The median is an average, and either it or the mode (but not the mean, arithmetic or otherwise) is an average that makes sense with the words used as to which "average" is referred to when someone says "the average software developer in the US makes $X per year". (Any of the three, including a mean, would make sense if someone said "the average annual pay of a software developer in the US is $X". Of course, this is one way in which people are sloppy with language, so even though it doesn't make sense, people will still use the first construction and mean the arithmetic mean.)
