Excel DEVSQ Function

Summary

The Excel DEVSQ function returns the sum of the squared deviations from the mean for a given set of data.

Purpose

Get sum of squared deviations

Return value

Calculated sum

Syntax

=DEVSQ (number1, [number2], ...)

Arguments

number1 - First value or reference.
number2 - [optional] Second value or reference.

Usage notes

The Excel DEVSQ function calculates the sum of the squared deviations from the mean for a given set of data.

Variance and standard deviation functions deal with negative deviations by squaring deviations before they are averaged. DEVSQ calculates the sum of the squared deviations from the mean, without piding by N or by N-1.

In the example shown, the formula in G5 is:

=DEVSQ(B5:B10)

The formulas in C5 and D5 are, respectively:

=B5-$G$4 // deviation=C5^2 // squared deviation

The value in D12 (34) us simply the sum of D5:D10, and agrees with the value calculated directly by DEVSQ in G5.

Notes

Arguments can be numbers, names, arrays, or references that contain numbers.
Empty cells, and cells that contain text or logical values are ignored.