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How to calculate an average in Excel and Google Sheets
Topic:AVERAGE & central tendencyExcel & Google Sheets
=AVERAGE(B2:B6)✓
Verified example
Computed by a real spreadsheet engine on the sample data below.
| Month | Score |
| Jan | 85 |
| Feb | 90 |
| Mar | 78 |
| Apr | 92 |
| May | 88 |
=AVERAGE(B2:B6)→86.6
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Sample data — click any cell to edit
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Step by step
- 1Select the output cell.
- 2Type =AVERAGE(.
- 3Select or type the range of numbers, e.g. B2:B6.
- 4Close the parenthesis and press Enter.
- 5AVERAGE automatically ignores text and blank cells in the range.
Tips
- AVERAGE ignores blanks but includes zeros — use AVERAGEIF to exclude zeros.
- You can average non-adjacent ranges: =AVERAGE(B2:B3,B5:B6).
- AVERAGE handles up to 255 separate arguments.
- For a weighted average, use SUMPRODUCT(weights*values)/SUM(weights).
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Frequently asked
Does AVERAGE include blank cells?
No. Blank cells are ignored. Only cells with numeric values are included in both the numerator and denominator.
How is AVERAGE different from AVERAGEA?
AVERAGEA includes text cells (counted as 0) and logical TRUE/FALSE values. AVERAGE only counts numeric values.
More on AVERAGE & central tendency
See all →How-to
How to average ignoring zeros
Use AVERAGEIF with a "<>0" criterion to calculate an average that excludes zero values from the calculation.
How-toHow to average ignoring blank cells
AVERAGE naturally ignores blank cells; use AVERAGEIF with "<>" to also ignore text placeholders like dashes.
How-toHow to average with a condition
Use AVERAGEIF to compute the mean of values in one column where a corresponding column meets a specified criterion.
How-toHow to calculate a moving average
Compute a rolling average for each row using AVERAGE with a fixed-window OFFSET or INDEX formula anchored to each row.
How-toHow to find the median of a range
Use the MEDIAN function to find the middle value in a dataset — the value that half the data falls above and half below.
How-toHow to find the most common value
Use MODE for numbers or COUNTIF-based logic for text to find the value that appears most frequently in a dataset.