Descriptive statistics
MEDIAN function: summarize typical values without outlier distortion
Find the middle value of a dataset when one extreme spike pulls AVERAGE upward, and verify how MEDIAN handles both odd and even observation counts.
Four normal response times and one overnight incident
Five support tickets closed in 11, 14, 15, 16, and 144 minutes (B2:B6). AVERAGE(B2:B6) reports 40 minutes—higher than four out of five tickets—because of the single 144-minute incident.
| Ticket (A) | Minutes (B) |
|---|---|
| T-01 | 11 |
| T-02 | 14 |
| T-03 | 15 |
| T-04 | 16 |
| T-05 | 144 |
Odd count vs even count in MEDIAN
MEDIAN sorts the numeric values internally regardless of worksheet order. With five numbers (odd count), =MEDIAN(B2:B6) picks the 3rd sorted value, 15.
When an even number of numeric cells remain—for instance clearing B6 so four values (11, 14, 15, 16) remain—MEDIAN averages the two middle values: (14 + 15) / 2 = 14.5.
=MEDIAN(B2:B6)Blanks are ignored while zeros count
Like AVERAGE, MEDIAN ignores empty cells and text labels in a range, whereas a recorded 0 is sorted as the lowest numeric observation.
Try the example
Use the original values or change them to test your understanding.