=MEDIAN(value, value…)

Apple’s official MEDIAN reference supports numeric data; it also describes date/time or duration values, but these types must not be mixed with other value types in one calculation. Text and Boolean values that occur inside referenced cells are ignored. Apple says not to enter text or Boolean values directly as MEDIAN arguments. The worked examples use plain numbers only.

The published English syntax uses commas. Apple’s Functions overview says to use semicolons for manually typed argument separators where settings use commas as decimal separators. Use the in-app Functions Browser and cell selector rather than guessing locale syntax.

1. Create an Apple Numbers table named Deliveries. Put Order in A1 and Minutes in B1.
2. Enter the data below exactly in rows 2 through 6. Values in B must be numbers, not text labels such as 25 min.
3. Select a result cell outside the source range, for example D2, and enter the formula. If the formula is in a different table, select the source cells so Numbers inserts the appropriate table qualification.

=MEDIAN(B2:B6)

Independently calculated expected result: 25. The values in ascending order are 12, 18, 25, 30, and 200. With five values, the third is the median, which is 25 minutes.

For comparison, this formula returns the arithmetic mean rather than the median:

=AVERAGE(B2:B6)

Its independently calculated expected result is 57, because (12 + 18 + 25 + 30 + 200) / 5 = 57. A large outlier makes the average higher than the median. Both are correct but answer different questions.

Suppose a sixth delivery takes 40 minutes. Add order A106 in A7 and numeric 40 in B7. Then enter:

=MEDIAN(B2:B7)

Independently calculated expected result: 27.5. The six values sorted are 12, 18, 25, 30, 40, 200. For an even number of values, Apple MEDIAN averages the two middle observations. (25 + 30) / 2 = 27.5.

As a one-off analysis without adding that row, the following formula includes 40 as a direct numeric value:

=MEDIAN(B2:B6,40)

Expected result: 27.5 again. For an ongoing log, adding a data row and extending the range is easier to audit than hiding an observation inside the formula.

Practical decision example

An operations dashboard may use the median as the typical delivery time and the maximum as the worst observed delivery time. In the original five-row data, =MEDIAN(B2:B6) has expected result 25, while =MAX(B2:B6) has expected result 200. Reporting both reveals that most deliveries are much faster than the extreme case. Neither metric explains why one delivery was delayed; retain the underlying observations.

• Nonnumeric cells in a selected range: Apple’s documentation says referenced text and Boolean entries are ignored, not counted as zeros. This can silently reduce the number of observations.
• Typed text as a direct MEDIAN argument: Do not use a quoted word as an argument merely to represent a category; MEDIAN does not filter by text categories. Use a properly defined numeric range.
• Dates and durations: Apple requires date/time values and duration values not be mixed with numbers or each other. Use a plain numeric minutes column in this tutorial.
• Even-sized sets: The median may be a value not appearing in the original column, because it averages the two middle observations.
• All-blank or nonnumeric ranges: There is no numeric middle value to summarize. The specific display/error has not been tested; check the app’s formula diagnostics rather than assuming a return value.
• Range growth: A fixed range such as B2:B6 will not necessarily include a later observation in B7 until you change the selection.
• Outlier interpretation: Median is robust to isolated extremes but does not replace investigating missing values, mis-entries or legitimate incidents.

Unexpected high/low result: Confirm that each intended observation really lies inside the selected range and that the cells contain numeric values. Write all values in ascending order and count the middle position; for an even sample, average the two central values.

Results differ from AVERAGE: This is expected for skewed distributions. In the example the median is 25 and mean is 57; neither is a formula error.

Unexpected error: Recheck argument separators, parentheses, cell/range selection, blanks, mixed date/time/duration types and formula text. Use Numbers’ error indicator to inspect what the installed app reports.

References from a different table: Numbers uses named tables and cell-selection controls. Prefer selecting Deliveries cells in the formula editor to entering Excel-style Sheet1!B2:B6 references, which are not interchangeable.

This page’s syntax was checked against Apple’s Formulas and Functions Help documentation path 15.4 on 2026-10-11 UTC. Apple describes the in-app Functions Browser on Mac, iPhone, iPad and iCloud.com. Those general help statements do not establish MEDIAN’s first-supported version or guarantee identical behaviour in historical Numbers releases across macOS, iOS, iPadOS and web. These device/version differences were not natively tested. If supporting a particular installed version matters, test that version in Numbers before deployment.

All three programs also offer a MEDIAN function conceptually equivalent for numeric observations. This Apple Numbers guide does not certify every program’s rules for typed nonnumeric values, dates/durations, formula separators, errors or table references. Excel’s Sheet1!B2:B6 format should not be copied blindly into Numbers: use Numbers’ selected table references instead.

• COUNTIF — counts selected records meeting a condition.
• FILTER — isolates rows for a subset calculation.
• SUMIFS — sums quantities subject to multiple conditions.

• Apple Numbers — function documentation
• Functions overview
• describes

Verification status: Official documentation checked; example outcomes were independently reasoned or arithmetically checked where applicable. Not executed in Apple Numbers.

• No genuine Apple Numbers screenshots are included; this guide does not use mock application images.