Thanks for explaining 60K is double the median. I was starting to feel poor on my retirement income.
Self-sorting skews our perceptions. Housing costs are a prime mover. We often end up living in areas segregated by mortgage payment. That becomes our norm. Then one retires, or loses a job, the income shrinks, and suddenly you are making less than the neighbors. That doesn’t mean you are poor. It may mean you need to move, unless the house is paid off. I’ve looked at retirement homes. I could have a significantly larger house at a third of the cost if I moved an hour out of the city.