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PERCENTILE.EXC

The PERCENTILE.EXC function is a statistical function used to find the percentile rank of a given value in a dataset. It returns the k-th percentile of values in a range, where k is a value between 0 and 1 exclusive. This function is similar to the PERCENTILE function, but excludes the percentile value from the calculation.

Usage

Use the PERCENTILE.EXC formula with the syntax shown below, it has 2 required parameters:

=PERCENTILE.EXC(data, percentile)
Parameters:
  1. data (required):
    The range of data to use in the calculation of the percentile. This can be a reference to a range of cells or an array of values.
  2. percentile (required):
    The percentile to calculate. This is a value between 0 and 1 exclusive. For example, to calculate the 90th percentile, you would enter 0.9.

Examples

Here are a few example use cases that explain how to use the PERCENTILE.EXC formula in Google Sheets.

Finding the median

To find the median (50th percentile) of a dataset, you can use the PERCENTILE.EXC function with a percentile value of 0.5.

Identifying outliers

To identify outliers in a dataset, you can use the PERCENTILE.EXC function to find the 25th and 75th percentiles, and then use those values to calculate the interquartile range (IQR). Any values outside of 1.5 times the IQR can be considered outliers.

Comparing performance

You can use the PERCENTILE.EXC function to compare the performance of different members of a team or students in a class. For example, you can use the function to find the 90th percentile score for each member, and then compare those scores to see who is performing at the highest level.

Common Mistakes

PERCENTILE.EXC not working? Here are some common mistakes people make when using the PERCENTILE.EXC Google Sheets Formula:

Using a percentile value outside the range of 0 to 1

The percentile argument must be a value between 0 and 1 exclusive. Using a value outside of this range will result in an error.

Incorrectly referencing the data range

Make sure the data range argument references the correct range of cells or array of values containing the dataset to analyze. Referencing a range that does not contain numeric values or excluding numeric values from the range will result in an incorrect result.

The following functions are similar to PERCENTILE.EXC or are often used with it in a formula:

  • PERCENTILE

    The PERCENTILE function returns the value at a given percentile of a dataset. This can be useful in statistics and data analysis when trying to find the value that corresponds to a certain percentile in a set of data.

  • AVERAGE

    The AVERAGE function calculates the average (arithmetic mean) of the values passed to it. It is commonly used to find the average of a range of cells containing numerical data.

  • MEDIAN

    The MEDIAN function returns the median (middle) value of a set of numbers. It is commonly used to find the middle value in a range of data points. If the number of data points is even, it returns the average of the two middle values. This function can be useful in statistical analysis and data visualization.

  • MODE

    The MODE formula in Google Sheets returns the most frequently occurring value in a dataset. It is commonly used in statistical analysis to identify the value that occurs most frequently in a set of data. The formula requires at least one input value, but can accept multiple values to include in the analysis.

  • STDEV

    The STDEV function calculates the standard deviation of a set of numbers. It measures the amount of variation or dispersion of a set of values from the average (mean) value. It is commonly used in statistics to determine the spread of a data set. The values can be supplied as individual cells, ranges, or constants.

Learn More

You can learn more about the PERCENTILE.EXC Google Sheets function on Google Support.