Syntax
AVERAGE(value1, [value2, ...])
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| value1 | Parameter of the AVERAGE function. |
| [value2 | (Optional.) Parameter of the AVERAGE function. |
| ...] | Parameter of the AVERAGE function. |
Examples
| A | B | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Student | Score |
| 2 | Alice | 92 |
| 3 | Bob | 78 |
| 4 | Carol | 85 |
| 5 | Dave | 64 |
| 6 | Eve | 71 |
Average of test scores
Formula
=AVERAGE(B2:B30)
Returns: 78.5 — the mean score across 29 students
Average excluding zeros
Formula
=AVERAGEIF(B2:B30, "<>0")
Returns: 82.3 — the average of only non-zero scores, ignoring students who did not take the test
Average of specific cells
Formula
=AVERAGE(B2, B5, B8)
Returns: the mean of three individual cell values
Common Errors
#DIV/0!
The range contains no numeric values. AVERAGE needs at least one number to calculate. Check if all cells are text or blank.
#VALUE!
A directly referenced cell contains text. Use AVERAGE on a range (which skips text) rather than individual text cells.
Tips
Blanks vs zeros
AVERAGE skips blank cells but counts zeros. If missing data is entered as 0, it will lower the average. Use AVERAGEIF to exclude zeros.
Weighted average
For weighted averages, use =SUMPRODUCT(values, weights)/SUM(weights) instead of AVERAGE.
Median alternative
If your data has extreme outliers, MEDIAN may be more representative than AVERAGE.
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