From Ezra Klein:
America's mean wage in 2005 was $35,448.93. That's the number you generally hear quoted. It's median, however, was $23,962.20. And if you want another example of rising inequality, in 1990, the median was 71% of the mean. In 2005, it was 67%. Indeed, over the same time period, the mean wage increased by 75%. The median only increased by 65%.
To put that median wage number into slightly more human terms...
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were roughly 142 million employed civilians in 2005. Given that the median wage for that year was roughly $24,000, that means that roughly 71 million Americans earned less than $24,000 per year.
Next time you describe yourself or your family as "average" or "normal", keep that number in mind.
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