The median family income for students attending Barnard College is $190,100. This figure provides a key insight into the economic backgrounds of students enrolled at the institution.
Understanding Family Income at Barnard
While the exact average (mean) family income is not publicly detailed, the median income offers a valuable perspective on the typical financial standing of a Barnard student's family. The median is the point at which half of the students come from families earning more and half from families earning less.
Economic Diversity and Student Backgrounds
Further insights into the economic diversity at Barnard College reveal:
- High-Income Representation: A significant proportion of students at Barnard, specifically 65%, come from families ranking in the top 20 percent of the national income distribution. This highlights a notable representation of students from more affluent backgrounds within the student body.
Why Median Income Matters
It's important to distinguish between median and average (mean) income, especially when discussing financial data.
- Median Income: The median is the middle value in a dataset, making it less susceptible to being skewed by extremely high or low outliers. For income data, the median often provides a more accurate representation of the "typical" household income compared to the average, which can be inflated by a few very high earners.
- Average (Mean) Income: The average is calculated by summing all incomes and dividing by the total number of incomes. While useful, it can sometimes misrepresent the central tendency if the data distribution is heavily skewed.
By focusing on the median, we gain a clear picture of the typical financial context from which Barnard students originate, offering valuable insights into the college's economic diversity.
