STDEV

• How to use STDEV formula?
• Examples of using STDEV formula
• STDEV formula not working?
• Similar formulas to STDEV

Usage

Use the STDEV formula with the syntax shown below, it has 1 required parameter and 1 optional parameter:

=STDEV(value1, [value2, ...])

1. value1 (required):
   The first value or range of cells to calculate the standard deviation for.
2. value2, ... (optional):
   Additional values or ranges of cells to calculate the standard deviation for. Up to 30 arguments can be supplied.

Examples

Calculating the standard deviation of a set of numbers

Suppose you have a set of numbers representing the heights of a group of people. You can use the STDEV function to calculate the standard deviation of the heights, which will give you an idea of how spread out the heights are from the average height.

Comparing the spread of two data sets

You can use the STDEV function to compare the spread of two data sets. For example, you may want to compare the spread of heights for two different groups of people to see if they have similar variability.

Detecting outliers in a data set

The STDEV function can be used to identify outliers in a data set. If a value falls more than one standard deviation from the mean, it is considered an outlier.

Common Mistakes

Incorrect range or reference

One common mistake when using the STDEV formula is to use an incorrect range or reference. Make sure that the range or reference you are using is correct and includes all the values you want to include in the calculation.

Using the wrong formula for the population

Another common mistake is to use the STDEV formula instead of the STDEVP formula when working with an entire population of data. The STDEVP formula should be used in this case.

Using non-numeric values

The STDEV formula can only be used with numeric values. If you try to use it with text or other non-numeric values, it will return an error. Make sure that all the values you are using in the calculation are numeric.

Related Formulas

The following functions are similar to STDEV or are often used with it in a formula:

• 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.

• MIN

  The MIN formula is a statistical function that returns the smallest value in a set of numbers. It is commonly used to find the minimum value from a range of cells or a list of values.

• MAX

  The MAX function returns the maximum value from a range of cells or a set of supplied values. It is commonly used to find the largest value in a dataset.

• VAR

  The VAR formula calculates the variance of a set of numerical values. Variance is a measure of how spread out a set of data is in relation to the mean. This formula is commonly used in statistical analysis to measure the variability or diversity of a dataset.

Learn More

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