We can use a formula that is based on the SUM function to calculate the RUNNING average for a set of values. The running average finds the average continuously from previous data points. The steps below will walk through the process.
Figure 1- How to Find a Running Average in Excel
Formula
=SUM($D$4:D4)/SUM($C$4:C4)
Setting up the Data
We will calculate the running average as revenue divided by sales in figure 2.
- The months will be entered into Column B
- Column C and D contain the Sales and Revenue respectively
- The running average will be returned in Column F
Figure 2 – Setting up the Data
Running Average
- We will click on Cell F4
- We will insert the formula below into Cell F4
=SUM($D$4:D4)/SUM($C$4:C4)
- We will press the enter key
Figure 3- Running Average
- We will click on Cell F4 again
- We will double click on the fill handle tool which is the small plus sign you see at the bottom right of Cell F4. Select and drag down to copy the formula to Cell F15.
Figure 4- Result of Running Average
Explanation
If we consider Cell F6, the result is calculated in this manner:
$120+$300+$80/$1000+$1500+$950
=0.144927536
The next average is returned considering the next four values and so on.
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