In the north, people made money by working at factories, sawmills, or farms, manufacturing/selling goods, or working at a different kind of establishment.In the south, people made money by growing crops like corn, cotton, rice, sweet potatoes, wheat, flax, sugar cane and selling enslaved African Americans. People in the south also made money by working factories, sawmills or lumber companies, investing in cotton mills, arranging marriages with wealthy planters, or working as laborers. In 1806, when more African Americans were becoming free, they made money by, working as laborers on plantations or working as artisans and barbers.

The agricultural economy was stronger than the economy of trade. Many people in both the north and south relied on growing and selling crops to make a living. Agriculture also brought wealth from trade, crops like cotton and rice were both significant to the north and souths' economies.

Like there still are today, there were classes of wealth in the north and south.

Economic Balance