What percent of values of a data set are less than the median?

1 Answer
George C.
Jul 23, 2015

Anywhere between 0% and just under 50%

If all the values in a data set of size 2N+1 are distinct, then

N/(2N+1)*100%

Explanation:

If the elements of the data set are arranged in ascending order, then the median is the value of the middle element.

For a large data set with distinct values, the percentage of values less than the median will be just under 50%.

Consider the data set [ 0, 0, 0, 1, 1 ]. The median is 0 and 0% of values are less than the median.

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