Disadvantages

1. For calculating median it is necessary to arrange the data; other averages do not need any arrangement.
2. Since it is a positional average, its value is not determined by each and every observation.
3. It is not capable of algebraic treatment. For example, median cannot be used for determining the combined median of two or more groups as is possible in case of mean. Similarly, the median wage of a skewed distribution times the number of workers and will not give the total payroll. Because of this limitation the median is much less popular as compared to the arithmetic mean.
4. The value of median is affected more by sampling fluctuations than the value of arithmetic mean.
5. The median, in some cases, cannot be computed exactly as can the mean. When the number of items included in a series of data is even, the median is determined approximately as the mid-point of the two middle items.
6. It is erratic, if the number of items is small.