowly, sniffing every piece of grass along the sidewalk. They learned quickly to have control over the pets while still keeping them comfortable during the walk.

14. Collecting Scrap Metal for Junkyards

In the 1960s, kids discovered that scrap metal became a clever means of making some money, however little. Junkyards and recycling centers would reward kids with some money for metal items they collected by weight. So, kids would search through alleys, back lots, and construction sites, collecting old tin cans, broken tools, and tangled wires. The kids would also make some sort of cart, like an old wagon, a bike with a basket, or even a wooden sled, to carry the heavier items back home. It was not an easy job, as collecting scrap metal can get very heavy very quickly. After collecting enough scrap, the kids would roll into a nearby scrap yard, where someone would weigh everything on a large scale.