How to Find the Mean, Median, and Mode
By Tools Star Hub Editorial Team · Published
To find the mean, median, and mode, paste the numbers separated by commas, spaces, or new lines, then press Calculate. The mean is the sum divided by how many numbers you entered. The median is the middle number after sorting, or the average of the two middle numbers when the count is even. The mode is the value that appears most often. If every distinct value appears once, there is no mode.
A short list is easy to mis-sort. 1, 2, 3, 4 adds to 10, and 10 divided by 4 is 2.5, so the mean is 2.5. After sorting, the two middle numbers are 2 and 3, and their average is also 2.5, so the median is 2.5. Each number appears once, so there is no mode. The Average Calculator does that on a list of up to 1,000 numbers. The values are not weighted.
How to find the mean, median, and mode
- Paste the numbers. Commas, spaces, and new lines separate the values. A blank list is rejected. The list can hold up to 1,000 numbers. A token that is not a number rejects the whole list. Decimals and negative numbers are allowed. A comma is a separator, so type 1000 when you mean one thousand. 1,000 is the numbers 1 and 0.
- Press Calculate. The page sorts a copy of the list for the median and counts how often each value appears for the mode. The list is calculated in this browser tab. Tools Star Hub does not send those numbers to a server or save them in local storage.
- Read the count, the mean, the median, and the mode. The mean is rounded to at most 10 decimal places. An even count uses the average of the two middle numbers, also rounded to at most 10 decimal places. A single number is its own mode. When several values share the highest count, and that count is more than one, each of those values is a mode.
- Check the mean against the sum. Add the numbers yourself and divide by the count. For 1, 2, 3, 4, that is 10 divided by 4, which is 2.5. If your sum does not match, look for a comma that split a thousands number into two values.
Example
Four numbers with no repeat
1, 2, 3, 4 has a count of 4, a mean of 2.5, a median of 2.5, and no mode.
A tie for the highest count
1, 1, 2, 2, 3 adds to 9. The mean is 9 divided by 5, which is 1.8. The median is 2. The numbers 1 and 2 each appear twice, so both are modes.
Things to watch
This list is not weighted
Each number counts once. The page does not take credits, weights, or letter grades. Use the GPA Calculator when the question is grade points and credits.
What gets rejected
A blank list is rejected. More than 1,000 numbers is rejected. A word, a slash, or any other token that is not a number rejects the whole list. 1, 2, ok stops on ok.
FAQ
- How do I check the mean of 1, 2, 3, 4?
- Add the numbers to get 10, then divide by 4. The mean is 2.5. The median is also 2.5, because the two middle numbers are 2 and 3.
- What if two numbers appear the same number of times?
- If that shared count is the highest, and it is more than one, each of those numbers is a mode. 1, 1, 2, 2, 3 has modes 1 and 2. There is no mode only when every distinct value appears once.
- Does a list of one number have a mode?
- Yes. A single number is its own mode. It is also the mean and the median.
- Why did 1,000 become two numbers?
- A comma starts a new number. 1,000 is 1 and 0, not one thousand. Those two numbers have a mean of 0.5 and a median of 0.5, and there is no mode. Type 1000 when the value is one thousand.
To find the mean, median, and mode of a list, use the Average Calculator. It runs in the browser and does not require an account.