How much would Santa Claus make in a year?

Santa Claus is one busy man.

Throughout the year, he keeps lists of all the girls and boys, and he checks them twice -- and let's not forget that round-the-world trip he makes on Christmas Eve to deliver all the presents to the good girls and boys.

So how much would Santa earn for all that work in today's economy?

According to Insure.com, Santa would make almost $140,000 a year based on wage data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The website arrived at the number after figuring out how much an average person would make performing each one of Santa's jobs, including wrapping gifts, taking care of his reindeer and running the workshop.

That last job is what Insure.com would call duties of an "industrial engineer" -- and apparently this was a good year for St. Nick, since his estimated salary rose by more than $2,000 from last year.

29 percent of those surveyed by Insure.com thought Santa should be making way more, though -- like $1.8 billion.

Then again, an equal number of people -- another 29 percent -- think he should make nothing.

Either way, the big guy up in the North Pole is making a heck of a lot more money than those pretending to be him in shopping malls.

Reader's Digest says mall Santas earn about $10,000 for working 40 10-hour days leading up to Christmas.

Santa would even earn more than your mom and dad if they were stay-at-home parents.

Earlier this year, Salary.com estimated stay-at-home moms would earn around $119,000 if they were paid, while stay-at-home dads would pull in around $71,500.

The difference -- by the way -- is based on the number of hours stay-at-home moms and stay-at-home dads report they work in the home. Still -- not too shabby by comparison, Santa Claus.

These little ones look like they needed some time to warm up to Santa:

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