What is your estimate of an "ordinary" salary in the U.S. today

DaveA

DaveA

Well-known Member
Location
Coastal Massachusetts, USA
Eliminating business owners, doctors, lawyers, etc., obviously high end jobs, what is considered an ordinary annual salary. I've been retired for 27 years now and am probably out of touch with what folks earn. Town, city employees, bus/truck drivers, laborers, restaurant employees, etc. I realize pays are all over the place and I'm not asking anyone to state what they earn (or have earned). Just the amount that one would considered average when engaged in a discussion regarding retirement.

I sometimes feel that the range must be enormous, high to low, when listening to folks discussing how to go about a successful savings program.
 
National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage per hour in the UK is:


  • 25 and over: £8.21
  • 21-24: £7.70
  • 18-20: £6.15
  • Under 18: £4.35
  • Apprentice: £3.90
Now according to statistics and govt figures the Average salary in the uk is
the average full-time salary is £36,611 and average part-time salary is £12,495.

Now my maths may not be the greatest, but if I work out an average of 40 hours @ £8.21 that's approx £328 .00 ..then 52 x £328 is £17.056 approx.. nowhere near the gvt figures of £36,611 in fact almost half!!..

Just appalling actually!!
 
I live in a HCOL region. An "ordinary" salary would be a minimum of $65K. A middle-class salary/income would start at $100K/yr. A "comfortable middle-class" (meaning a $5K emergency wouldn't wipe out your emergency nest egg or impact your total annual expenditures) is estimated at $150K.

We have friends who have more and a few who have less than the average "ordinary". For the latter, it's a rough and uncertain life.

One issue with looking at averages - usually it's assumed that is per household or per person. However, having children complicates the mix. People with kids in our area have much higher expenses than we do, as we are/were DINKies (double income no kids).
 
mathjak107 said:
Without taking the location in to the equation who cares what some average number is ...all that matters is the purchasing power your income buys where you live and the lifestyle it gets you ...
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Exactly...."Location" is the biggest single determination. In some of the major coastal cities, 100K/yr. barely allows a family to scrape by, while in places like the Midwest, half that amount lets people live quite well.
 
you see these kinds of posts all the time on forums .usually in the form of a question like how much do I need to retire ....it is like asking how long is a rope .....we all earn different amounts when working , live in different areas and live different lifestyles ....i always find these kinds of questions silly
 
mathjak107 said:
you see these kinds of posts all the time on forums .usually in the form of a question like how much do I need to retire ....it is like asking how long is a rope .....we all earn different amounts when working , live in different areas and live different lifestyles ....i always find these kinds of questions silly
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I agree, to a point. I found many folks have no inkling how incredibly inexpensive it can be to live in certain areas in the Midwest and South, compared to the northeast and coastal west. It doesn’t hurt to ask.
 
In an open forum asking questions can be interesting, no one is forced to read or answer. Like the op being out of the work force for 27 years wondering what wages are paid as an average seems like a reasonable question. I wondered what the average was 27 years ago when the op left the work force


The chart in this site shows the average.

Measures Of Central Tendency For Wage Data
Office of the Chief Actuary
For more detailed information on the average wage data for any year, including a distribution by wage level, select a year and click "Go."

As indicated in the explanation of the determination of the national average wage index (AWI), the latest annual change in the "raw" average wages is applied to the last AWI to obtain the next one. Such raw average wages are the average amounts of net compensation (as distinct from total employee compensation) listed in the table below.

An average is just one measure of central tendency for any set of data. Another measure is a median. For our wage data, the median wage (or net compensation) is the wage "in the middle." That is, half of the workers earned below this level. The table below shows that the median wage is substantially less than the average wage. The reason for the difference is that the distribution of workers by wage level is highly skewed.

https://www.ssa.gov/oact/cola/central.html

Does the average translate to being able to set aside a portion for retirement? Do people even think about retirement and the prospect of trying to live on Soc. Sec. or the equivlent in other countries?
 
This was from this year...

"Salaries in Kansas range from 12,300 USD per year (minimum salary) to 401,000 USD per year (maximum average salary, actual maximum is higher). Median Salary The median salary is 85,100 USD per year, which means that half (50%) of the population are earning less than 85,100 USD while the other half are earning more than 85,100 USD. "

I make WAY less than $85,000.
 
I lived in lcol state for several years where professionals earning $100k++ enjoyed a lot of disposable income. Now that I'm in hcol county/state, income may be higher but with sky rocketing cost of everything, there's lesser disposable income after taxes and everything. IME, there's a premium to pay for living in areas that provide unlimited opportunities for career growth and advancement.

If, and when I decide to quit working, I may consider living overseas where I can live comfortably with what I have. Hopefully, I'd still be in good shape to enjoy paradise.
 
The average salary in British Columbia (Canada), is $48,692 per year, or $24.97 per hour. Entry level positions start at $23,400 per year, while most experienced workers make up to $82,776 per year.

The average house price in British Columbia (Canada)... $730,000
 
Aunt Bea said:
The median income in my zip code is estimated at $28,218.00 and the median home price is $79,600.00.
This link will allow you to see what best places think the numbers look like in your area.
https://www.bestplaces.net/find/
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Very cool link Aunt Bea.

@mathjak107 "we all earn different amounts when working , live in different areas and live different lifestyles ....i always find these kinds of questions silly".
Geesh MJ....what's wrong with "just wondering"?!
 
Everything is relative, I think. I have friends who are perfectly content living their retirement lifestyle on very little money and those who wouldn't be happy with any amount! There are so many factors including monthly debt/outlay, medical/pharmaceutical requirements, etc.
 
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