The median is the middle value when the numbers are sorted in order. If there is an even count, it is the average of the two middle values. Unlike the mean, the median is not pulled by very high or low outliers.

When should I use the median instead of the mean?

Use the median when the data has outliers or is skewed, such as house prices or incomes. The median better reflects a typical value, which is why it is widely reported for those figures.

The mode is the value that appears most often. A set can have one mode, several, or none if every value is unique. The calculator shows the mode along with the median and mean.

Median Calculator

This calculator works out the median, the middle value of a list of numbers, along with three related measures so you can see the full picture of your data at a glance. The median matters because it is not pulled about by a few unusually high or low figures, which is why it is the standard measure reported for things like household incomes or house prices rather than the mean. To use it, type or paste your numbers into the box, separating them with commas, spaces or new lines in any combination; you do not need to sort them first, and negative numbers and decimals are both fine. As soon as you enter your figures, the calculator sorts them in ascending order and works out the median, the middle number, or the average of the two middle numbers if you have entered an even count of values. Alongside the median it also returns the mean, the simple average, the mode, the value or values that occur most often, or none if every number is unique, the range, the highest value minus the lowest, and a count of how many numbers you entered. Comparing these figures side by side is useful because a big gap between the median and the mean usually signals outliers pulling the average away from the typical value in your data.

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Your numbers

median (middle value)

Mean0

Mode0

Range0

Count0

How it works

The numbers are sorted in order. The median is the middle one, or the average of the two middle ones if there is an even count. The mean is the total divided by the count, the mode is the most frequent value, and the range is the largest minus the smallest.

Worked example

For 5, 2, 9, 4, 7, 2, sorted that is 2, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9. The two middle values are 4 and 5, so the median is 4.5. The mode is 2, the value that appears twice.

Related calculators

Average Calculator: the mean.
Standard Deviation Calculator: spread of the data.
Percentage Calculator: percentages.
Ratio Calculator: simplify ratios.

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