How to calculate the mode in MS Excel

In Microsoft Excel, the MODE function finds the most frequently occurring value in a dataset. It’s particularly useful for identifying common patterns or trends within our data. By simply applying the MODE function, Excel quickly provides insights into the central tendency of our dataset.

Syntax

The basic syntax for the MODE function is as follows:

Here, number1 and number2 represents the cell number or any numeric value. It's worth noting that we have the flexibility to include additional cells as needed.

Note: Ranges or cell references may be used instead of explicit values.

Simple values

If we simply want to find out the mode between 10, 20, 30, and 10 we will use the MODE function using the formula below:

List of cells

If we want to find the mode by providing the list of cells, we can use the formula below:

Range of cells

If we want to find the mode by providing the range of cells, we can use the formula below:

If we want to use the range of cells, and skip a cell number in that case we can use the formula below:

The formula above calculates mode of cells A1, A2, A3, and A5.

Steps

The following is a step-by-step guide to using the MODE function:

1. Select the cell: We click the cell where we want to calculate the mode.

2. Use the MODE function: We type =MODE( into the selected cell.

3. Select the range: If we want to calculate mode of the number of cells in the range A1 to A5, there are two ways to achieve the desired result:

   1. We can enter “A1:A5” after the opening parenthesis and then close the parenthesis and press “Enter.” The formula should look something like this: =MODE(A1:A5).

   2. We can also enter A1,A2,A3,A4,A5 after the opening parenthesis and then close the parenthesis and press “Enter.” The formula should look something like this: =MODE(A1,A2,A3,A4,A5).

Let's now apply the steps above on our dataset. Let's suppose we have the following dataset:

Now, our objective is to determine the mode of the marks a student receives in the provided dataset. We have discussed two methods to calculate the mode. Let’s use both methods:

Using the MODE function with list of cells

First we select the cell, where we need to calculate the mode. Let's suppose here the cell number is B9. After we select the “cell(B9),” write the following in the cell:

Let's visualize the above steps in action.

Note: 

• As we can see in the slides above, when multiple cells are added, the system automatically highlights the cell number and alters its color for easier identification.

• If an empty cell is included in a mode formula and subsequently populated with a value, the value in “cell B9,” where the mode is calculated, will automatically update to reflect the new value.

Using the MODE function by specifying the range

First we select the cell, where we need to calculate the mode. Let's suppose here the cell number is B9. After we select the “cell(B9),” write the following in the cell:

Let's visualize the steps above in action.