Excel VAR function

The VAR function calculates the variance based on a given sample..

VAR function vs. VAR.S function:

Starting from Excel 2010, the VAR function has been replaced by the VAR.S function. Although they can both be used to estimate the variance based on a given sample, the VAR.S function is more recommended for future use, because the VAR function may not be available in future versions of Excel.

Excel variance functions

The following table lists all Excel variance functions and their usage notes, which can help you choose the one that best suits your needs.

Syntax

VAR(number1, [number2], ...)

Arguments

• Number1 (required): The first sample number used in the calculation;
• Number2, ... (required): The second and more sample numbers used in the calculation.

Remarks

-- x represents each value in the sample.

--  is the average of the sample.

-- n is the number of cells in the sample range.

Return value

It returns a numeric value.

Example

The following table is a sample of scores. To estimate the variance based on it, you can do as follows.

Select a cell (says F6 in this case), enter the formula below and press the Enter key to get the result.

=VAR(C6:C13)

Note: The argument in the formula above is supplied as a cell range. However, you can change the formula as follows:

=VAR(C6,C7,C8,C9,C10,C11,C12,C13)

=VAR({80;95;100;73;60;90;85;68})

=VAR(80,95,100,73,60,90,85,68)

Related Functions