The terms average Joe, ordinary Joe, regular Joe, Joe Sixpack, Joe Lunchbucket, Joe Snuffy, Joe Blow, Joe Schmoe (for males), and ordinary Jane, average Jane, and plain Jane (for females), are used primarily in North America to refer to a completely average person, typically an average American. It can be used both to give the image of a hypothetical "completely average person" or to describe an existing person. Parallel terms in other languages for local equivalents exist worldwide.
Historically, there have been several attempts at answering who exactly is the average American. For example, the Saturday Evening Post and The Washington Post have attempted to answer the question. Both articles agreed that the average American is a white Christian female, who is part of a couple, and is politically independent.[1] [2] Admittedly, there are problems with this answer. In 2001, for example, no single household arrangement constituted more than 30% of total households. Married couples with no children were the most common constituting 28.7% of households. It would nonetheless be inaccurate to state that the average American lives in a childless couple arrangement as 71.3% do not.[3]
Today, statistics by the United States Department of Commerce provide information regarding the societal attributes of those who may be referred to as being "average". While some individual attributes are easily identified as being average, such as the median income, other characteristics, such as family arrangements, may not be identified as being average. In terms of social class, the average American may be described as either being middle class,[4] or working class.[5] As social classes lack distinct boundaries the average American may have a status in the area where the lower middle and upper working class overlap.[6]
"Average Joes" are common fodder for characters in television or movies, comics, novels, or radio dramas. On television, examples of "average Joes" include Doug Heffernan (King of Queens), Alan Harper (Two and a Half Men) and Homer Simpson (The Simpsons). In the film , the protagonist, Peter, owns a gym for those who do not want an intensive workout, and the patrons of the gym are all somewhat overweight. The gym is named Average Joe's Gymnasium.[7] In real life, as chronicled in his bestseller The Average American: The Extraordinary Search for the Nation's Most Ordinary Citizen, Kevin O'Keefe successfully completed a nationwide search for the person who was the most statistically average in the United States during a multi-year span starting in 2000. Newsweek proclaimed of the book, "The journey toward run-of-the-mill has never been so remarkable."
As the United States is a highly diverse nation, it should not be surprising that there is no single prevalent household arrangement. While the "nuclear family" consisting of a married couple with their own children is often seen as the average American family, such households constitute less than a quarter of all households.[6] Married couples without children are currently the plurality constituting 28.7% of households, compared to 24.1% for nuclear families.
Another 25.5% of households consisted of single persons residing alone. Recent trends have shown the numbers of nuclear families as well as childless married couples decrease. In 1970, 40.3% of US households consisted of nuclear families with childless couples making up 30.3% of households and 10.6% of households being arranged in "Other family types."
By 2000 the percentage of nuclear families had decreased by 40%, while the number of other family types had increased by 51%. The percentage of single households has also steadily increased. In 1970, only 17% of households consisted of singles. In 2000 that figure had increased by 50% with singles constituting 25.5% of households. The most drastic increase was among the percentage of households made up of single males, which nearly doubled from 5.6% in 1970 to 10.7% in 2000.
Today, one can no longer refer to the nuclear family as the average American household, neither can one identify the current plurality of married couples without children as "the average." Recent statistics indeed indicate that there is no average American family arrangement, but that American society is home to a wide and diverse variety of family arrangements. The one thing the data does indicate is that the average Joe most likely does not reside in a nuclear 4-person family.[6]
A statement that can be made, however, is that most Americans will marry at least once in their lifetime with the first marriage most commonly ending in divorce. Today a little over half (52.3%) of US household include a married couple, showing a significant decrease since 1970 when 70.6% of households included a married couple. Current trends indicate that people in the US are marrying later and less often with higher divorce rates.
Despite the declining prevalence of marriage, more than three-quarters of Americans will marry at least once in their lifetime. The average age for marriage for a male was 26.8 and 25.1 for a female. Americans are also likely to remarry after their first divorce. In 1990, 40% of all marriages were remarriages. All together one can conclude that while there is no prevalent average household arrangement, most Americans (the average Joe) will get married and divorced once with a considerable number of Americans remarrying at least once.[6]
| Year | Families (69.7%) | Non-families (31.2%) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Married couples (52.5%) | Single parents | Other blood relatives | Singles (25.5%) | Other non-family | |||
| Nuclear family | Without children | Male | Female | ||||
| 2000 | 24.1% | 28.7% | 9.9% | 7% | 10.7% | 14.8% | 5.7% |
| 1970 | 40.3% | 30.3% | 5.2% | 5.5% | 5.6% | 11.5% | 1.7% |
See main article: Personal income in the United States and Household income in the United States. Income in the United States is most commonly measured either by individual or household. By only including those above age 25, the vast majority of students and all working adolescents are excluded. The average American, as discussed in the educational attainment section, is a high school graduate who attended but did not graduate from college. From the below table in 2017, the median personal income of such Americans was $37,968, and among those who worked full-time their median personal income was $43,377.
