What is Median of Grouped Data?

Median of grouped data is the middle value of the data that is

arranged in ascending order and written in a continuous manner.
The data is in the form of a frequency distribution table that divides
the higher level of data from the lower level of data. One of the
simplest methods of finding the median of grouped data is by using
the formula. As finding the middle value or median of a grouped
data might be tough. Therefore, to find the median for grouped data
we can use the following steps and formula:
 Step 1: Find the total number of observations.

 Step 2: Define the class size, and divide the data into

different classes.
 Step 3: Calculate the cumulative frequency of each class.

 Step 4: Identify the class in which the median falls.

(Median Class is the class where (n + 1)/2th term lies.)

 Step 5: Find the lower limit of the median class(l), and the

cumulative frequency of the median class (c).

 Step 6: Then apply the median formula median = l + (n/2 -

c)/f × h.

Where,
  l = lower limit of median class
 n = total number of observations
 c = cumulative frequency of the preceding class
 f = frequency of median class
 h = class size (upper limit - lower limit)

Definition of Median

Median is the middlemost value in a given data set after it is

arranged in ascending order. If the total number of items in the list
is odd, then after arranging the values in ascending order the
middlemost value is taken as the median i.e. the median is given by
the [(n+1)/2]th term, where 'n' is the total number of observations. If
the number of items in the data set is even, then the average of the
two middle values is taken, that is, [(n/2)th term + ((n/2) + 1)th term]
/ 2, where 'n' is the total number of observations.
For example: Let's consider the data: 48, 20, 50, 69, 73. What is
the median?
Solution:
Arranging in ascending order, we get 20, 48, 50, 69, 73. Here, n
(no.of observations) = 5
So, to find the median of odd data we use the formula:
[(n+1)/2] = (5 + 1)/2 = 6/2 = 3
Therefore, Median = 3rd observation
Median = 50.

Steps to Find Median of Grouped Data

Finding the median of any given data is simple since the median is
the middlemost value of the data. Since the data is grouped, it is
divided into class intervals. Let us learn the steps to finding the
median of grouped data.
 Step 1: Construct the frequency distribution table with
class intervals and frequencies.
 Step 2: Calculate the cumulative frequency of the data by
adding the preceding cumulative value of the frequency
with the current value.
 Step 3: Find the value of n by adding the values in
frequency (which is nothing but the last value of the
cumulative frequency column)
 Step 4: Find the median class. If n is odd, the median is the
(n+1)/2th value. If n is even, then the median will be
the average of the n/2th and the (n/2 +1)th observation.
 Step 5: Find the lower limit of the class interval and the
cumulative frequency.
 Step 6: Apply the formula for median in statistics: Median =
l + [(n/2−c)/f] × h
Let us look at an example to understand this better.
For Example: Calculate the median for the following data:

0- 10 - 30 - 60 - 80 -
Marks
10 30 60 80 90

Number of
6 20 37 10 7
students

Solution:
We need to calculate the cumulative frequencies to find the median.
 Number
Cumulativ
Mark of
e
s student
frequency
s

0-
6 0+6 6
20

20 - 2
20 6 + 20
40 6

40 - 6
37 26 + 37
60 3

60 - 7
10 63 + 10
80 3

80 - 8
7 73 + 7
100 0

n = Last value of cf = 80, n/2 = 80/2 = 40

Since n is even, we will find the average of the n/2th and the (n/2
+1)th observation i.e. the cumulative frequency greater than 40 is 63
and the class is 40 - 60. Hence, the median class is 40 - 60.
l = 40, f = 37, c = 26, h = 20
Using Median formula:
Median = l + [(n/2−c)/f] × h
= 40 + [(80/2−26)/37] × 20
= 40 + [(40−26)/37] × 20
= 40 + [14/37] × 20
= 40 + 7.57
= 47.57
Therefore, the median is 47.57.

Median of Grouped Data Formula

Before starting to use the median of grouped data formula, find the
median class by using the above procedure. Then the formula to
calculate the median of grouped data is l + [(n/2−c)/f] × h, where:
 l = lower limit of median class
 n = total number of observations
 c = cumulative frequency of the preceding (of median class)
class
 f = frequency of median class
 h = size of each class