Keep in mind that like in every field of work, there are a few hotshots in academia that skew the numbers. Someone who is uber famous in their line of work, and a university pays them double or triple to come. But those are the exceptions, not the rule.

Because most universities are public, salaries are easy to find. Here's the official data from the Chronicle of Higher Education:

http://data.chronicle.com/category/state/Utah/faculty-salaries/

New professors, after 6-10 years of graduate work mind you, average about $65K. Realize too that Accounting/engineering assistant profs will be skewing that upwards, while your social science profs will be further down.

Full Professors are in the mid $150Ks, but these are folks that are 20 years into their careers.

Sure, that's comfortable ... but by no means extravagant.

Now, take someone with a PHD in their field and 20 years of experience ... how much do you think they are making in the private sector? Twice as much?