Using the Everest-height income metaphor, the average American family’s income is about how many feet off the ground?

• A. 15
• B. 5
• C. 50
• D. 100

Answer: (A)

The Everest-height income metaphor is a visual way to grasp how income is distributed. Heights on the mountain represent how much money a family has, and the scale makes unequal wealth more tangible: many families cluster near the base, while a few climb very high.

In this teaching example, the average American family’s income is placed about 15 feet off the ground. That modest height shows that, on this scale, the typical experience sits relatively low on the mountain, even though a tiny number of high earners extend the mountain’s reach far upward. The goal is to highlight inequality and how the mean income can be pulled upward by extreme cases, even when most people aren’t very high on the slope. So 15 feet is used to illustrate the average’s position—visible, but not far above the ground.