Compute the average of a numeric field.
Section: awk Filtering and Aggregation
Calculate an average
bash
bash
awk '{sum += $2; count += 1} END {if (count) print sum / count}' prices.txtExplanation
Track totals and counts explicitly for derived values like averages.
Learn the surrounding workflow
Compare similar commands or jump into common fixes when this command is part of a bigger troubleshooting path.
Related commands
Same sheet · prioritizing awk Filtering and Aggregation
Print rows matching a condition
Show lines where column 3 is greater than 100.
Print selected columns
Show the first and third whitespace-delimited fields.
Use BEGIN and END blocks
Print headers and footers around processed output.