The document discusses the median, a measure of central tendency that is defined as the middle value in a data set arranged in order of magnitude. The median is resistant to outliers, unlike the mean, which can be skewed by extreme values. Some key uses of the median include measuring median household income, median age, and median home prices, as it provides a more representative central value than the mean in datasets that may contain outliers. An example is given to demonstrate how to calculate the median by finding the middle value of 25 data points representing ages of uninsured senior citizens.

1. Dr Richard V. Diamond Regent’s College April 2009 The Median. Its Significance

8. Age Map of the U.S. Lighter is older median age (white is 46.0 years median age). Dark is younger median age (black is 29.0 years median age) Source: Google Earth