another statistics question

It's obvious I'm going to have to take courses in statistics & in economics after I finish re-learning elementary & high school math. Otherwise I'm going to end up like Cliff Claven.

But until then, I'm going to depend on you guys.

Here is my question.

Assuming I've pulled the relevant data on rising median household incomes for selective public universities, what is the proper way to compare these figures?

Here are the figures I'm using (dollars inflation-adjusted to 2002):

1990
median household income: $40,000
median household income selective public universities: $75,800

2002
median household income = $42,000
median household income selective public universities: $82,500

(mortifying confession: I used an inflation calculator for prices, not wages. At the moment I can't work my way through whether that does or does not make a difference.)

I've done the simple comparison, dividing $75,800 by $40,000 and $82,500 by $42,000.

That shows that the median family at selective public universities in 2002 is more affluent than the median family at selective public universities in 1990....but how would a statistician would show this?

Thanks!




Alan Greenspan on rising inequality
rising inequality, part 2
rising inequality, part 3
median income families UCSC students
another statistics question
channeling the Wall Street Journal
Financial Times on US college costs
Economist on US higher ed
The Economist on rising inequality in universities

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