Average Calculator
Paste or type a list of numbers and this average calculator returns the arithmetic mean together with the median, sum, count, smallest and largest value. It works for test scores, monthly bills, race times or any other data set, and it handles decimals and negative numbers. Comparing the mean with the median shows at a glance whether a few extreme values are skewing the result.
Updated
Results
- Sum
- Number of values
- MedianMiddle value of the sorted list
- Minimum
- Maximum
Results are estimates. See the methodology below.
How to use the average calculator
- Enter your numbers in the box. Separate them with commas, spaces or line breaks, for example
12, 15, 9, 20, 14. You can paste a column straight from a spreadsheet. - Use a period for decimals (
7.5). Thousands separators are not needed; write1250rather than1,250, because the comma would split it into two numbers. - Read the results: the mean is shown first, followed by the sum, the count of values, the median, the minimum and the maximum.
You can enter up to 10,000 values. Every entry must be a valid number; words, units or currency symbols inside the list trigger an error.
How the average is calculated
The arithmetic mean, what most people simply call the average, is the sum of all values divided by how many there are:
mean = (x₁ + x₂ + … + xₙ) ÷ n
The median is the middle value once the list is sorted from smallest to largest. With an odd number of values it is the one exactly in the middle; with an even number it is the mean of the two middle values. Half of your data lies at or below the median and half at or above it.
- Sum is the total of all entries.
- Count is the number of values you entered.
- Minimum and maximum are the smallest and largest values; together they show the range of your data.
Every value counts equally. If some items should weigh more than others, such as course credits or exam weights, you need a weighted average, which multiplies each value by its weight before dividing by the sum of the weights.
Examples
1. Average test score
A student scores 88, 92, 79, 95 and 86 on five tests. The sum is 440, the count is 5 and the mean is 88. The median is also 88, the lowest score is 79 and the highest is 95. When mean and median match like this, the scores are spread fairly evenly around the center.
2. Commute times with one bad day
Your drive to work over one week takes 24, 26, 22, 25 and 68 minutes; the last day had a crash on the freeway. The mean is 33 minutes, but the median is 25 minutes. Four of the five trips were close to 25 minutes, so the median describes a typical commute much better. The single 68-minute trip pulls the mean up by 8 minutes.
| Measure | Test scores | Commute (min) |
|---|---|---|
| Mean | 88 | 33 |
| Median | 88 | 25 |
| Min / max | 79 / 95 | 22 / 68 |
Mean or median: which one should you use?
The mean uses every value, which makes it the right choice when you need totals to add up, for example to budget a monthly average of bills over a year. Its weakness is sensitivity to outliers: one unusually large or small value shifts it noticeably.
The median ignores how far the extreme values are from the center, so it is more robust for skewed data such as incomes, home prices or travel times. That is why official statistics often report median household income rather than the mean. A good habit is to look at both: if the mean is well above the median, a few high values are pulling it up; if it is well below, a few low values are dragging it down.
Frequently asked questions
Is the average the same as the mean?
In everyday language, yes: "average" usually means the arithmetic mean. In statistics, "average" can refer to any measure of center, including the median and the mode, so it helps to say which one you mean.
How do I find the median of an even number of values?
Sort the values and take the mean of the two in the middle. For 3.1, 2.9, 3.5 and 3.2, the middle values after sorting are 3.1 and 3.2, so the median is 3.15. The calculator does this automatically.
Can I enter negative numbers and decimals?
Yes. Use a minus sign for negative values, such as -4, and a period as the decimal point. Temperatures below zero or account balances in the red are handled like any other number.
How do I calculate a weighted average or GPA?
This tool treats every value equally. For a GPA, multiply each grade point by the course's credit hours, add those products and divide by the total credit hours. Repeating a value in the list several times is a quick workaround when weights are small whole numbers.
What does the mode mean, and why isn't it shown?
The mode is the value that appears most often. Many lists of measurements have no repeated value or several equally common ones, so the mode is less informative for continuous data and is not part of these results.
Why do I get an error message?
The list must contain at least one valid number and no more than 10,000 values. Remove text, units and symbols such as $ or %, and avoid thousands separators.
Sources
Results are calculated from the values you enter and are provided for general information. Check important figures, such as official grades or financial reports, against the rules that apply to them.