If the mean age is lower than the median, the age distribution is most likely skewed toward which direction?

• A. Younger ages
• B. Older ages
• C. Symmetric distribution
• D. No skew

Answer: (A)

When the mean is lower than the median, the distribution is skewed to the left (negative skew). This happens because a few very young ages pull the average down, while the bulk of ages are older, pulling the median higher. The median sits toward the center and is less affected by those extreme low values, so it ends up above the mean. Thus the tail of the distribution extends toward younger ages. If the data were symmetric or had no skew, the mean and median would be about equal; if skewed toward older ages, the mean would be higher than the median.