AVERAGE
Calculates the arithmetic mean: the average order value, average daily revenue, the average test score.
AVERAGE(number1, [number2], ...)- [ ]optional part
- number1
- The first cell, a range like B2:F2 or a number.
- number2
- More cells or ranges, separated by commas. Optional.Optional
Return value
A number: the arithmetic mean. Text and empty cells are ignored. If there are no numbers at all, you get a #DIV/0! error.
Examples
Average daily revenue
fx
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
1
2
3
4
5
6
Store
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Average
Downtown
84000
79500
91200
88300
112400
North
52300
48700
55100
67900
South
61800
0
58400
63200
74500
Sheet1
Details
AVERAGE adds up the numbers and divides the sum by how many there are. It takes the same arguments as SUM: cells, ranges and numbers separated by commas.
Empty cells and text in the range are left out, but zero counts. If you leave a day without sales empty, the average comes out higher than if you put 0 there.
The average is sensitive to outliers: one huge amount pulls it up noticeably. In such cases it helps to look at MEDIAN too.
Common mistakes
- An empty cell and 0 aren’t the same thing: AVERAGE skips an empty cell but counts a zero.
- There isn’t a single number in the range: the formula returns #DIV/0!.
- Numbers stored as text are left out of the calculation, and the average is wrong without any error.