Average Calculator

The arithmetic mean is calculated by adding all values in a dataset and dividing by the count of values. Formula: Average = Sum of all values ÷ Number of values. For example, the average of 10, 20, 30 is (10+20+30)÷3 = 20. Our calculator performs this calculation instantly and provides detailed step-by-step explanations.

A weighted average gives different importance to values in a dataset. Use it when some data points are more significant than others, such as course grades with different credit hours, investment portfolios with varying amounts, or survey responses that need demographic adjustment. Formula: Weighted Average = Σ(Value × Weight) ÷ Σ(Weights).

To calculate GPA, multiply each course grade by its credit hours, sum these products, then divide by total credit hours. For example: Course A (3.7 × 4 credits) + Course B (4.0 × 3 credits) + Course C (3.3 × 3 credits) = 34.6 ÷ 10 total credits = 3.46 GPA. Use our grade calculator mode for automatic GPA calculations.

Mean is the arithmetic average (sum ÷ count). Median is the middle value when data is arranged in order - less affected by outliers. Mode is the most frequently occurring value. Each measure provides different insights: mean for general tendency, median for skewed data, and mode for most common occurrences. Our statistics mode calculates all three measures.

Use median when your data has outliers or is heavily skewed. Median is less affected by extreme values, making it better for income data, house prices, or test scores with very high/low outliers. If data is normally distributed without outliers, mean and median will be similar. For categorical data, always use mode instead.

Businesses use averages for performance metrics, sales analysis, cost calculations, inventory management, and investment portfolio analysis. Weighted averages are particularly useful for financial calculations like WACC (Weighted Average Cost of Capital), average order value, customer satisfaction scores, and portfolio returns based on investment amounts.

Yes, our calculator handles negative numbers correctly. The same formulas apply whether dealing with positive or negative values. This is useful for financial data showing profits/losses, temperature readings, stock price changes, or any dataset with both positive and negative values. The average can be positive, negative, or zero.

Common mistakes include: forgetting to multiply values by their weights, using simple average instead of weighted average when weights differ, mixing up values and weights, not including all weight values in the denominator, and using inconsistent units. Always verify that your weights reflect the relative importance of each value and sum all weights correctly.

Range shows the spread between highest and lowest values, giving a quick sense of data variability. Standard deviation measures how much values typically deviate from the mean - lower values indicate data points are closer to the average, while higher values show more spread. Use these together with mean/median to understand your data's distribution and consistency.

The average of averages can be misleading when the underlying groups have different sizes or when important information is lost through aggregation. For example, averaging class GPAs doesn't account for different class sizes. Instead, use weighted averages where the weight reflects the group size or importance. This preserves the contribution of each individual data point to the final result.

Our calculator accepts numbers separated by commas, spaces, or new lines. You can also copy and paste data from spreadsheets. For weighted calculations, enter value-weight pairs in separate fields. The calculator automatically filters invalid entries and handles decimal numbers, negative values, and large datasets for maximum flexibility and ease of use.