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← The library

Statistical function

VAR.S

Returns the variance of a sample.

OccasionalDifficulty 1250 · ProficientUsage rank #121 of 520

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When to use it

Sample variance: the square of the sample standard deviation. Variances add across independent sources, which is why portfolio and error math works in variances.

The shape of it

Syntax: =VAR.S(number1, [number2], ...)

Worked examples

Eight values
=VAR.S(2,4,4,4,5,5,7,9) → 4.571428571
32 divided by 7.
Squared units
=VAR.S(B2:B13) → 2,016,400
Monthly sales variance, in squared units.
Back to sd
=SQRT(VAR.S(B2:B13)) → 1,420
Back to the standard deviation.

Worth knowing

Report standard deviation to humans; keep variance for math.
Combine independent variances by adding them, then SQRT for the combined sd.
VAR.P for a full population.

Where it goes wrong

#DIV/0! with fewer than two numbers.
Units are squared, which makes the raw number hard to interpret.

AVERAGE COUNT COUNTA COUNTIF COUNTIFS MAX

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