How can I use the STDEV.P function in Excel to calculate the standard deviation for a set of data?

Syntax

STDEV.P(number1,[number2],…)

The STDEV.P function syntax has the following arguments:

• Number1     Required. The first number argument corresponding to a population.

• Number2, …     Optional. Number arguments 2 to 254 corresponding to a population. You can also use a single array or a reference to an array instead of arguments separated by commas.

Remarks

• STDEV.P assumes that its arguments are the entire population. If your data represents a sample of the population, then compute the standard deviation using STDEV.

• For large sample sizes, STDEV.S and STDEV.P return approximately equal values.

• The standard deviation is calculated using the “n” method.

• Arguments can either be numbers or names, arrays, or references that contain numbers.

• Logical values, and text representations of numbers that you type directly into the list of arguments are counted.

• 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.

• Arguments that are error values or text that cannot be translated into numbers cause errors.

• If you want to include logical values and text representations of numbers in a reference as part of the calculation, use the STDEVPA function.

• STDEV.P uses the following formula:

  

  where x is the sample mean AVERAGE(number1,number2,…) and n is the sample size.

Example

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.