In this short guide, I’ll show you 4 methods to calculate the mean in Python.
By the end of this guide, you’ll be able to get the mean using this simple program:
4 Methods to Calculate the Mean in Python
In the following section, you’ll see 4 methods to calculate the mean in Python. For each of the methods to be reviewed, the goal is to derive the mean, given the values below:
8, 20, 12, 15, 4
Method 1: Simple Average Calculation
To start, you can use this simple average calculations to derive the mean:
sumValues = 8 + 20 + 12 + 15 + 4 n = 5 mean = sumValues/n print ('The Mean is: ' + str(mean))
Where:
- sumValues represents the sum of all the values in the dataset
- n reflects the number of items in the dataset. In this case, there are 5 items
- mean = sumValues/n is the actual calculation to get the mean
When you run the code in Python, you’ll get the mean of 11.8:
Method 2: Using a List to get the Mean
Alternatively, you can use a list with the values to be averaged (here, you’ll noticed that the values are placed in a list, where each value is separated by a comma):
sum = 0 values = [8,20,12,15,4] n = len(values) for i in values: sum = sum + i mean = sum/n print ('The Mean is: ' + str(mean))
When you run the code, you’ll get the same mean of 11.8:
Method 3: Using Pandas to get the Mean in Python
You can also derive the mean using pandas.
In our example, you’ll need to apply the syntax below to get the mean:
from pandas import DataFrame data = {'values': [8,20,12,15,4]} df = DataFrame(data) mean = df['values'].mean() print ('The Mean is: ' + str(mean))
As before, you’ll get the mean of 11.8:
Method 4: Using a Tkinter GUI
For the final method, you can use a tkinter graphical user interface (GUI) to get the mean:
import tkinter as tk root= tk.Tk() canvas1 = tk.Canvas(root, width = 500, height = 400) canvas1.pack() label0 = tk.Label(root, text='Calculate Mean') label0.config(font=('helvetica', 14)) canvas1.create_window(250, 40, window=label0) entry1 = tk.Entry (root, width = 30) canvas1.create_window(350, 140, window=entry1) label1 = tk.Label(root, text='Values (Separated by Comma):') label1.config(font=('helvetica', 10)) canvas1.create_window(160, 140, window=label1) def calcMean (): values = entry1.get().split(',') n = len(values) sum = 0 for i in values: sum = sum + float(i) npv = sum/n label2 = tk.Label(root, text= npv,font=('helvetica', 10, 'bold'),bg='white') canvas1.create_window(250, 300, window=label2) button1 = tk.Button(text='Calculate Mean', command=calcMean, bg='green', fg='white', font=('helvetica', 9, 'bold'), width = 25) canvas1.create_window(250, 250, window=button1) root.mainloop()
Run the code in Python, and you’ll see this display:
Copy/type the values (8, 20, 12, 15, 4) in the input box. Each value should be separated by a comma. Once you’re done, click on the green button to calculate the mean:
You’ll then see the mean of 11.8: