What is the difference between mean, median and mode?

Mean, Median, and Mode (in simple terms):

They are three different ways to describe what a “typical” value looks like in a set of numbers.

1. Mean (the average)

What it is:
Add everything up, then divide by how many numbers there are.

Layman example:
You and 4 friends earn:

$50, $50, $50, $50, $500

Add them up = $700
Divide by 5 → Mean = $140

Problem:
One very large number ($500) pulls the average up.

✅ Good when values are fairly even
❌ Misleading when there are outliers

2. Median (the middle value)

What it is:
Line up all the numbers from smallest to biggest and pick the middle one.

Same salaries, sorted:

$50, $50, $50, $50, $500

Middle value → Median = $50

Why it’s useful:
It ignores extremes and shows what a “typical” person experiences.

✅ Best when data is skewed (uneven)
✅ Commonly used for incomes, house prices, response times

3. Mode (the most common value)

What it is:
The number that appears most often.

Same salaries:

$50 appears 4 times

Mode = $50

Why it’s useful:
Good for finding what’s most frequent, especially with categories.

✅ Works with numbers and words
✅ Useful for things like “most common error code” or “most popular product”

Quick comparison (real‑world feel)

Measure Think of is as Best used when

Mean “Average” Data is balanced

Median “Middle person” Data has extremes

Mode “Most common” You want popularity/frequency

Simple rule of thumb

• If mean ≠ median, your data is probably skewed

• If you want a fair, typical value, use median

• If you want what happens most often, use mode

One‑line takeaway

Mean can be distorted, median is resistant, and mode shows popularity.