Variance Calculator

Calculate population or sample variance.

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Your Results

Population Variance (σ²)

Sample Variance (s²)

Mean

Count (N)

Step-by-step Solution

Formula

σ² = Σ(xᵢ − μ)² / N
s² = Σ(xᵢ − x̄)² / (n−1)

σ² = population variance
s² = sample variance
μ / x̄ = mean
N = population size; n = sample size

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Pro Tips

Use sample variance (s²) when your data is a sample from a larger population — the n−1 denominator corrects for bias.

Standard deviation is simply the square root of variance — both measure spread, but SD is in the original units.