Find the Most Frequently Occurring Value With the MODE Function
For the number set: the mode is the number 1 since it occurs twice in the list and every other number appears only once. If two or more numbers occur in a list the same number of times, they are, collectively, the mode. For the number set: both the numbers 1 and 2 are the mode since they both occur twice in the list, and the number 3 appears only once. In the second example, the number set is “bimodal.” To find the mode for a set of numbers when using Google Sheets, use the MODE function.
The MODE Function’s Syntax and Arguments
A function’s syntax refers to the layout of the function and includes the function’s name, brackets, comma separators and arguments. The syntax for the MODE function is: =MODE (number_1, number_2, …number_30)
number_1 – (required) the data included in calculating the mode number_2 : number_30 – (optional) additional data values included in the mode calculation. The maximum number of entries allowed is 30.
The arguments can contain:
a list of numbers cell references to the location of the data in the worksheet a range of cell references a named range
How to Use the MODE Function in Google Sheets
Open a new blank Google Sheets document and follow these steps to learn how to use the MODE function.
How to Find Multiple Modes
The data you’re analyzing may be polymodal – multiple numbers “tie” for appearing most frequently. If you use the MODE function, it will only return one of these numbers: the one closest to the top of the spreadsheet. Google Sheets has another formula that will pick out all of the modes. Here’s how to use it.
