Finding an Average with AVG()

Use the aggregate function AVG() to find the average, or arithmetic mean, of a set of values. The arithmetic mean is the sum of a set of quantities divided by the number of quantities in the set.

To calculate the average of a set of values:

  • Type: 
    AVG(expr)
    expr is a column name, literal, or numeric expression. The result’s data type is at least as precise as the most precise data type used in expr. Listing 6.4 and Figure 6.4 shows some queries that involve AVG(). The first query returns the average price of all books if prices were doubled. The second query returns the average and total sales for business books; both calculations are null (not zero), because the table contains no business books. The third query ...

Get SQL: Visual QuickStart Guide now with the O’Reilly learning platform.

O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.

Start your free trial