Median Absolute Deviation (MAD)

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Calculate the robust measure of statistical dispersion.

Data Input

Input Dataset

Calculation Results

MAD Result1Median Absolute Deviation

Median (x̃)2.00Center of Data

Robust SD1.48MAD × 1.4826

Sample Size7 Points analyzed

About this calculator

Overview

The Median Absolute Deviation (MAD) is a robust measure of statistical dispersion. Unlike standard deviation, which squares errors and is sensitive to outliers, MAD uses absolute differences and the median, making it immune to extreme spikes or 'bad data'.

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Pro Tips

Use MAD instead of SD if your data has outliers that you don't want to over-influence the result.
The MAD of a dataset is always non-negative.
If your data has a perfect normal distribution, SD is about 1.48 times the MAD.

Fun Facts

"To estimate standard deviation from MAD, multiply it by 1.4826. This provides a robust standard deviation estimate for normally distributed data."
"MAD is more resilient than standard deviation (SD) for datasets with 'fat tails' or outliers."
"In finance, MAD is often used to measure historical volatility when extreme price jumps are present."

Formula: MAD = Median(|xᵢ - x̃|)