Mean, Median, Mode Calculator — measures of central tendency

How it works

These three "averages" each describe the center of a data set in a different way, per Wolfram MathWorld:

• Mean — add up all the values and divide by the count: x̄ = (Σx) ÷ n. It uses every value, so it is pulled toward unusually large or small numbers.
• Median — sort the values and take the middle one. With an even number of values, average the two in the middle. The median ignores how extreme the outliers are, so it is more robust.
• Mode — the value that appears most often. A data set can have one mode, several, or none (when every value occurs the same number of times). This calculator reports the smallest most- frequent value, and shows "—" when nothing repeats.

Enter your data separated by commas, spaces or new lines. The calculator also reports the count of how many numbers you entered.

Worked example

For 2, 4, 4, 4, 5, 5, 7, 9 (8 values): the sum is 40, so the mean is 40 ÷ 8 = 5. Sorted, the two middle values are 4 and 5, so the median is (4 + 5) ÷ 2 = 4.5. The value 4 appears three times — more than any other — so the mode is 4.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between mean, median and mode?

The mean is the arithmetic average (sum ÷ count), the median is the middle value of the sorted data, and the mode is the most frequent value. They can differ a lot when the data is skewed or has outliers.

How do you find the median of an even number of values?

Sort the values and average the two in the middle. For 2, 4, 4, 4, 5, 5, 7, 9 the two middle values are 4 and 5, so the median is 4.5.

Can a data set have more than one mode?

Yes. A set with two most-frequent values is bimodal, and more than two is multimodal. This calculator reports the smallest of the tied values; if no value repeats, there is no mode.

When should I use the median instead of the mean?

Use the median when the data has outliers or is skewed — for example incomes or house prices — because a few extreme values pull the mean but barely move the median.

What does "no mode" mean?

It means every value in the set occurs the same number of times (often, each value appears just once), so no single value is most frequent. The calculator shows a dash for the mode in that case.

How do I enter my numbers?

Type them into the box separated by commas, spaces or new lines — for example "2, 4, 4, 4, 5" or "2 4 4 4 5". The calculator ignores anything that is not a number.