On average, Americans took home $44,569 in 2014, according to CNBC, which represents a 3.5 percent rise from the previous year. However, as we all learned in statistics classes, sometimes the average doesn't describe the whole story, and whether or not it's reliable really depends on the circumstance. So while the average figure tells one story, the median wage, $28,851, tells a different one (though this figure also shows growth, being about 800 dollars higher than the previous year). 

CNBC said that these latest figures show that there has been little inflationary pressure in the U.S., a key metric in how the Federal Reserve will determine whether or when to raise interest rates.