What Is Descriptive Statistics in Google Sheets?
Descriptive statistics are the values that are used to describe a dataset. These significant statistical results help us gain an understanding of details such as the middle value of the dataset and how spread out the values are in the dataset. Some of the important descriptive statistics in Google Sheets include:
- Mean (the average value)
- Median (the middle value)
- Mode (the most frequently occurring value)
- Standard deviation (the spread of the values)
- Range (the difference between minimum and maximum value)
- Sample size (total number of observations)
Google Sheets has some incredible functions that make calculating descriptive statistics much easier. In the example below, you observe how we have calculated the median of a set of values.

Key Takeaways
- Descriptive statistics are values that describe a dataset. They help us understand how the values are spread out in the dataset.
- Some of the important descriptive statistics in Google Sheets include Mean, Median, Mode, Standard deviation, Range, and sample size.
- The formulas used to calculate the above values are.
- Mean: =AVERAGE(dataset range)
- Median: =MEDIAN(dataset range)
- Mode: =MODE(dataset range)
- Standard Deviation: =STDEV(dataset range)
- coefficient of variation: =STDEV(dataset range)/AVERAGE(dataset range)*100
- Z Score: =(Dataset value – AVERAGE(dataset range))/ STDEV(dataset range)
- Interpreting statistics enables us to understand what people want, for problem-solving, and to make big data manageable for insights that benefit our country and organization.
Calculating Descriptive Statistics in Google Sheets
If you’re wondering if these calculations involve complex steps, as when we do them mathematically, the answer is a definite no! All the descriptive statistics can be calculated easily. Suppose we have a dataset with 8 values in Google Sheets.
To calculate various descriptive statistics for this dataset, have a look at the image below for the formulas used:

- The mean is calculated by adding all the given values to the list and dividing them by the number of such values.
- The median is the value at the center of the list after the numbers are arranged in ascending order.
- The mode is the frequently occurring value in the list.
- Standard deviation tells you how much each of the individual values in a dataset differs from the average.
- Range is calculated by subtracting the minimum value from the maximum value
- The sample size shows the number of observations included in that dataset
Types
Mean (Average)
The mean is to find the average of a set of given numbers. To find the mean, you find the sum of all the given values divided by the total number of values in the set.
In Google Sheets, we use the AVERAGE() function to calculate the mean of a dataset, as shown in the image below.

Median
The Median is the middle of a list of numbers that are sorted. To find the median in Google Sheets, we use the MEDIAN() function, which calculates the median of the array. For the same dataset above, let us calculate the median as shown below. The MEDIAN() function ignores text.

Mode
Mode is the most frequently occurring value in a dataset. Calculating it is as simple as it gets. The MODE() function is used to calculate the mode of the set of numbers. Look at the image below for better clarity. The MODE() function also ignores text.

As 2 is repeated twice, we get this result.
Range
The range in a dataset measures the dispersion, which shows the difference between the highest and lowest values. You can calculate it using the formula below.
Range = Maximum Value – Minimum Value

Standard Deviation
Standard deviation measures how far apart the data points are from the mean. The standard deviation in Google Sheets can be calculated using the STDEV function.

Coefficient of Variation
The coefficient of variation is another important statistical measure we calculate in a distribution. It shows the dispersion of data points in a data series around the mean. It can be calculated by finding the ratio of the standard deviation to the mean.
To calculate the coefficient of variation, the formula you enter in Google Sheets should divide the standard deviation by the mean of the dataset and then multiply the result by 100 to get the result in percentage.

Z-Score
In statistics, a z-score calculates how many standard deviations away a value is from the mean of a dataset. Z-scores are helpful in comparing data points from different datasets as they standardize the values. Let us calculate the Z-point of 4.

Formula: =(Value–Mean)/Standard Deviation
How to Use Descriptive Statistics in Google Sheets?
Step 1: To use Descriptive Statistics in Google Sheets, you must first type in the data set.

Step 2: Next, type in the following formulas for each of the calculations.
- =AVERAGE(A1:A6)
- =MEDIAN(A1:A6)
- =MODE(A1:A6)
- =STDEV(A1:A6)
- =STDEV(A1:A6)/AVERAGE(A1:A6)*100
- =(Dataset value – AVERAGE(A1:A6))/ STDEV(A1:A6)

Examples
Let us look at some interesting descriptive statistics in Google Sheets examples of how to calculate descriptive statistics in Google Sheets.
Example #1
The ages of the winners of an event have been shown below in Google sheets
: {19, 18, 29, 37, 21, 33, 23, 17,22, 38}. Using the descriptive statistics formula for mean and median in Google Sheets, find their values.
Step 1: Enter all the details in a Google sheet as shown below.

