HONOLULU (KHON2) — There are lots of statistics coming out to compare this year to last year, this quarter to last quarter, etc., etc., etc….
Since many of these studies throw out terms like average or median to get our attention, the average person doesn’t really know the cavernous differences between the two.
So, KHON2.com decided to break out a bit of explanation for you so you can navigate these new studies with confidence and ease.
Let’s break down the difference between the median and the average in a way that’s easy to understand.
Average (Mean)
The average, also called the mean, is found by adding up all the numbers in a group and then dividing by how many numbers there are. Here’s a simple example:
Imagine you have the following test scores:
80, 85, 90, 95, 100
To find the average score:
Add all the scores together: 80 + 85 + 90 + 95 + 100 = 450
Divide by the number of scores (there are 5 scores): 450 ÷ 5 = 90
So, the average score is 90.
Median
The median is the middle number in a list of numbers. To find the median, you need to:
Arrange the numbers in order from smallest to largest.
Find the middle number.
Using the same test scores:
80, 85, 90, 95, 100
Since the scores are already in order, the middle number is the third one:
80, 85, 90, 95, 100
So, the median score is 90.
Comparing Average and Median
In the above example, both the average and the median are the same (90). However, they can be different if there are very high or very low numbers in the group.
For example:
10, 20, 30, 40, 1000
Average:
Add the numbers: 10 + 20 + 30 + 40 + 1000 = 1100
Divide by the number of scores: 1100 ÷ 5 = 220
So, the average is 220.
Median:
Arrange the numbers: 10, 20, 30, 40, 1000
The median is the middle number, which is 30.
Key Takeaway
The average can be affected by very high or very low numbers.
The median gives you the middle value and isn’t influenced by those extreme numbers.
Understanding both can help you see different aspects of a set of numbers. It will allow you to see the, sometimes, hidden message