The results show the average and median wages of VR members. The figures are not published unless they consist of ten or more respondents. In addition to the average wages, median, upper and lower thresholds are also published and indicate the wage distribution in the group in question.
- Median: half of the respondents have lower wages than the median and half have higher wages.
- Lower or 25% threshold: a quarter of the respondents have the wages that appear in the column or lower and then 75% of the respondents have higher wages.
- Upper or 75% threshold: a quarter of respondents have the wages specified in the column or higher than 75% of respondents have lower wages.
The average can be misleading when a few members in the group have much higher or lower wages than the majority of the group. The median is often a better measure of the wages in the group.
On the basis of average, median, 25% and 75% thresholds, the wage distribution can be estimated as follows:
The wider the gap between the 25% threshold, the median and the 75% threshold, the greater the distribution of the group's wages. The wider the gap, the more difficult it is to realize which wages are most common in the group in question. On the other hand, wages are more homogeneous in the group as the gap between these figures becomes narrower and it is then easier to realize in which range wages are most common in the group in question.
If the average is higher than the median, there are probably several respondents in the group who have considerably higher wages than the majority of the group, thus raising the average. If the average is lower than the median, there are probably some respondents who have considerably lower wages than the majority of the group and thus reduce the average. If the median and average are in similar areas, it can be said that there is a certain balance in the group's wage distribution.