median investment & finance definition

The middle number in a series of numbers. To find the median, first arrange the numbers from the smallest to the largest. If the number of items is odd, the median is the number that is in the middle of the series. If the number of items is even, the median is the average of the two middle numbers. For example, the median of the odd-numbered series of 2, 5, 7, 9 and 12 is 7. The median of the even-numbered series of 1, 6, 8 and 15 is 7.