If I use ggplot2\'s stat_summary() to make a barplot of the average number of miles per gallon for 3-, 4-, and 5-geared cars, for example, how can
You should use the internal variable ..y.. to get the computed mean.

library(ggplot2)
CarPlot <- ggplot(data= mtcars) +
aes(x = factor(gear),
y = mpg)+
stat_summary(aes(fill = factor(gear)), fun.y=mean, geom="bar")+
stat_summary(aes(label=round(..y..,2)), fun.y=mean, geom="text", size=6,
vjust = -0.5)
CarPlot
but probably it is better to aggregate beforehand.