Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Excel 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Excel, click here: Returning the MODE of a Range.

Returning the MODE of a Range

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated July 2, 2020)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


Excel provides the MODE function to help you determine the most frequently recurring value in a range. For instance, let's say you have a table that contains sales orders. One of the columns indicates the number of items ordered in each order. Over time, you may have accumulated quite a bit of data in the table. If you wanted to know the most common number of items ordered, you could use the MODE function.

Suppose your items ordered column is F, and you have 1,200 orders detailed in rows 2 through 1,201. If want to know the most common number of items ordered, you can use the following:

=MODE(F2:F1201)

The value returned represents the most commonly recurring value in the range. Thus, if 520 of your customers ordered 3 items, and the next most common was 314 customers ordering 4 items, then MODE would return the number 3.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2365) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Excel (Excel 2007 and later) here: Returning the MODE of a Range.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Controlling Widows and Orphans

Got singular lines at the bottom or top of a page? These are often referred to as widows and orphans, and Word allows you ...

Discover More

Columns within Text Boxes

Text boxes are a common design element for some documents. If you want a text box to contain multiple columns, you are ...

Discover More

Referencing Fields in Another Document

Sometimes you may have two documents that are so integrally related to each other that the one document may require the ...

Discover More

Program Successfully in Excel! John Walkenbach's name is synonymous with excellence in deciphering complex technical topics. With this comprehensive guide, "Mr. Spreadsheet" shows how to maximize your Excel experience using professional spreadsheet application development tips from his own personal bookshelf. Check out Excel 2013 Power Programming with VBA today!

More ExcelTips (menu)

Determining the Least Common Multiple

Need to figure out the least common multiple of a range of values? It is a snap when you use the LCM function, described ...

Discover More

Rounding to the Nearest $50

When preparing financial reports, it may make your data easier to understand if you round it to the nearest multiple, ...

Discover More

Rounding by Powers of 10

Need to round a value by a power of 10? You can do it by using the ROUND function as described in this tip.

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is nine minus 1?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


This Site

Got a version of Excel that uses the menu interface (Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, or Excel 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.