What is the formula for range?

Range = Largest value − Smallest value. On the 30-day sample data the result is 39.

How do you calculate range in Excel?

Use =MAX(C2:C31)-MIN(C2:C31) with the data in rows 2 to 31. The same formula works in Google Sheets.

Range: what it means and how to calculate it

Range

What it means, when to use it, and how to calculate it, worked on numbers you can check.

The range is the difference between the largest and smallest values in a set. It is the simplest measure of spread.

Range = Largest value − Smallest value

On the 30-day sample below: 39.

When to use it

It is quick to compute and easy to explain, and it immediately shows when one value is far outside the rest.

Worked example

Because it depends only on the two most extreme values, the range is mostly a pointer to them. Here the maximum is the one-day sale on day 17. Leave that day out and the range shrinks to less than half, which tells you the rest of the month was fairly steady. Reporting the range with and without the extreme day is a quick, honest summary.

Excel or Google Sheets

=MAX(C2:C31)-MIN(C2:C31)

Sample data (made up): 30 days from one store
Day	Website orders
1	24
2	27
3	22
4	30
5	28
6	25
7	31
8	29
9	26
10	33
11	30
12	28
13	35
14	32
15	29
16	34
17	61
18	31
19	36
20	33
21	30
22	37
23	35
24	32
25	38
26	36
27	34
28	40
29	37
30	39

Common mistakes

One outlier sets the whole range. Use the interquartile range for a robust view of spread.
The range grows with the number of rows: more days give more chances of an extreme one.
Check that the extremes are real and not data-entry errors before reporting it.

Calculate it yourself

Related methods

See all statistics methods or the business metrics they are used on.

Questions people ask

What is range?: The range is the difference between the largest and smallest values in a set. It is the simplest measure of spread.
What is the formula for range?: Range = Largest value − Smallest value. On the 30-day sample data the result is 39.
How do you calculate range in Excel?: Use =MAX(C2:C31)-MIN(C2:C31) with the data in rows 2 to 31. The same formula works in Google Sheets.

About the data on this page

The figures come from a small made-up dataset, printed above in full so you can check every number by hand. Download it as daily.csv. The results are computed from those rows when the page is built, and the Excel formulas, SQL and Python on these pages are run against the same rows before publishing, so the code and the answers agree.

To get these numbers from your own data without writing formulas, try AnalyzeIt: ask in plain words and it shows the working behind every figure.

Legal entity

Devansh Yadav

Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh

Governing law: Courts at Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh

Phone: +91 8433475698

Legal: legal@analyzeit.in

The range is the difference between the largest and smallest values in a set. It is the simplest measure of spread.

Range = Largest value − Smallest value

On the 30-day sample below: 39.

When to use it

It is quick to compute and easy to explain, and it immediately shows when one value is far outside the rest.

Worked example

Excel or Google Sheets

=MAX(C2:C31)-MIN(C2:C31)

Sample data (made up): 30 days from one store
Day	Website orders
1	24
2	27
3	22
4	30
5	28
6	25
7	31
8	29
9	26
10	33
11	30
12	28
13	35
14	32
15	29
16	34
17	61
18	31
19	36
20	33
21	30
22	37
23	35
24	32
25	38
26	36
27	34
28	40
29	37
30	39

Common mistakes

One outlier sets the whole range. Use the interquartile range for a robust view of spread.
The range grows with the number of rows: more days give more chances of an extreme one.
Check that the extremes are real and not data-entry errors before reporting it.

Calculate it yourself

Related methods

See all statistics methods or the business metrics they are used on.

Questions people ask

What is range?: The range is the difference between the largest and smallest values in a set. It is the simplest measure of spread.
What is the formula for range?: Range = Largest value − Smallest value. On the 30-day sample data the result is 39.
How do you calculate range in Excel?: Use =MAX(C2:C31)-MIN(C2:C31) with the data in rows 2 to 31. The same formula works in Google Sheets.

About the data on this page

To get these numbers from your own data without writing formulas, try AnalyzeIt: ask in plain words and it shows the working behind every figure.

Legal entity

Devansh Yadav

Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh

Governing law: Courts at Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh

Phone: +91 8433475698

Legal: legal@analyzeit.in

Range

When to use it

Worked example

Common mistakes

Calculate it yourself

Related methods

Further reading

Questions people ask

About the data on this page

Range

When to use it

Worked example

Common mistakes

Calculate it yourself

Related methods

Further reading

Questions people ask

About the data on this page

Day	Website orders
1	24
2	27
3	22
4	30
5	28
6	25
7	31
8	29
9	26
10	33
11	30
12	28
13	35
14	32
15	29
16	34
17	61
18	31
19	36
20	33
21	30
22	37
23	35
24	32
25	38
26	36
27	34
28	40
29	37
30	39

Day	Website orders
1	24
2	27
3	22
4	30
5	28
6	25
7	31
8	29
9	26
10	33
11	30
12	28
13	35
14	32
15	29
16	34
17	61
18	31
19	36
20	33
21	30
22	37
23	35
24	32
25	38
26	36
27	34
28	40
29	37
30	39

Day	Website orders
1	24
2	27
3	22
4	30
5	28
6	25
7	31
8	29
9	26
10	33
11	30
12	28
13	35
14	32
15	29
16	34
17	61
18	31
19	36
20	33
21	30
22	37
23	35
24	32
25	38
26	36
27	34
28	40
29	37
30	39

Day	Website orders
1	24
2	27
3	22
4	30
5	28
6	25
7	31
8	29
9	26
10	33
11	30
12	28
13	35
14	32
15	29
16	34
17	61
18	31
19	36
20	33
21	30
22	37
23	35
24	32
25	38
26	36
27	34
28	40
29	37
30	39

Day	Website orders
1	24
2	27
3	22
4	30
5	28
6	25
7	31
8	29
9	26
10	33
11	30
12	28
13	35
14	32
15	29
16	34
17	61
18	31
19	36
20	33
21	30
22	37
23	35
24	32
25	38
26	36
27	34
28	40
29	37
30	39

Day	Website orders
1	24
2	27
3	22
4	30
5	28
6	25
7	31
8	29
9	26
10	33
11	30
12	28
13	35
14	32
15	29
16	34
17	61
18	31
19	36
20	33
21	30
22	37
23	35
24	32
25	38
26	36
27	34
28	40
29	37
30	39