Calculate mean, median, mode, range, standard deviation and more from any set of numbers.
The word "average" is used loosely in daily life, but in statistics, there are three distinct measures of central tendency: mean, median, and mode. Understanding the difference helps you interpret data correctly and make better decisions.
The mean is what most people call "the average." Add all numbers together and divide by the count. Formula: Mean = Sum ÷ Count. Example: (10 + 20 + 30) ÷ 3 = 20. The mean is sensitive to outliers — one very large or small value can skew it significantly.
The median is the middle value when numbers are sorted in order. For an odd count of numbers, it is the exact middle. For an even count, it is the average of the two middle numbers. The median is not affected by extreme outliers, making it better for skewed distributions (like income data).
The mode is the most frequently occurring value. A dataset can have one mode (unimodal), two modes (bimodal), or more. If all values appear equally often, there is no mode. Mode is most useful for categorical data (e.g., the most popular shoe size).