AVERAGEA

Microsoft Office Excel 2003

See Also

Calculates the average (arithmetic mean) of the values in the list of arguments. In addition to numbers, text and logical values such as TRUE and FALSE are included in the calculation.

Syntax

AVERAGEA(value1,value2,...)

Value1, value2, ...    are 1 to 30 cells, ranges of cells, or values for which you want the average.

Remarks

  • The arguments must be numbers, names, arrays, or references.
  • Array or reference arguments that contain text evaluate as 0 (zero). Empty text ("") evaluates as 0 (zero). If the calculation must not include text values in the average, use the AVERAGE function.
  • Arguments that contain TRUE evaluate as 1; arguments that contain FALSE evaluate as 0 (zero).

ShowTip

When averaging cells, keep in mind the difference between empty cells and those containing the value zero, especially if you have cleared the Zero values check box on the View tab (Options command, Tools menu). Empty cells are not counted, but zero values are.

Example

The example may be easier to understand if you copy it to a blank worksheet.

ShowHow?

  1. Create a blank workbook or worksheet.
  2. Select the example in the Help topic. Do not select the row or column headers.

    Selecting an example from Help

    Selecting an example from Help

  3. Press CTRL+C.
  4. In the worksheet, select cell A1, and press CTRL+V.
  5. To switch between viewing the results and viewing the formulas that return the results, press CTRL+` (grave accent), or on the Tools menu, point to Formula Auditing, and then click Formula Auditing Mode.
 
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Data
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Not available
Formula Description (Result)
=AVERAGEA(A2:A6) Average of the numbers above, and the text "Not Available". The cell with the text "Not available" is used in the calculation. (5.6)
=AVERAGEA(A2:A5,A7) Average of the numbers above, and the empty cell. (7)