Please find a recent estimate of average lifetime income for
Americans, and provide the source.

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Request for Question Clarification by tutuzdad-ga on 15 Aug 2004 16:13 PDT

Statistic of this nature, because of the time it takes to compile and
analyze are rarely ever current (actually my one research experience
suggests that they are NEVER current). I have found some data from a
realiable source dated 1998 if this will suffice as an answer. Let me
know and I can post it for you.

Regards;
tutuzdad-ga

Dear panop-ga;

Since my last request for clarification I have found what I am
convinced is the most recent information so I am posting it as an
answer for you. According to latest available data quoted from the US
Census Bureau (March 1998, 1999 & 2000) the average person makes
varying levels of lifetime income depending upon his level of
education. This document is broken down into genders and educational
levels and should answer your question nicely:

THE BIG PAYOFF: EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT AND SYNTHETIC ESTIMATES OF
WORK-LIFE EARNINGS
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau
http://www.census.gov/prod/2002pubs/p23-210.pdf

This document from the US Census Bureau is a bit more current (2002),
but still refers back to the document I posted above, confirming that
the document above is the most current information available:

CENSUS BUREAU REPORT SHOWS 'BIG PAYOFF' FROM EDUCATIONAL DEGREES
http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2002/cb02-95.html

Below you will find that I have carefully defined my search strategy
for you in the event that you need to search for more information. By
following the same type of searches that I did you may be able to
enhance the research I have provided even further. I hope you find
that my research exceeds your expectations. If you have any questions
about my research please post a clarification request prior to rating
the answer. Otherwise, I welcome your rating and your final comments
and I look forward to working with you again in the near future. Thank
you for bringing your question to us.

Best regards;
Tutuzdad ? Google Answers Researcher


INFORMATION SOURCES

Defined above


SEARCH STRATEGY


SEARCH ENGINES USED:

Google ://www.google.com




SEARCH TERMS USED:

LIFETIME EARNINGS

?AVERAGE PERSON EARNS? 

?IN HIS LIFETIME?

?IN THEIR LIFETIME?

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Request for Answer Clarification by panop-ga on 15 Aug 2004 18:49 PDT

This is better than what I found and worth the price.  

The time period is recent enough.  However, I was interested in an
average estimate for all Americans, not broken down by educational
level.  For such an estimate, I would pay an additional $10, by tip or
however else it is done.

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Clarification of Answer by tutuzdad-ga on 15 Aug 2004 19:29 PDT

I wish I could get closer but I fear that statistic doesn't exist (at
least not from an accurate source). There are far too many variables
to consider: Race, Origin, Sex, profession, region, socio-ecnomic
status, education and on and on just to name a few.

There are a number of sources that arbitrarily state that the average
person earns about 1 million dollars in a lifetime, but even this
cannot be confirmed. Narrowing down the lifetime earnings by some
other measurable factor (like educational level) seems to be the only
way to get close to the truth. I could pull your chain and say that
one million dollar figure is correct, but that's not what I do and not
what you expect from me, so I won't. To be honest, I have no way of
knowing how they came to this conclusion and I bet they (these
arbitrary sources) don't either.

Regards;
tutuzdad-ga