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Excel MEDIAN: the typical value

These are the last eleven orders and how many days each took to arrive. Order 1005 sat in customs for six weeks, and order 1008 hasn't arrived yet, so it has no time. In E2, work out the average delivery time. In E3, the median: the middle time once they're in order, which one slow parcel can't pull up.

MEDIAN(range) puts the numbers in order for you and takes the middle one. With an even count, it takes the halfway point between the two in the middle. Like AVERAGE, it skips empty cells.

11 The typical value MEDIAN Core

deliveries.xlsx
Ready

Click a cell while typing to insert it, drag to select a range, F4 adds $, Esc cancels.

Tap a cell while writing a formula to insert it, or slide across cells for a range. The strip above the keyboard has = ( ) : , $.

The MEDIAN guide

=MEDIAN(B2:B12) puts the numbers in order and returns the middle one. One very large or very small value moves the average a lot and the median hardly at all, so the median is the better answer to "what's a typical delivery, salary or order?".

CoreAbout 3 minutesBy Updated

Average or median?

The average adds everything up and divides by the count. The median is the value in the middle once the numbers are in order. With ten deliveries that took 2 to 7 days and one that sat in customs for 41, the average comes out at 8 days, slower than nine of the ten. The median is 4.5, which is what a customer can expect.

Use the median when a few values are far from the rest: delivery times, house prices, salaries, order sizes. Use the average when every value should count fully, such as a budget total spread over months.

The syntax

=MEDIAN(number1, [number2], ...)

Usually one range: =MEDIAN(B2:B12). Empty cells and text are skipped, like AVERAGE does. A cell with 0 in it is not empty, so it counts.

An even count

With an odd number of values there is one in the middle. With an even number there are two, and MEDIAN returns the point halfway between them: for 2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5, 5, 6, 7, 41 the middle two are 4 and 5, so the median is 4.5. Picking the fifth or sixth value by hand gives 4 or 5, which is close but not the median.

Don't point at the middle cell

The middle row of the table is only the median if the table is sorted, and only until a value changes. MEDIAN sorts a copy of the numbers itself, every time the sheet recalculates.

Common mistakes

The same data skills in a test: MIN and MAX and COUNT and COUNTA.

FAQ

What is the difference between median and average in Excel?
AVERAGE adds the values and divides by how many there are. MEDIAN returns the middle value once they are in order. A few very large or small values move the average much more than the median.
How does MEDIAN work with an even number of values?
It takes the two values in the middle and returns the point halfway between them. For 4 and 5 that is 4.5.
Does MEDIAN ignore blank cells?
Yes. Empty cells and text are skipped. A 0 is a number, so it is counted.
When should I use the median instead of the average?
When a few values are far from the rest, such as salaries, house prices or delivery times. The median then says more about a typical case.

This task is in the timed data analyst practice test. What Excel interview tests check

All challenges

  1. 01Starter, 3 min Add it upSUM
  2. 02Starter, 3 min Find the averageAVERAGE
  3. 03Starter, 3 min Smallest and largestMIN, MAX
  4. 04Starter, 3 min Count what's thereCOUNT, COUNTA, COUNTBLANK
  5. 05Starter, 3 min Write once, fill downRelative references
  6. 06Core, 3 min Lock it with $Absolute references
  7. 07Starter, 3 min Percent of a totalPercentages
  8. 08Starter, 3 min Make the numbers readableNumber formats
  9. 09Core, 3 min Up or down by how much?Percent change
  10. 10Core, 3 min What you see vs what's storedROUND
  11. 11Core, 3 min The typical valueMEDIAN
  12. 12Core, 3 min Select to the end in one moveCtrl + Shift + arrow
  13. 13Starter, 3 min Sort without breaking rowsSort
  14. 14Starter, 3 min Filter to what mattersFilter
  15. 15Starter, 3 min Copy and paste a formulaCtrl+C, Ctrl+V
  16. 16Core, 3 min Paste values onlyPaste Special → Values
  17. 17Core, 3 min Highlight what's over targetConditional formatting
  18. 18Core, 3 min Spot the duplicatesDuplicate Values rule
  19. 19Core, 3 min Pass or fail?IF
  20. 20Core, 3 min Both or either?AND, OR
  21. 21Core, 3 min Exactly one of the twoXOR
  22. 22Core, 3 min Grade bands with nested IFNested IF
  23. 23Core, 3 min Count the ones that matchCOUNTIF
  24. 24Core, 3 min Add up the ones that matchSUMIF
  25. 25Core, 3 min Use a cell as the conditionCriteria in a cell
  26. 26Core, 3 min Partial matches with * and ?SUMIF, COUNTIF with wildcards
  27. 27Core, 3 min Count with two conditionsCOUNTIFS
  28. 28Core, 3 min Add up with two conditionsSUMIFS
  29. 29Core, 3 min Look it upVLOOKUP
  30. 30Core, 3 min Find the right bracketVLOOKUP approximate match
  31. 31Core, 3 min XLOOKUP, the modern wayXLOOKUP
  32. 32Core, 3 min Where is it in the list?MATCH
  33. 33Advanced, 3 min INDEX and MATCH togetherINDEX + MATCH
  34. 34Advanced, 3 min Lock just the row or the columnMixed references
  35. 35Advanced, 3 min Growth per year (CAGR)CAGR with ^
  36. 36Core, 3 min Use a rate from another sheetReferences to other sheets
  37. 37Core, 3 min Catch the error, not the bugIFERROR
  38. 38Core, 3 min Which invoices are missing?Compare two lists
  39. 39Core, 3 min Reconcile the ledger with the bankXLOOKUP or VLOOKUP + IFNA
  40. 40Core, 3 min Join text together&, CONCAT, PROPER
  41. 41Core, 3 min Split first and last namesLEFT, MID + FIND
  42. 42Core, 3 min Stray spaces that break a countTRIM
  43. 43Core, 3 min Flag the bad entriesTRIM, LEN, EXACT
  44. 44Advanced, 3 min Clean a bank descriptionTEXTBEFORE, TEXTAFTER, PROPER
  45. 45Core, 3 min Mistake hunt: #N/A everywhereFixing #N/A
  46. 46Core, 3 min Mistake hunt: hard-coded numbersReferences instead of typed numbers
  47. 47Core, 3 min Mistake hunt: numbers stored as textNumbers stored as text
  48. 48Core, 3 min One of each, then the totalsUNIQUE
  49. 49Core, 3 min Your first pivot tablePivot tables
  50. 50Advanced, 3 min Which category went up most?SUMIFS, change, lookup
  51. 51Core, 3 min How many days late?Date arithmetic
  52. 52Core, 3 min Turn text into real datesDATEVALUE
  53. 53Advanced, 3 min Month ends and working daysEOMONTH, NETWORKDAYS
  54. 54Core, 3 min Renewal datesEDATE
  55. 55Core, 3 min Days overdue and aging bandsDate difference, aging bands
  56. 56Core, 3 min How many late orders?Pick the tool
  57. 57Core, 3 min Sales per repPick the tool
  58. 58Core, 3 min Whose part is it?Pick the tool
  59. 59Core, 3 min Who gets the bonus?Pick the tool
  60. 60Core, 3 min Each region's sharePick the tool
  61. 61Advanced, 3 min Case: the supplier reportCase, five steps
  62. 62Advanced, 3 min Case: the monthly budgetCase, five steps
  63. 63Advanced, 3 min Case: the reorder listCase, five steps

The whole course, in order.

The challenges teach one move each. The course puts them in order and makes you do each one twice, the second time on data you haven't seen.

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