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Estimates standard deviation based on a sample. The standard deviation is a measure of how widely values are dispersed from the average value (the mean).
Important: This function has been replaced with one or more new functions that may provide improved accuracy and whose names better reflect their usage. Although this function is still available for backward compatibility, you should consider using the new functions from now on, because this function may not be available in future versions of Excel.
For more information about the new function, see STDEV.S function.
STDEV(number1,[number2],...)
The STDEV function syntax has the following arguments:
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Number1 Required. The first number argument corresponding to a sample of a population.
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Number2, ... Optional. Number arguments 2 to 255 corresponding to a sample of a population. You can also use a single array or a reference to an array instead of arguments separated by commas.
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STDEV assumes that its arguments are a sample of the population. If your data represents the entire population, then compute the standard deviation using STDEVP.
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The standard deviation is calculated using the "n-1" method.
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Arguments can either be numbers or names, arrays, or references that contain numbers.
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Logical values and text representations of numbers that you type directly into the list of arguments are counted.
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If an argument is an array or reference, only numbers in that array or reference are counted. Empty cells, logical values, text, or error values in the array or reference are ignored.
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Arguments that are error values or text that cannot be translated into numbers cause errors.
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If you want to include logical values and text representations of numbers in a reference as part of the calculation, use the STDEVA function.
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STDEV uses the following formula:
where x is the sample mean AVERAGE(number1,number2,…) and n is the sample size.
Copy the example data in the following table, and paste it in cell A1 of a new Excel worksheet. For formulas to show results, select them, press F2, and then press Enter. If you need to, you can adjust the column widths to see all the data.
| Strength | ||
| 1345 | ||
| 1301 | ||
| 1368 | ||
| 1322 | ||
| 1310 | ||
| 1370 | ||
| 1318 | ||
| 1350 | ||
| 1303 | ||
| 1299 | ||
| Formula | Description (Result) | Result |
| =STDEV(A3:A12) | Standard deviation of breaking strength (27.46392) | 27.46392 |
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This wikiHow teaches you how to find the standard deviation of a set of data in Microsoft Excel.
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1
Open Microsoft Excel. Click or double-click the Microsoft Excel app icon, which resembles a white "X" on a dark-green background. The Excel launch page will open.
- If you have an Excel document which contains the data you want to use, double-click the document to open it in Excel, then skip ahead to the "Click a blank cell" step.
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2
Click Blank Workbook. It's in the upper-left side of the Excel launch page.
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3
Enter the values you want to use. Pick a column in which you want to enter your data, then type each data value into individual cells in that column.
- For example, if you select column "A" as the area in which to enter your data, you might type a number into cell A1, cell A2, cell A3, and so on.
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4
Click a blank cell. This should be the cell in which you want to display the standard deviation value. Doing so selects the cell.
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Type in the standard deviation formula. The formula you'll type into the empty cell is =STDEV.P( ) where "P" stands for "Population". Population standard deviation takes into account all of your data points (N).[1] X Research source Go to source
- If you want to find the "Sample" standard deviation, you'll instead type in =STDEV.S( ) here. Sample standard deviation takes into account one less value than the number of data points you have (N-1).
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6
Add your value range. In between the parentheses, type in the letter and number of the cell containing your first piece of data, type in a colon (:), and type in the letter and number of the last data cell.
- For example, if you entered your data in column "A" from rows 1 through 10, you would have =STDEV.P(A1:A10) typed here.
- If you just want to display the standard deviation of the value of a few scattered cells such as A1, B3, and C5, you can type the cell names separated by commas (e.g., =STDEV.P(A1,B3,C5)) instead.
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7
Press ↵ Enter. This will prompt Excel to execute the formula, thus displaying the standard deviation of your selected cells in the formula's cell.
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How do I use Excel to calculate 2 standard deviations?
Use =STDEV(), and put your range of values in the parentheses. This can be 2 cells or 2 values (numbers).
JL
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wikiHow Technology Writer
This article was written by Jack Lloyd. Jack Lloyd is a Technology Writer and Editor for wikiHow. He has over two years of experience writing and editing technology-related articles. He is technology enthusiast and an English teacher. This article has been viewed 396,152 times.
Co-authors: 7
Updated: November 6, 2020
Views: 396,152
Categories: Microsoft Excel
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