What is 'Load Average?' Load average is an age-old metric, which is in existence since the 1970s to indicate whether the system is under heavy/average/low load. by Join the DZone community and get the full member experience.Join For Free Load average is an age-old metric, which is in existence since the 1970s to indicate whether the system is under heavy/average/low load. It is useful to indicate whether the system’s load is on an increasing trend or a decreasing trend. In this article, let’s learn more about 'Load Average.' How to Understand 'Load Average?'