Debate abounds regarding the composition of the deep (middle + lower) continental crust. Studies of medium and high grade metamorphic lithologies guide us but encompass mafic (< 52 wt.%) to felsic (> 68 wt.%) compositions. This study presents a global compilation of geochemical data on amphibolite (n = 6500), granulite (n = 4000), and eclogite (n = 200) facies lithologies and quantifies systematic trends, uncertainties, and sources of bias in the deep crust sampling. The continental crust’s Daly Gap is well documented in amphibolite and most granulite facies lithologies, with eclogite facies lithologies and granulite facies xenoliths having mostly mafic compositions. Al₂O₃, Lu, and Yb vary little from the top to bottom of the crust. In contrast, SiO₂ and incompatible elements show a wider range of abundances. Because of oversampling of mafic lithologies, our predictions are a lower bound on middle crustal composition. The distinction between granulite facies terrains (intermediate SiO_2, high heat production, high incompatibles) or granulite facies xenoliths (low SiO₂, low heat production, low incompatibles) as being the best analogs of the deep crust remains disputable. We incorporated both, along with amphibolite facies lithologies, to define a deep crustal composition that approaches 57.6 wt.% SiO_2. This number, however, represents a compositional middle ground, as seismological studies indicate a general increase in density and seismic velocity with increasing depth. Future studies should analyze more closely the depth dependent trends in deep crustal composition so that we may develop compositional models that are not limited to a three-layer crust.