It depends on what platform you are aiming for. If you are aiming to work on the new badass games then people usually aim around 10k... however it isn't really all about amount of polygons.. it is how you use them. Just because you can use 10k doesn't mean you should if you can't get enough out of it.
Thanks everyone, for the critiques, and the encouragement! :) I'm going to start watching my polygon count now, and keep my characters 10-15K or lower. I'm also going to start working on my textures, and try to get those up to par with better artists. I'm also going to keep trying to learn a sculpting program as well. I'll…