Average Calculator: How to Calculate an Average

Averages are everywhere in life—whether you're calculating your academic performance, measuring your average travel speed, or analysing financial data. Understanding how to find an average is a valuable skill for students, professionals, and anyone who wants to make sense of numbers.

This guide covers everything from simple averages to weighted averages, moving averages, and even how to calculate them in Excel. Plus, if you're looking for a quick and easy way to get results, our online average calculator can do the work for you—no maths required!

How Do We Calculate an Average?

To calculate an average, simply add all the values and divide by the total number of values.

Average = Sum of all values + Number of values

Average of numbers

To calculate the average of 10, 15, and 20, add the three numbers to get 45, then divide by the number of values, which is 3. The average is:

Average = (10+15+20) / 3 = 45 / 3 = 15

How to Calculate a Weighted Average?

A weighted average accounts for different levels of importance (weights) assigned to each value. To calculate it, multiply each value by its weight, sum the products, and divide by the total sum of the weights.

Weighted Average = (∑ (Value × Weight)) / (∑ Weight)

Where:

• Value is each individual number in the dataset.
• Weight is the assigned importance or frequency of each value.
• ∑ (sum of) means adding up all the values.

For example

If a student scores 60% on one test with a weight of 2 and 80% on another test with a weight of 3, the weighted average is calculated as:

((60×2) + (80×3)) / (2+3) = (120+240) / 5 = 72%

Weighted averages are useful in grading, finance, and statistical analysis.

How to Calculate a Moving Average?

A moving average is used to smooth out short-term fluctuations and highlight longer-term trends in a dataset. It is commonly used in stock market analysis and business forecasting.

To calculate a simple moving average (SMA):

• Choose a window size (e.g., 3 days, 5 days, etc.).
• Calculate the average of the first set of values within the window.
• Slide the window forward and calculate new averages.

Stock price average

If stock prices over five days are 100, 105, 102, 110, and 115, a 3-day SMA would be calculated as:

First SMA: (100+105+102) / 3 = 102.3

Second SMA: (105+102+110) / 3 = 105.7

Third SMA: (102+110+115) / 3 = 109

This helps in trend analysis for financial and business data.

How to Calculate a General Average?

A general average is commonly used in the South African education system to assess a student's overall performance.

General average or grade average

If a student earns the following grades:

• Mathematics: 70%
• English: 75%
• Life Sciences: 80%
• Geography: 65%

Grade Average = Total number of subjects / Sum of all subject marks​

(70 + 75 + 80 + 65) / 4 = 72.5%

How to calculate the Grade Point Average?

If you need to convert your grades to a GPA or calculate a GPA-style score, here’s how you can do it.

Formula to calculate Grade Point Average (GPA):

GPA = (∑ (Grade Point × Credits)) / (∑ Credits)

Where:

• Grade Point is the equivalent GPA score based on the percentage.
• Credits represent the weight or importance of each subject.
• ∑ (sum of) means adding up all the values.

To convert your marks to a 4.0 GPA scale, you can use this general guideline:

• Convert each subject’s percentage to a GPA score using the table above.
• Multiply each GPA score by the credit value of the subject.
• Add all the results and divide by the total credits to get your final GPA.

Let’s say a student has the following marks in five subjects, each carrying 5 credits:

Total Weighted Points = 18.5 + 18.5 + 15.0 + 15.0 + 10.0 = 77.0

Total Credits = 5 + 5 + 5 + 5 + 5 = 25

GPA = 77.0 / 25 = 3.08

Final GPA: 3.08 (out of 4.0)

Important Notes on GPA in South Africa

• Universities in South Africa use APS (Admission Point Score), not GPA. To calculate APS, universities assign points per subject based on your percentage (e.g., 80% = 7 points).
• If you are applying to an international university (USA, UK, etc.), you may need to convert your grades to a 4.0 GPA scale as shown above.
• Some institutions may use a 5.0 GPA scale for advanced courses (like A-levels or IB).

How to Calculate Average Speed?

Average speed is a common calculation used in travel and athletics. Whether you're driving on the N1 highway or tracking your running pace, calculating average speed helps you understand your pace over a certain distance or time.

Average Speed = Distance Travelled / Time Taken

For example

For example, if you drive 240 km from Johannesburg to Bloemfontein in 3 hours:

Average Speed = 240 km / 3 hours = 80 km/h

How to Calculate an Average in Excel?

To calculate an average in Excel:

• Open a new Excel document and enter your data in a column.
• Select the cell where you want the result to appear.
• Type =AVERAGE(A1:A5) (assuming your data is in cells A1 to A5).
• Press Enter, and the average will be displayed.

How to calculate weighted average in Excel?

For a weighted average in Excel, use this formula:

=SUMPRODUCT(values, weights) / SUM(weights)

For example:

=SUMPRODUCT(A1:A5, B1:B5) / SUM(B1:B5)

How to Calculate the Average of a Percentage?

To calculate the average of percentages, first convert each percentage to decimal form.

For example, given percentages: 50%, 70%, 90%

Convert them to decimal: 0.50, 0.70, 0.90

Compute the average: (0.50+0.70+0.90)/3 = 0.70

Convert back to percentage: 70%

How to Calculate Average Inventory?

Keeping track of your inventory is crucial for managing your business effectively. Whether you're running a retail store in Sandton or an online shop, knowing your average stock level helps you make better purchasing and sales decisions.

Average Inventory = (Beginning Inventory + Ending Inventory) / 2

For example

If a small clothing boutique has 1,000 items at the beginning of the month and 600 items at the end, the average inventory is:

(1,000 + 600) / 2 = 800 items

How to Calculate Blood Pressure Average?

Monitoring blood pressure is an important indicator of cardiovascular health. Since blood pressure fluctuates throughout the day, calculating an average gives a more accurate picture of overall health.

For example, if your readings are:

• 118/75 mmHg
• 124/78 mmHg
• 121/72 mmHg

Your average blood pressure calculation:

Systolic = (118+124+121) / 3 = 121

Diastolic = (75+78+72) / 3 = 75

Final average: 121/75 mmHg

To get accurate readings, take multiple measurements at different times of the day and under similar conditions.

Nishadh Mohammed

Nishadh Mohammed is a seasoned news editor and financial writer, working with HelloSafe since May 2023. Nishadh has developed expertise in financial markets, insurance, and investment products, with a deep understanding of the Canadian financial landscape. He has honed his SEO skills and content marketing strategies while writing for Canadian publishing houses. Armed with a master's in Business Analytics and extensive journalistic experience, Nishadh uniquely combines data proficiency and thorough research to deliver comprehensive and accessible information.