Math & Statistics
Mean, Median, and Mode
Updated 2026-02-02
Definition
Three measures of central tendency. The mean is the arithmetic average (sum ÷ count). The median is the middle value when the data is sorted, the 50th percentile. The mode is the most frequent value. For income data, the median is more representative than the mean because a handful of extreme earners pulls the mean upward: the 2024 U.S. median household income was $80,610 while the mean was roughly $114,500 (Census Bureau). Use the mean for symmetric data, the median for skewed distributions, and the mode for categorical data.
Primary source: Census Bureau income report
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