That "half the people make below median income" is ridiculous only because it's a tautology, since "median" defines the point in a ranked group for which half are above and half are below the "median point."

Nigel's declaration about being "above average" would almost certainly be true if the sample population is small towns in rural Kansas, where many have dwindled to counting chickens to get a large enough "population" to keep their post office; but would quite obviously be untrue (one would expect) for the sample population of voters in Texas where large numbers of cows often appear to have cast ballots.

John