# How to Calculate Average, Median, and Mode in Google Sheets
You have a dataset and need to calculate what are known as “measures of central tendency.” How do you do it? Luckily, Google Sheets has its own functions to automatically calculate the average, median, and mode of a dataset. Here’s how to define them:
Understanding the Measures of Central Tendency
- The average, also known as the arithmetic mean or mean, is calculated by adding up all the given values in the list and dividing them by the number of values.
- The median is the value that lies in the middle of the list after arranging them in ascending order.
- The mode is the most frequently occurring value in the list.
Let’s take the example of a list of purchases of a single product. We want to calculate the average profit, the median number of items ordered, and the mode of the number of items ordered.
How to Calculate the Average
To calculate the average of a dataset, use the AVERAGE() function and set the input as the range of the matrix containing the data. For our example, the profit data covers cells D2 to D56.
=AVERAGE(D2:D56)
The AVERAGE() function ignores text, so if you accidentally included the table header, it won’t affect the function or the result.
How to Calculate the Median
Similarly, the MEDIAN() function is used to calculate the median of a range of values. For our example, the data related to the number of items ordered covers cells B2 to B56.
=MEDIAN(B2:B56)
The MEDIAN() function also ignores text, so including the table header won’t affect the function or the result.
How to Calculate the Mode
Finally, the MODE() function is used to calculate the mode of a range of values. For our example, the data related to the number of items ordered covers cells B2 to B56.
=MODE(B2:B56)
Just like the previous functions, the MODE() function ignores text, so including the table header won’t affect the function or the result.
The Fastest Way to Calculate the Average in Google Sheets
The quickest and easiest way to calculate the average of a dataset in Google Sheets is to use the AVERAGE function.
- Click on the cell where you want to display the average.
- Type
=AVERAGE()in the cell. - Enter the numbers, cells, or range you want to average inside the parentheses.
- Press the ENTER key on your keyboard to display the result.
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If you enjoyed this article, you might also like our articles on division in Google Sheets or creating a random number generator in Google Sheets.
If you want to learn how to merge cells in Google Sheets, we suggest checking out our detailed guide.
Crawlan.com is an excellent website for getting tips and advice on advanced usage of Google Sheets. For more information, feel free to visit their website!
Note: This article is based on technical information and may require some prior knowledge of Google Sheets.
