How To Work Out Percentages In Excel

A percentage is another way of expressing a fraction. Percent literally means "per 100." So when you calculate a percentage, you divide the given amount of something (numerator) by the total amount (denominator), then multiply by 100.

Step 1

Open the Microsoft Excel program and type the numerator (given amount) into cell A1.

Step 2

Highlight cell B1.

Step 3

In the "fx" box in the toolbar at the top of the screen, type "=A1/X" (without the quotes), replacing X with the denominator (the total amount) . For instance, if you are calculating a percentage score out of 60 points, you would type "=A1/60".

Step 4

Hit enter. This should calculate a decimal (eg, .75) in cell B1.

Step 5

Hit the "%" button on the formatting toolbar near the top of the screen to convert to a percentage. Alternatively, you can simply multiply by 100.