AVERAGE

Purpose

• Calculates the arithmetic average a series of numbers
• This function works exactly like SUM (but calculates the arithmetic average of the numbers instead)

Example

• Here is a screenshot, for reference:

• Notice that
  • The result of 5% is calculated by averaging cells C4, C6, and C8 (0%, 5%, and 10%, respectively)
  • Blank cells and text are completely ignored in computing the average

Syntax

• =AVERAGE(number1, number2, etc.)

Arguments

• number1
  • This is the first number or set of numbers used to compute the average
  • This can be a hard-coded number, (single or multiple) cell range, or calculation
• number2 [optional]
  • This is the next number or range in the series
  • This argument has the same properties as number1
  • All numbers in this range will also be included in the arithmetic average calculation
• The pattern continues (up to 255 numbers for later versions of Excel)
  • All remaining arguments have the same properties as number1

Tips

• The AVERAGE function ignores blank values completely, but will not ignore zero values
• Remember, the AVERAGE function computes arithmetic averages only. Other functions exist to compute other type of means, such as GEOMEAN and HARMEAN

External Links

• Microsoft: AVERAGE Function