How to Calculate Geometric Means in Excel

Microsoft Excel spreadsheets support a large number of mathematical formulas to perform operations on data, including a special formula that allows you to instantly calculate the geometric mean. The geometric mean is an average of the set of "N" numbers. This mean is defined as the "N"-th root of the product of numbers (N1 x N2 x ...Nn) that comprise the set.

Instructions

1. Open Microsoft Excel. Press "Ctrl-N" to create a new spreadsheet.

2. Enter your set of numbers in the column "A" of the spreadsheet. For example, if your set includes four numbers -- 12, 45.5, 89 and 2.4, for example -- enter them in the cells "A1" through "A4."

3. Click on the cell "B1." Press the "=" key on the keyboard.

4. Type the formula "GEOMEAN(A1:A4") and press "Enter."

5. Read the geometric mean that is automatically calculated in cell "B1." In this example, the geometric mean of the numbers 12, 45.5, 89 and 2.4 is 18.48.

References

• "Excel 2007: The Missing Manual", Matthew MacDonald, Pogue Press, Dec. 27, 2006.
• Wolfram Mathworld: Geometric Mean
• Microsoft: GEOMEAN function