Variance Calculator

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Population Variance (σ²)

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Mean

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Sample Variance (s²)

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Population Std Dev (σ)

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Sample Std Dev (s)

Recent Calculations

What Is Variance?

Variance measures how far a set of numbers is spread out from their average value. It is the average of the squared differences from the mean.

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

For {4, 8, 6, 5, 3}: Mean = 5.2, Population variance = 2.96, Sample variance = 3.7.

Variance vs standard deviation?

Variance is in squared units; standard deviation is its square root and is in the same units as the data.

When to use sample vs population?

Use population when you have the complete dataset. Use sample when working with a subset.