trade school instead of a bachelor's degree

[cookderosa]

we all know the limits of using the mean / average. It isn't the whole picture. Still, unless you're very specific or specialized, you have to look at numbers in a general sense. Salary is one, but not the only factor of course. Buying a house requires SO MUCH MONEY in some places, like Danika said, you have to really be a high earner to do it.
I'll give you another thing to consider, work hours. If someone earns $50k and works 40 hours, that is an entirely different kind of job than someone who can make $50k working 20 hours - or even 70 hours. It's not just about the salary. In addition, is there upward mobility? As an example, my oldest son's first full-time job was at a warehouse where everyone makes $20-25 an hour - literally. But that's it, there is no "up" so after a few years, people leave because it's a hard job and there is nothing else to do. No promotion, no prospect of a better quality of life. So, it's a team of young men who can physically run their butts off and want money to buy a fast car and beer. It's not a career and it's not a skilled trade- so outside of that one company, it's nearly impossible to walk into a different warehouse and earn that kind of cash.