CHART CHOICES & CHECKABLE METHODS

Frequency table: exact values, intervals and cumulative counts

A frequency table lists how often values or groups occur. An exact-value table preserves repeat counts for each distinct value; a grouped table combines observations into intervals. A cumulative column adds frequencies in a meaningful order.

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The comparison at a glance

IntervalFrequencyCumulative countCumulative share
[0, 2)2225%
[2, 4)3562.5%
[4, 6]38100%

Build an exact-value tally first

For the fictional list 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 4, 5, 5, the exact frequencies are 1→2, 2→3, 4→1 and 5→2. They sum to eight observations. This table answers which exact value is most common: 2 occurs three times. The sum of the displayed value labels would not answer that question.

Group the same observations explicitly

Using intervals [0, 2), [2, 4) and [4, 6] gives frequencies 2, 3 and 3. The two observations at 1 enter the first interval, the three observations at 2 enter the second, and 4, 5, 5 enter the last. The final interval includes its upper endpoint, although no value equals 6 here.

Add a cumulative column only when order means something

The grouped cumulative counts are 2, 5 and 8. Dividing by eight gives cumulative shares of 25%, 62.5% and 100%. These describe observations below successive boundaries under the stated closure rule. For unordered categories, a cumulative count depends on the chosen order and needs a clear reason, as in a descending Pareto ranking.

Use the table to check the chart

A histogram should reproduce the grouped frequencies exactly. Check that their total matches N and that every boundary observation is assigned once. A frequency table is already a summary: importing its frequency column as raw observations would change the meaning. The maker below expects individual values and generates the grouped table for you.

A related chart you can inspect

Histogram bin boundaries: where exact endpoints go
Histogram bin boundaries: where exact endpoints go. Original fictional data; this linked example has its own complete input and calculation settings.

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References and reproducibility

The worked arithmetic and teaching examples on this page are original. Background reading: NIST histogram background. Source code and reuse terms expose the implemented calculations.

Written by SupaMakers for ChartsAI · September 8, 2026.

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