September 27, 2025

What Is The Difference Between Mean Median And Mode

Q: When is the median more useful than the mean?

The median is often a better measure of the center when a dataset has outliers (extremely high or low values) because it is not skewed by them, unlike the mean.

Q: Can a set of data have more than one mode?

Yes. A dataset with two modes is called 'bimodal,' and a set with more than two is 'multimodal.' If no number repeats, the dataset has no mode.

Learn the key differences between mean, median, and mode, the three main measures of central tendency in statistics. Understand how to calculate each with a simple example.

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Mean: The Average

The mean is the 'average' of a set of numbers. It is calculated by adding all the numbers in a dataset together and then dividing by the total count of numbers in that set.

Median: The Middle Value

The median is the 'middle' value in a dataset that has been arranged in numerical order from least to greatest. If there is an even number of values, the median is the average of the two middle numbers.

Mode: The Most Frequent Value

The mode is the number that appears most frequently in a dataset. A dataset can have one mode, more than one mode (multimodal), or no mode at all if all numbers appear with the same frequency.

Example Calculation

For the dataset {2, 5, 9, 3, 5, 4, 7}, first order it: {2, 3, 4, 5, 5, 7, 9}. The Mean is (2+3+4+5+5+7+9) / 7 = 5. The Median is the middle number, which is 5. The Mode is the most frequent number, which is 5.

Frequently Asked Questions

When is the median more useful than the mean?

Can a set of data have more than one mode?