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: Median of Selected Numbers.

Median of Selected Numbers

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated May 30, 2020)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


William is trying to find the median of about 3,000 numbers in a column that has a range from 0.9 to 5. However, he only wants the median of numbers that are greater than 1. He can't figure out how to put that parameter into his formula and is looking for ideas.

Short of creating a user-defined function in a macro, there are a couple of ways you can go about determining the median. One method is to use an intermediate column that contains only those values above 1 and then calculate the median based on those values. You could also use an advanced filter to extract only the values above 1 and then use those values to find the median.

A better approach, however, is to use a simple array formula:

=MEDIAN(IF($A$1:$A$3000>1,A1:A3000))

When you enter this as an array formula (by using Ctrl+Shift+Enter), the result is your median value, with your criteria taken into account.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (7920) 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: Median of Selected Numbers.

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. ...

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