When you say the "Average person" I would guess you are referring to the "masses". That being the case, I'd say little. Some might have a couple of grand, but I'd say they are the exception if a grunt working a 9-5 and prolly more a check to check person.
First job I got after college was with a telco. Depending on your education level and experience determined where you started on the "scale" (this was a union job). If you had a degree, and a lot of sale experience you started near the top ($50k), if not you were around $30k, but maxed out via contract in 5 years. With different sales incentives, you could easily make $75k.
Anyways, I remember when I was first hired in my trainer used to tell us over and again about not getting caught in the "golden handcuffs" because it would trap you in a job you did not like, unable to transfer or leave. Long story short, she was referring to getting used to making that much money, over spending, and so forth.
Anyways, I remember being stunned over my 6 years there that people would get paid on a Friday, and by the next Monday would be asking to borrow money. Ofcourse these would be the people with 3-5 kids, driving the brand new cars, and living in the houses they couldn't afford, etc, etc etc.
Now I am not saying $50k is like 100k or more and people can live like kings by any means if you have a family, kids, and the rest. But I mean where I am in MI, $50k can definately go a long way unless you have no money management skills.
A lot of these people had no money in the bank, and any time their cars broken down, or there was some emergency, there was drama. I know this because I was a union steward (i.e. privie to all their mellow dramas) for part of my time there, and would have to defend them to keep their job.
So the average person (being the masses) had no savings of any kind they contributed to anyways. The more intelligent normally had a couple of grand or more either in a bank, CD, stock market, investment of some sort.
