Average Calculator
Find the mean, median, minimum and maximum of a list of numbers. Just paste your values separated by commas.
Formula last reviewed 4 August 2026 · How we verify our calculators
Mean (average)
- Median
- 5
- Minimum
- 2
- Maximum
- 9
- Count
- 8
Updates live as you type
Frequently asked questions
The mean is the sum of all values divided by how many there are. The median is the middle value when the numbers are sorted. The median is less affected by extreme outliers.
Type or paste them into the box separated by commas or spaces, for example “12, 18, 7, 25”. Non-numeric entries are ignored automatically.
When there is an even number of values, the median is the average of the two middle values after sorting.
Yes. The calculator accepts decimals and negatives and includes them in the mean, median, minimum and maximum.
Mean five, median four and a half
The set 2, 4, 4, 4, 5, 5, 7, 9 has a mean of 5, a median of 4.5, a minimum of 2, a maximum of 9, and 8 values.
The mean and median differ here, and understanding why is the entire point of looking at both.
The three measures of centre
Mean — add everything and divide by the count. (2+4+4+4+5+5+7+9) = 40, ÷ 8 = 5.
Median — the middle value when sorted. With an even count, the average of the two middle values: (4 + 5) ÷ 2 = 4.5.
Mode — the most frequent value. Here 4, appearing three times.
The mean exceeds the median because the set is right-skewed — the 9 pulls the mean upward while the median, which cares only about position, barely moves.
When the mean misleads
This is the practically important part, because the mean is the default everyone reaches for and it is frequently the wrong choice.
The mean is sensitive to outliers; the median is not. The classic illustration: in a room of ten people earning ₹50,000 a month, the mean and median are both ₹50,000. One person earning ₹50,00,000 walks in — the mean becomes about ₹5,04,545 while the median stays at ₹50,000. The mean now describes nobody in the room.
This is why income, wealth, house prices and waiting times are reported as medians. Distributions with a long tail on one side make the mean unrepresentative of a typical case, and the gap between mean and median is itself a measure of how skewed the data is.
Use the mean for symmetric data and where the total matters — the mean multiplied by the count gives the sum, which the median does not.
Use the median for skewed data and when you want to describe a typical value.
Spread matters as much as centre
Two datasets can share a mean of 5 and be entirely different: {5, 5, 5, 5} and {1, 1, 9, 9}. A measure of centre without a measure of spread is half the picture.
The range here — minimum 2 to maximum 9 — is the simplest indicator and is shown alongside. Standard deviation is the more informative measure, describing typical distance from the mean, and for roughly bell-shaped data about 68% of values fall within one standard deviation.
Always report a centre with a spread. A stated average with no range invites a false impression of consistency.
Weighted averages
Where the values represent groups of different sizes, the plain mean is wrong.
Scoring 90% on a 10-mark test and 60% on a 90-mark test does not average to 75%. The weighted calculation is (9 + 54) ÷ 100 = 63%. This is the same error that appears in GPA calculation without credit weighting and in averaging percentages across unequal groups, and it is among the most common quantitative mistakes in ordinary use.
Common mistakes
Using the mean on skewed data. It describes no one in a long-tailed distribution.
Reporting a centre with no spread. Two very different datasets can share a mean.
Averaging percentages from unequal groups. Weight them by group size.
Averaging rates directly. Average speed over equal distances needs the harmonic mean, not the arithmetic one.
Ignoring the mean-median gap. It tells you how skewed the data is.