The percentage difference is usually calculated when you want to know the difference in percentage between two numbers. Microsoft Office Excel is a great tool to help you get started. In this post, we see the method to find the percentage difference between 2 numbers in Excel.
Calculate percentage difference between two numbers in Excel
Percentage change or percentage difference can be applied to any quantity that you measure over time. It is a simple mathematical concept that represents the degree of change over time. The use of simple formulas can help you find the percentage difference between 2 numbers. Here’s how!
1] Enter values
The change in percentage value can be defined as the difference between an original and a new value, divided by the original value.
For example, A company sold $485,000 in 2018 and $598,634 in 2019. Then, what’s the percent change in the two years?
Launch Office Excel. Make two tables ‘2018 Sales’ and ‘2019 Sales’ (Highlight the letters in ‘Bold’, so you don’t mistake them for percentage calculation).
2] Use the formula
Next, click on the cell B3 to apply the Percentage format to the cell.
Now, go to the ‘Home’ tab and under ‘Number Format’ select the Percentage button, as shown in the image above.
Note: If you are using the web version of the Excel, i.e., Excel for the web, click Home > Number Format > Percentage.
After that, click inside cell B3, divide the second year’s sales ($598,634.00) by the first year ($485,000.00), and then subtract 1. Use the following formula in cell C3. =(B2/A2)-1.
Once done, the change in percentage between the two years will be calculated and displayed instantly. As you can see, the change in percentage between two years was found to be 23%.
Notice the parentheses around (B2/A2). Excel calculates what’s in parentheses first, and then subtracts the 1.
I hope you find this tip useful.