Step 2: Enter the formula for the mean as shown below. For this, we use AVERAGE.

Step 3: Press Enter and you can find the mean/average age of the winners.

Step 4: To find the median or middle value, use the following formula.
=MEDIAN(A2:A11)

Step 5: Press Enter, you get the median or mid value of the age distribution.

Example #2
Let us find the mean, median, and mode of the first ten natural numbers.
Let us first try to find the mean. For this, we use the AVERAGE formula.
Step 1: Enter the formula in cell A11.
=AVERAGE(A1:A10)

Step 2: Press Enter. Now, enter the formula for the median as follows in A12.

Step 3: Press Enter. You get the median value. Now, find the mode using the following formula.
=MODE(A1:A10). Press Enter.

Step 4: As observed, you can see an #N/A error as there are no repeating values. You can fix it using the IFNA formula.

Press Enter. You get the message printed instead of the IFNA error.

Example #3
Let’s look at the steps below to calculate the range of a dataset in Google Sheets. First, Take the same dataset as above. You have the first 10 natural numbers.
Step 1: In Google Sheets, enter your data in a column. Now, use the MAX and MIN functions.
In cell C5, type =MAX(A1:A10)
In cell C6, type =MIN(A1:A10)

Step 2: Now, let us calculate the range using the following formula.
Max-Min value
Type =C5-C6 in cell C7.

The range is used in descriptive statistics to summarize data and provides a quick sense of how spread out the values are. It is useful in quality control to set acceptable limits for measurements for consistent outputs.
Example #4
In this example, let us calculate the Coefficient of Variation. We have the following table showing thesales of a product for six months:

Step 1: First, we must calculate the mean. In cell B8, enter the AVERAGE function to calculate the mean.
=AVERAGE(B2:B7). Press Enter.

Step 2: Calculate the standard deviation usingthe STDEV.S function. Enter the following function in B9.
=STDEV.S(B2:B7).

Step 3: Now, calculate the Coefficient of Variation using the below formula. To get it as a percentage, multiply by 100.
=(B9/B8)*100. Press Enter.

Here, thecoefficient of variation gives the relative variability of the sales data. If the value is high, the sales show greater variability relative to the mean, which helps in finding a strategy for consistent performance.
Important things to Note
- Descriptive statistics are used in many fields, including research, business, economics, social sciences, and healthcare.
- Z-Score is useful for identifying outliers and flagging data points that are significantly higher or lower than the mean. This helps clean up data.
- When statistics such as an organization’s average salary are discussed, the median is often used as it gives information on the middle of a group. The mean needs to present an accurate picture as it allows very high or low numbers to influence the result.
- The HR department uses the mean to calculate the mean salary of individuals in a particular field so that they can fix the salary of new employees.
- HRs calculate the median salary in certain fields to determine the typical “middle” salary for that field.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
We use Google Sheets to calculate the descriptive statistics for small data sets as it’s straightforward and convenient. For larger data sets, you may need specialized statistical software like Tableau.
You can calculate the following descriptive statistics: mean, median, mode, standard deviation, coefficient of variation, range, and z-score.
1) For the mean, use the AVERAGE function =AVERAGE(range).
2) Use the MEDIAN function to find the median. =MEDIAN(range).
3) Use the MODE function for the mode =MODE(range).
4) For the range, subtract the minimum value from the maximum value in the data set.
5) The coefficient of variation is calculated by dividing the standard deviation by the mean.
6) For standard deviation, use the STDEV function: =STDEV(range).
7) For the Z-Score Calculation
8) Use the following formula to calculate the z-score in Google Sheets: =(Value–Mean)/Standard Deviation
9) You can also use the Z.TEST formula =Z.TEST(range, x, sigma)
Though both have several common functions to calculate descriptive statistics, Google Sheets has the quartile function extra =QUARTILE(range, quartile_number) for quartiles. It is also easy to make charts and share data in Google Sheets based on the data.
Excel, however, has the Data Analysis Tool Pak, which has a comprehensive set of statistical tools. There is no such Google Sheets statistics add-on provided by Google.
The uses are as follows:
Descriptive statistics describes the characteristics of a data set. measures: measures of central tendency, measures of variability (or spread), and frequency distribution.
The measures of central tendency are used to find the mean, median, mode which describe the center of the data set.
The variability in the dispersion of the data set can be calculated using the variance and standard deviation.
Download Template
This article must help understand Descriptive Statistics in Google Sheets with its formulas and examples. You can download the template here to use it instantly.
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