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In Power BI, the average can be calculated by using the “Average” function. For example, if we have a dataset of student grades in a class, we can use the “Average” function to find the average grade. This function takes in a column of values (in this case, the grades) and calculates the average of those values. The result is a single value that represents the average grade of the class. This calculation can then be displayed in a visual or used in further analysis within the Power BI platform.
You can use the following syntax in DAX to calculate the average value in a column:
Avg Points = AVERAGE('my_data'[Points])
This particular example creates a new measure named Avg Points that calculates the average value in the Points column of the table named my_data.
The following example shows how to calculate the average value of a column in Power BI in practice.
Example: How to Calculate Average in Power BI
Suppose we have the following table in Power BI named my_data that contains information about points scored by basketball players on various teams:
Suppose we would like to calculate the average value in the Points column.
To do so, click the Table tools tab along the top ribbon, then click the New measure icon:
Then type in the following formula into the formula bar:
Avg Points = AVERAGE('my_data'[Points])
This will create a new measure named Avg Points that contains the average of values in the Points column of the table:
If we’d like, we can display this value by going to the Report View in Power BI, then by clicking the Card icon under the Visualizations tab, then by dragging the Avg Points measure under the Fields label:
This will produce the following card that displays the average value in the Points column of the table:
We can see that the average value in the Points column is 19.91.
If we click on any of the individual names in the Team column of the table in the report, then the card will automatically update to show the average points value for that particular team.
For example, suppose we click the Mavs team name in the table:
The card automatically updates to show that the average of values in the Points column for the Mavs is 18.75.
Additional Resources
The following tutorials explain how to perform other common tasks in Power BI: