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How to find the mode for text value from a list/column in Excel?

Author Kelly Last modified

As you know, we can apply the MODE function to quickly find out the most frequent number from a specified range in Excel. However, this MODE function does not work with text values. Please do not worry! This article will share two easy methods to find the mode for text values from a list or a column easily in Excel.

Find the mode for text values from a list/column with formula

This method will introduce an array formula to find the mode for text values (the most frequent text value) in a list in Excel. Please do as follows:

Select a blank cell you will place the most frequent value into, type the formula below, and then press the Ctrl + Shift + Enter keys.

=INDEX(A2:A20,MODE(MATCH(A2:A20,A2:A20,0)))
Tip: A2:A20 refers to the range from which you want to determine the most frequent (mode) text value. You should replace A2:A20 with the actual range of your data containing the text values to be analyzed.

A screenshot showing how to use an array formula to find the mode for text values in Excel

Now the most frequent (mode for) text value has been found and returned into the selected cell. See screenshot:
A screenshot displaying the result of finding the most frequent text value in Excel using a formula

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Find the mode for text values from a list /column with Kutools for Excel

If you have Kutools for Excel installed, you can leverage the ready-to-use Find most common value formula in its Formula Helper suite to effortlessly identify the most frequent (mode for) text values from a list, bypassing the need to memorize any Excel formulas.

Kutools for Excel offers over 300 advanced features to streamline complex tasks, boosting creativity and efficiency. Itegarate with AI capabilities, Kutools automates tasks with precision, making data management effortless. Detailed information of Kutools for Excel...         Free trial...
  1. Select a blank cell where you will place the most frequent (mode for) text value.
  2. Select Kutools > Formula Helper > Lookup & Reference > Find most common value.
    A screenshot showing the steps to access Kutools for Excel's Find Most Common Value feature in Excel ribbon
  3. In the opening Formula Helper dialog box, please specify the list where you will look for the most frequent text value into the Range box, and click the Ok button.
    A screenshot of the Formula Helper dialog to find the most frequent text value in a list

By following the steps above, the most frequent (mode for) text value will be returned to the selected cell.

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Demo: Find the mode for text values from a list /column

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