how to find standard deviation on excel

To find the standard deviation in Excel, follow these steps:

1. Enter your data into a column or row of cells in the spreadsheet.
2. Select a cell where you want the standard deviation result to appear.
3. Use the appropriate function depending on your data type:

   • For a sample of a population, use:

     =STDEV.S(range)
     

   • For the entire population , use:

     =STDEV.P(range)
     

Here, range is the range of cells containing your data, for example, B2:B31.

4. Press Enter , and Excel will calculate and display the standard deviation.

Notes:

• STDEV.S calculates the sample standard deviation using the "n-1" method.
• STDEV.P calculates the population standard deviation.
• Older versions of Excel also support STDEV (equivalent to STDEV.S) and STDEVP (equivalent to STDEV.P) for compatibility.

Example:

If your data is in cells B2 through B31, the formula for sample standard deviation is:

=STDEV.S(B2:B31)

For population standard deviation:

=STDEV.P(B2:B31)

This method quickly gives you the measure of how spread out your data values are around the mean