| Measure | Some high school | High school graduate | Some college | Associate's degree | Bachelor's degree or higher | Bachelor's degree | Master's degree | Professional degree | Doctorate degree | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Persons, w/ earnings | $24,576 | $33,669 | $37,968 | $37,968 | $61,440 | $56,592 | $70,608 | $91,538 | $79,231 | |
| Male, w/ earnings | $22,214 | $32,307 | $39,823 | $43,785 | $70,437 | $62,304 | $78,222 | $111,881 | $91,604 | |
| Female, w/ earnings | $20,784 | $28,896 | $33,360 | $33,360 | $54,480 | $49,248 | $61,200 | $65,012 | $68,887 | |
| Persons, employed full-time | $30,598 | $38,102 | $43,377 | $47,401 | $71,221 | $64,074 | $77,285 | $117,679 | $101,307 |
| Ethnic group | All households | Lowest fifth | Second fifth | Middle fifth | Fourth fifth | Highest fifth | Top 5% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White Alone | Numbers in 000s | 102,057 | 18,624 | 20,056 | 20,717 | 21,293 | 21,367 | 5,392 |
| Percentage | 77.79% | 70.98% | 76.43% | 78.95% | 81.15% | 81.43% | 82.17% | |
| Black Alone | Numbers in 000s | 17,698 | 5,490 | 4,291 | 3,493 | 2,592 | 1,832 | 350 |
| Percentage | 13.49% | 20.92% | 16.35% | 13.31% | 9.88% | 6.98% | 5.33% | |
| Asian Alone | Numbers in 000s | 7,276 | 1,116 | 0,951 | 1,235 | 1,547 | 2,426 | 700 |
| Percentage | 5.55% | 4.25% | 3.62% | 4.71% | 5.90% | 9.25% | 10.67% | |
| Hispanic (any race) | Numbers in 000s | 19,230 | 4,333 | 4,816 | 4,091 | 3,572 | 2,418 | 492 |
| Percentage | 14.66% | 16.51% | 18.35% | 15.59% | 13.61% | 9.21% | 7.50% | |
Source: US Census Bureau, 2021[9]
See main article: Educational attainment in the United States. The US adult population seems almost equally divided between those who have and those who don't have a college degree, including an Associate degree. While only a minority of Americans, 35%, have graduated from college with a Bachelor's degree or more, a majority, 61%, of Americans had "some college" education. Also, 45% had an associate degree or more, with only roughly 13.7% having a graduate degree. On the other end of the strata, 10% of adults did not graduate from high school.[10]
It is fair to assume that the average Joe/Jane is not a college graduate, but is a high school graduate. However, it is difficult to determine how much college education the average American has, as the population is split between those who graduated, attended but did not graduate, and did not attend college. Over the past half century the educational attainment of the US population has significantly increased.[11] In 2019, the median personal income for American adults age 25+ was $46,985 overall, specifically $52,297 for males and $40,294 for females.
