Salary FYI

Median Salary

Economics

The middle value in a sorted list of salaries, where half of workers earn more and half earn less — a more representative measure than the average when high earners skew the data.

## Median Salary

The median salary is the 50th percentile of all salaries in a given population. It is generally more useful than the average (mean) because it is not distorted by extremely high or low values.

### Median vs. Average

| Metric | Formula | Sensitivity to Outliers |
|--------|---------|------------------------|
| Median | Middle value in sorted list | Low |
| Mean | Sum ÷ Count | High |

### Example

In a team of 5 earning $40K, $50K, $60K, $70K, and $500K:
- Median: $60,000 (better representation).
- Mean: $144,000 (skewed by the $500K earner).

### Global Median Salaries (Full-Time, 2024)

| Country | Median Annual |
|---------|-------------|
| US | ~$56,000 |
| UK | ~£35,000 (~$44,000) |
| Germany | ~€44,000 (~$48,000) |
| Japan | ~¥4.5M (~$30,000) |
| India | ~₹400,000 (~$4,800) |