WAGES IN 2014

The average American took in $44,569.20 last year, according to data released Tuesday by the Social Security Administration. It marks an increase of 3.5 percent from 2013.*
A problem with averages is that the average can be skewed by adding in a few very large number and Median wage is a better measure, i.e. half the workers earned more and half earned less.  See the next quote that shows how skewed the average wages are compared to the median:
Still, 67 percent of wage earners made less than or equal to the average. Median compensation came in at $28,851.21 for the year, up from $28,031.02 in 2013. *
The Median Wage is given in the picture below:

(Click to enlarge)
You can see what is skewing the average to the high side from the following quotes:

Some 134 Americans raked in more than $50 million last year, according to data released Tuesday by the Social Security Administration. The total rose about 20 percent from 110 in 2013.**

The  number of Americans making between $20 million and $50 million also jumped, hitting 776 in 2014. That marked an increase from 565 in the previous year.**

Wages of those making $20 million to $50 million are graphed below:**

(Click to enlarge)
Though 2012 was the peak year for those making over $50 million (at 166), the general trend is upward from 2010 at 81 vs 134 in 2014.  The figure shows, however, that 2014 was the peak year for those making $20 million to $50 million (at 776, close to doubling 2011 at 406).

At the same time there are jobs disappearing.  The most in hazard are mail carrier (expected to decrease by 28% by 2022), meter reader and farmer (expected to decrease by 19% by 2022), among others, narrowing job opportunities.***

* http://www.cnbc.com/2015/10/20/the-average-american-made-446k-last-year.html

 **http://www.cnbc.com/2015/10/20/rich-americans-got-a-lot-richer-last-year.html

*** http://www.careercast.com/jobs-rated/most-endangered-jobs-2015