What’s a typical income in the United States? We’ll peek behind the curtain at something people don’t talk about very much: how much money they make
Lesson summary
Hi there everyone, it’s Jeff and this is Plain English, where we help you upgrade your English with stories about the world. This summer, we’re talking about daily life in the U.S. And this week, we’re talking about money. Today, you’ll learn about the average salaries of different professions in the United States. And on Thursday, we’ll talk about the average budget. In other words, today, you’ll learn how people make their money; later this week, you’ll learn how they spend it.
In the second half of today’s lesson, you’ll learn a new way of using the phrasal verb “take out.”
This is lesson number 692, so the full lesson is at PlainEnglish.com/692. That’s where you’ll find the transcripts, translations, exercises, practice area, and more. PlainEnglish.com/692, thanks to JR.
Typical U.S. salaries by profession
I’m not sure what it’s like where you live, but in the U.S., there’s a little bit of a taboo around talking about salaries . Most people— certainly not everyone , but most people—don’t openly talk about how much money they make. But in this lesson, we’ll pull back the curtain and you’ll learn about the average salaries for different professions in the United States.
A few disclaimers before we start: I’m going to use round , approximated numbers from a variety of sources . This is not a precise , scientific study .
Second disclaimer: The U.S. is a huge country! Some places have higher salaries than others. And within professions, there’s a wide variety of potential salaries . So the numbers you hear today are broad averages ; there can be big variations within these careers .
And finally, we’re going to focus on salary jobs . A lot of people are paid by the hour— clerks in stores, restaurant workers, construction workers , contractors . Not everyone works full-time hours. And a lot of people own their own businesses , so their income is varied. But in this lesson, we’ll be talking about the averages for full-time salary workers.
Before we start, let me put some of these numbers in context for you. The median household income in the United States is about $75,000 per year, or $6,250 per month. That’s the median: so, half of households make less than $75,000 per year; half of households make more. A household is everybody living in the same house, usually a nuclear family , but not every household is the same.
So now we’re ready. Let’s start with some classic, middle-class professions: teacher and police officer . A public-school teacher in the United States makes an average of about $65,000 per year. That’s an average: a first-year teacher would make much less, maybe $40,000 to $45,000 per year.
A police officer would make a little bit more: about $72,000 per year, on average—so right at the median. Depending on the state and the officer’s experience, it can be up to about $110,000 to $120,000 per year.
So you can see how a two-income family might get to, say , $100,000: you can have one full-time spouse as a police officer or teacher and one part-time spouse making about half that, and that gets a household close to six figures. A household with a full-time teacher and a full-time police officer would be up around $125,000 to $150,000 per year.
What about higher-paid professions , like lawyer or doctor ? The very best-paid doctors at the best hospitals can make seven figures : over $1 million per year. And the best lawyers can make that much or more. But that’s not the typical experience of a doctor or a lawyer.
“Internal medicine” is the term used for a general practitioner , the doctor you probably see when you get sick. The typical income for a doctor like this is about $250,000 per year. But specialists like surgeons , cardiologists , oncologists —they make about $400,000 per year on average. That’s a good salary. Doctors can earn more if they start their own practices because then they become owners of a medical business.
But remember, many doctors take out expensive student loans and they’re doing residencies , low-paid residencies, until age 30 or later. They can’t take home all that pay until after they’ve paid back their loans.
How about lawyers? On average , lawyers make a little less than doctors do. But that’s because there are a lot of professions in law that pay less. Lawyers at top firms can make $300,000 to $500,000 per year. That’s their salary and bonus income. If they become partners in a big firm, they can earn a lot more because they become owners of the business.
What about public servant lawyers ? Lawyers for state and local governments make about $100,000 to $150,000. Lawyers for public aid , public defenders , and nonprofits make less than that.
Here’s something that’s in demand these days: workers in the tech industry . If you give sales demos and work in customer service , then $125,000 is a good salary. If you’re in product management, maybe $200,000. And if you’re really good at coding , really in high demand, if you work in AI, then $300,000, $400,000 or more is not uncommon . And you might get a slice of stock in the company, too.
Let’s take a look at a few other professions. Here are several professions that are all around the median , somewhere around $60,000 to $75,000 per year. Ready? A news reporter at a newspaper in a medium-sized city; a manager of a restaurant or a retail store ; and an insurance agent , someone who quotes and sells insurance policies . They all make around the median, around $60,000 to $75,000 per year.
What about the lowest-paying professions? This is hard to pin down , because a lot of these jobs are paid by the hour and not everyone works full-time hours. Some people combine jobs, where they’re working less than full time at each one. But if you work at the counter at a coffee shop, as a cook in a restaurant, as an assistant at a hair salon , or an assistant at a childcare facility , you might make $30,000 to $35,000 per year for full time work.
Jeff’s take
All right, hopefully that gives you an idea of what salaries are like for different professions in the United States. And again, it’s different by state, different by level of experience, different by specialty, all that stuff. But those are some good averages.
So now you know how people make their money. On Thursday, we’ll talk about how they spend it. We’ll take a peek into an average budget for a household making $100,000 per year.
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