General · Univariate · manipulative

Mean chases extremes; median resists

Drag points on the strip or type values in the table. Watch the mean get pulled by an outlier while the median and IQR stay much steadier.

data mean median IQR (Q1–Q3)

Drag any point left or right · or type exact values in the table

Dataset

Values

#Value

Summary statistics

Mean
–
Median
–
Mode
–
Range
–
IQR
–
n
–

Working

The mean uses every value equally, so one extreme can drag it a long way. The median and IQR depend on order and the middle half — they resist outliers. That is why the mean is sensitive and the median is robust as a centre.