Paste a dataset and see its centre, spread, quartiles, outliers, and less familiar averages in one readable summary. Choose sample or population statistics, control the precision, and keep the original values in your browser.
Step by step
01Paste the values
Use commas, spaces, or new lines. Invalid fragments are skipped and called out instead of corrupting the result.
02Choose the right basis
Use population when the list is the whole group; use sample when it stands in for a larger group.
03Compare centre and spread
Read mean beside median, then use standard deviation, quartiles, and the histogram to see what the headline average hides.
04Copy the summary
Set the useful precision and copy a compact report for notes, homework, or analysis.
Worked example
One large value pulls the mean farther than the median.
Given
Centre and spread
mean 30
median 21.5
range 57
Q1 20
Q3 24
IQR 4The mean is mathematically correct, but the median better describes the cluster because 75 pulls the mean upward.
Why this one
Mean and median answer different questions
The mean shares the total equally; the median finds the middle observation. Skew and outliers separate them.
Sample variance needs n − 1
A sample tends to understate the spread of its parent population. Bessel's correction compensates for that bias.
Outlier does not mean error
The 1.5 × IQR rule flags unusually distant observations. A flagged value may be the most important fact in the data.
Geometric and harmonic means have jobs
Use the geometric mean for multiplicative growth and the harmonic mean for rates over equal distances—not as replacements for every average.
The judgement call
Roughly symmetric measurements
Mean
Every observation contributes and no long tail dominates.
Income, house prices, or a skewed distribution
Median
The middle resists a few extreme values.
Compound returns or growth factors
Geometric mean
The changes multiply from period to period.
Average speed over equal distances
Harmonic mean
Time is inversely proportional to the rate.
Reference
FAQ
Average usually means arithmetic mean: add the values and divide by their count. Median is the middle value after sorting, so it is less affected by extremes.
Use population when your list contains every member you mean to describe. Use sample when those observations estimate a larger population.
The calculator splits the ordered data around its median, finds Q1 and Q3, then flags values below Q1 − 1.5 × IQR or above Q3 + 1.5 × IQR.
Yes. Commas, spaces, tabs, and line breaks all work, so a copied column or row can be pasted directly.
No. Parsing and every statistic run locally in your browser.
Your dataset is parsed and analysed entirely in the browser. Nothing is uploaded or retained.
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