| High school diploma or GED | 89.80% | 92.95% | |
| Some college | 61.28% | 66.34% | |
| Associate degree | 45.16% | 46.72% | |
| Bachelor's degree | 34.98% | 36.98% | |
| Master's degree | 13.04% | 9.01% | |
| Professional degree | 3.47% | 2.02% | |
| Doctorate | 2.03% | 1.12% |
| Criteria | Overall | Less than 9th grade | Some high school | High school graduate or equivalent | Some college | Associate degree | Bachelor's degree | Bachelor's degree or more | Master's degree | Professional degree | Doctoral degree | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Median annual individual income[13] | Male, age 25+ | $52,297 | $29,405 | $32,112 | $41,580 | $49,676 | $53,082 | $70,968 | $78,156 | $89,915 | $135,970 | $112,305 | |
| Female, age 25+ | $40,294 | $20,252 | $21,851 | $28,166 | $32,679 | $35,970 | $50,691 | $56,047 | $61,861 | $88,301 | $87,394 | ||
| Age 25+ | $46,985 | $25,162 | $26,092 | $35,540 | $39,362 | $42,391 | $60,705 | $66,432 | $71,851 | $102,741 | $101,526 | ||
| Median annual household income[14] | $70,308 | $30,355 | $31,326 | $48,708 | $61,911 | $69,573 | $100,164 | $108,646 | $117,439 | $162,127 | $142,347 | ||
See main article: Social class in the United States and American middle class. In terms of social class the average American could be referred to as being both a member of the middle[4] or working class.[15] [16] The discrepancy is largely the result of differing class models and definitions of what constitutes a member of the middle class. Currently the vast majority of Americans self-identify as middle class, yet some experts in the field such as Michael Zweig of Stony Brook University or Dennis Gilbert of Cornell University have brought forth different theories. The majority of American adults are neither professionals nor managers and lack college degrees.[6] [11]
Occupational autonomy is a key factor in regards to class positions.[17] Professionals and managers who are exclusively labeled as middle class, and often as upper middle class, conceptualize, create and consult in their jobs. Due to their great expertise they enjoy a high degree of autonomy in the workplace.[16]
The American economy, however, does not require a labor force consisting solely of professionals. Instead it requires a greatly diverse and specialized labor force. Thus the majority of Americans complete assigned tasks with considerably less autonomy and creative freedom than professionals, leading to theory that they may better be described as being members of the working class.[6]
| White | 11.3 | 10.1 | 21.3 | 15.9 | 41.4 | |
| Black or African American | 16.2 | 5.7 | 22.3 | 23.8 | 31.9 | |
| Asian | 9.1 | 3.1 | 17 | 15.8 | 55 | |
| Hispanic or Latino | 15.4 | 16.4 | 20.6 | 24.2 | 23.3 |
Educational attainment varied greatly depending on occupational field with 68% of those in the professional and professional support fields having a bachelor's degree or higher, compared to only 31.6% of those employed in sales and 11.6% of those in the service sector. The average American does not have a bachelor's degree, and is most likely employed in the tertiary sector of the economy, encompassing both non-professional white-collar and pink-collar work. Altogether the American economy and labor force have changed greatly since the middle of the 20th century, with most workers today no longer being employed in blue-collar occupations.[11]
See main article: Homeownership in the United States. The majority of American households are "homeowners" but likely owe on a mortgage, as the term also includes households that owe on a mortgage. According to ATTOM Data Research, only "34 percent of all American homeowners have 100 percent equity in their properties — they've either paid off their entire mortgage debt or they never had a mortgage".[20]
Homeownership is the primary asset most Americans use to generate wealth. For majority of U.S. homeowners, their home equity represents 50-70% of their net wealth.[21] In first quarter 2023, the average American with an active mortgage had a home equity close to US$275,000.[22]
According to US Department of Commerce data in 2005, 67% of housing units in the United States were owner occupied, had three or fewer bedrooms with one or less occupant per room (including kitchen, dining room, living room, etc.) and were mortgaged.[23] The overwhelming majority, 85%, of all housing units had three or fewer bedrooms. The plurality of housing units, 40%, had three bedrooms. The majority, 67%, of housing units were mortgaged with 52% of households spending 25% or less of their annual income on mortgage payments.
The median value of a housing unit in the US was $167,500 in 2005 with the median mortgage payment being $1,295. The average size of a household was 2.5 persons with almost all housing units, 97%, having 1 or fewer occupants per room. However, the term "room" does not exclusively refer to bedrooms, but includes the kitchen, dining room, family room, bathrooms and any other rooms a house might have. While 85% of American homes had 3 or fewer bedrooms, the median number of total rooms per housing units was 5.3 in 2005.[23] These statistics suggest that the average Americans reside in their own home, and pay roughly $1,000 per month in mortgage payments for a three or fewer bedroom house with no more than one occupant per room.[23]
US Census Bureau data from 2002 identified housing characteristics for owner-occupied units inhabited by households with average incomes, ranging from $40,000 to $60,000. The median square footage for homes occupied by middle-income households was 1,700 with 52% of such homes having two or more bathrooms. The median value of these homes was $112,000 with the median year of construction being 1970. Middle-income households tended to spend roughly 18% of their monthly income on housing. Thus it is likely that many average Americans reside in 1700square feet homes, priced slightly above $100,000 with two or more bathrooms that were built in the late 1960s and early 1970s.[24] However, the taken income is slightly above average.