$120K is typical? Even if you only isolate the executive/management positions from SF, which is one of the most inflated markets in the world, the median is still only about $100k. Obviously, the average of all white-collar jobs will be far lower. In more representative parts of the country, I'd imagine that it's below $50k (which is only two to four times the poverty level, not ten.)
Honestly, where do people get the idea that the average American makes $120k. That salary is astronomical.
I specifically called it out as "white-collar" income, not overall median income.
It's household income, not per capita. The median household income for SF is $73. I don't think it's out of bounds to assume that for a white collar worker (call it a 75th percentile income) that number is well over $120.
About 30% of the US gets a bachelor's degree, which seems like a reasonable proxy for the number of people working in white collar office jobs. So a median white collar worker is probably about 80th percentile income. For the overall US, that works out to $105K to $110K.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Household_income_in_the_United_...
Honestly, where do people get the idea that the average American makes $120k. That salary is astronomical.
http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ocs/sp/ncbl1627.pdf