I think this is mostly a US thing. Why use yearly salary? You’re not paid once a year, are you? Most likely once a month. Referencing monthly salary makes much more sense.
“I’m making 50k”. Great, now I have to guess - dollars? Monthly? Yearly? If yearly then what’s the monthly paycheck? Net? Gross?
Comparing that to where I live.
The median is about $37k per year.
On the other hand. I make around $13k, single household, studio flat close to the city center and I make do just ok. Wouldn’t hurt to earn a bit more. But on the other hand I work a bit less than 50%. It’s hard to find work though and inflation is making living harder.