Variance Calculator
Sample or population • Raw list or value:count
Inputs
Separators: comma, space, newline, semicolon. Frequency format: value:count, where count must be a positive integer.
Turn this off to calculate population variance using n.
Large datasets are previewed in compressed form.
Action
Updating…
Results
Count (n)
—
Mean
—
Variance
—
Std deviation
—
SSE
—
Min / Max
—
Range
—
—
Use this Variance Calculator to calculate sample or population variance from a numeric dataset. Variance measures how spread out values are around their mean.
Calculation Method
Population variance:
σ² = Σ(x − μ)² ÷ N
Sample variance:
s² = Σ(x − x̄)² ÷ (n − 1)
Example
For:
2, 4, 6, 8
The mean is:
(2 + 4 + 6 + 8) ÷ 4 = 5
The sum of squared deviations is:
9 + 1 + 1 + 9 = 20
Population variance = 20 ÷ 4 = 5
Sample variance = 20 ÷ 3 ≈ 6.67
Important Note
Use population variance when the entered values represent the entire population being described. Use sample variance when the data are a sample used to estimate variability in a larger population.