XL: How to Find the Percentage of Change Between Values

In Microsoft Excel, there is no built-in function to calculate the percentage of change from one value to another. However, you can use the following formula to calculate the percentage change where original_value represents the value that the percentage of change is based on, and new_value represents the value that has changed.

You may also use the following alternate formula: To display the resulting value as a percentage value, format the cell containing the formula with a percentage format.

To see an example, follow these steps:

1. In a new worksheet, type the following values:

      A1: Sales for 1998     B1: Sales for 1999
      A2: $100,000           B2: $175,000
      A4: Percent Change     B4: =(B2-A2)/ABS(A2)
   						

   If you use the alternate formula, type the formula =(B2/A2)-1 in cell B4.
2. With cell B4 selected, click Cells on the Format menu.
3. On the Number tab, click to select Percentage in the Category column, and then select a percent format.

Note that the 1999 sales increased 75 percent over the sales for 1998. This is the percent of change.