AVERAGEIF Function

The AVERAGEIF function calculates the average of the numbers in a range that meet supplied criteria. To apply criteria, the AVERAGEIF function supports logical operators (>,<,<>,=) and wildcards (*,?) for partial matching. AVERAGEIF can be used to average cells based on dates, numbers, and text.

Syntax

The generic syntax for AVERAGEIF looks like this:

=AVERAGEIF(range,criteria,average_range)

The AVERAGEIF function takes three arguments: range, criteria, and average_range. Range is the range of cells to apply a condition to. Criteria is the condition to apply, along with any logical operators that are needed. Average_range argument is optional. When average_range is not provided, AVERAGEIF will average values in the range argument. When average_range is provided, AVERAGEIF will average values in average_range.  When using AVERAGEIF, keep the following in mind:

• AVERAGEIF will not include empty cells in the average, even when criteria match.
• AVERAGEIF will return a #DIV/0! error if no cells meet criteria.
• Criteria can include logical operators (>,<,<>,=) and wildcards (*,?) for partial matching.
• AVERAGEIF can only apply one criteria. To use multiple criteria, see the AVERAGEIFS function.

Criteria

The AVERAGEIF function supports logical operators (>,<,<>,=) and wildcards (*,?) for partial matching. Because AVERAGEIF is in a group of eight functions that split logical criteria into two parts, the syntax is a bit tricky. Range and criteria are provided separately, and operators in criteria need to be enclosed in double quotes (""). The table below shows some common examples:

Notice the last two examples use concatenation with the ampersand (&) character. When a criteria argument includes a value from another cell, or the result of a formula, logical operators like "<" must be joined with concatenation. This is because Excel needs to evaluate cell references and formulas first to get a value, before that value can be joined to an operator.

Examples

In the example shown the formulas in H5:H8 are as follows:

=AVERAGEIF(C5:C15,">0") // price greater than $0
=AVERAGEIF(C5:C15,">200000") // price greater than $200k
=AVERAGEIF(D5:D15,">=2",C5:C15) // 2+ bedrooms
=AVERAGEIF(D5:D15,">=3",C5:C15) // 3+ bedrooms

Double quotes ("") in criteria

In general, text values are enclosed in double quotes (""), and numbers are not. However, when a logical operator is included with a number, the number and operator must be enclosed in quotes. Note the difference in the two examples below. Because the second formula uses the greater than or equal to operator (>=), the operator and number are both enclosed in double quotes.

=AVERAGEIF(D5:D15,2,C5:C15) // 2 bedrooms
=AVERAGEIF(D5:D15,">=2",C5:C15) // 2+ bedrooms

Double quotes are also used for text values. For example, to average values in B1:B10 when values in A1:A10 equal "red", you can use a formula like this:

=AVERAGEIF(A1:A10,"red",B1:B10) // average "red" only

Value from another cell

A value from another cell can be included in criteria using concatenation. In the example below, AVERAGEIF will return the average of numbers in A1:A10 that are less than the value in cell B1. Notice the less than operator (which is text) is enclosed in quotes.

=AVERAGEIF(A1:A10,"<"&B1) // average values less than  B1

Wildcards

The wildcard characters question mark (?), asterisk(*), or tilde (~) can be used in criteria. A question mark (?) matches any one character and an asterisk (*) matches zero or more characters of any kind. For example, to average cells in a B1:B10 when cells in A1:A10 contain the text "red" anywhere, you can use a formula like this:

=AVERAGEIF(A1:A10,"*red*",B1:B10) // contains "red"

The tilde (~) is an escape character to allow you to find literal wildcards. For example, to match a literal question mark (?), asterisk(*), or tilde (~), add a tilde in front of the wildcard (i.e. ~?, ~*, ~~).

Average range caution

AVERAGEIF makes certain assumptions about the size of average_range, essentially resizing it when necessary to match the range argument, using the upper left cell in the range as an origin. In some cases, this behavior can create a result that seems reasonable but is in fact incorrect. For an example of this problem, see this article.

Notes

• TRUE and FALSE values ignored when calculating an average.
• Empty cells are ignored when calculating an average.
• AVERAGEIF returns #DIV/0! if no cells in range meet criteria.
• AVERAGEIF requires a range, you can't substitute an array.
• Average_range does not have to be the same size as range. The top left cell in average_range is used as the starting point, and cells that correspond to cells in range are averaged.
• AVERAGEIF supports wildcards but is not case-sensitive.