Understand mean, median and mode with worked examples for test scores, expenses and salaries, and learn when each average is the honest one to use. Try the Average Calculator as you read.
The three averages, in plain language
Mean: add everything up, divide by how many numbers there are. Median: sort the numbers and take the middle one. If there are two middle numbers, take their mean. Mode: the value that appears most often. If nothing repeats, there is no mode.
Worked examples
Test scores — 12, 18, 22, 30, 41. Count 5, sum 123, mean 24.6, median 22, no mode, range 12–41.
Monthly expenses — 40,000, 42,000, 41,000, 95,000, 43,000. Mean 52,200, median 42,000, which describes a normal month far better.
Salaries in a small team — 30,000, 32,000, 35,000, 38,000, 200,000. Mean 67,000; median 35,000. The median is the fairer summary when one very high salary pulls the mean up.
Weighted averages
Not every value counts equally. Multiply each score by its weight, add, and divide by total weight. This tool’s mean is unweighted, so it treats every number equally.
Common mistakes
Averaging averages of different-sized groups gives the wrong answer — combine raw numbers instead. Forgetting outliers — one extreme moves the mean a lot and the median barely at all. Reporting an average with no context — give count, range, and median beside it.
Frequently asked questions
Which average for grades? The mean, usually — but check weighting.
Even count? The median is the mean of the two middle values.
Decimals and negatives? Yes, both are accepted by the calculator.
A worked check
8, 15, 15, 22, 30. Count 5, sum 90, mean 18, median 15, mode 15, range 8–30.
What to report, in practice
For schoolwork, give mean and count at minimum, add median when data has outliers. For a quick summary, median plus range is often more honest than a single mean. For most common outcome, lead with mode. The calculator returns all of them together. Results are general information and learning aids, not professional advice.
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