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COVAR
COVAR (equivalent to COVARIANCE.P) calculates population covariance — the average product of deviations from each variable's mean — across two equal-length arrays. Positive covariance means the variables tend to move in the same direction; negative means opposite. It is the building block of correlation and regression analysis.
Excel
=COVAR(A2:A5,B2:B5)Google Sheets
=COVAR(A2:A5,B2:B5)✓
Verified example
Computed by a real spreadsheet engine on the sample data below.
| Temp F | Sales |
| 65 | 120 |
| 72 | 145 |
| 80 | 190 |
| 88 | 230 |
=COVAR(A2:A5,B2:B5)→362.1875
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How it works
- 1Provide two equal-length ranges: =COVAR(A2:A5,B2:B5).
- 2COVAR uses the population formula (divides by n); use COVARIANCE.S for sample covariance in Excel 2010+.
- 3Interpret the sign (positive/negative relationship) and divide by the product of both standard deviations to get the correlation coefficient.
Need a version for your data?
Try: “Calculate the covariance between temperature readings and ice cream sales across recorded days”