How to Calculate Standard Deviation in Excel

Using Microsoft Excel to calculate standard deviation will reduce the time it takes to calculate standard deviation.

Standard deviation shows how numbers in a set of data are bunched together. The smaller the standard deviation, the closer the numbers in the data are toward the mean, and the bell curve will be steeper. The larger the standard deviation the farther apart the numbers in the data are toward the mean, and the bell curve will have a wider slope. Microsoft Excel allows for quick calculations of standard deviation.

Instructions

1. Type the data into Microsoft Excel. Use a separate cell for each piece of data. As an example, type 4, 5, 3, 6, 8, 5, 3, 8, 5 and 6 in cells A1 through A10.

2. Type "=STDEV( in the cell where standard deviation will be calculated. For example, in cell B1, type "=STDEV("

3. Highlight the cell range or type the cell range after the "(" where standard deviation is calculated. In the example, cell B1 will display "=STDEV(A1:A10)" which then shows a standard deviation of 1.766981. It is also possible to just put the numbers in the formula. In our example, "=STDEV(4,5,3,6,8,5,3,8,5,6)" will also produce 1.766981.

References

• Robert Niles: Standard Deviation
• Microsfot Office: STDEV