Quoted from ifpapinball:

Let's clarify this . . .
Here were the rankings of the 40 players that participated in Nationals a few weeks ago:
8 were ranked in the top 50
8 were ranked 51-100
24 were ranked 101-250
4 were ranked 251-500
4 were ranked 501-1000
7 were ranked 1001-5000
1 was ranked 13,671st
The average rank of those that participated was 1083rd.
How many players would you consider elite? What level is that cutoff?

Quoted from angus:

Not sure where 40 comes from. There are 56 rankings here. The median rank must be about 200. Average doesn't mean much. Its like taking a average salary in the US when you include a few billionaires salary. It skews things alot. Median tells a story here.