How to calculate the range of a set of values in Excel and Google Sheets

Topic:RANK & statistical aggregates

Excel & Google Sheets

=MAX(B2:B6)-MIN(B2:B6)

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Verified example

Computed by a real spreadsheet engine on the sample data below.

Month	Sales
Jan	120
Feb	340
Mar	210
Apr	95
May	460

=MAX(B2:B6)-MIN(B2:B6)→365

Try it with your data

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Sample data — click any cell to edit

Cell row 1 column 1	Cell row 1 column 2
Cell row 2 column 1	Cell row 2 column 2
Cell row 3 column 1	Cell row 3 column 2
Cell row 4 column 1	Cell row 4 column 2
Cell row 5 column 1	Cell row 5 column 2
Cell row 6 column 1	Cell row 6 column 2

Formula

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Step by step

1Enter your numeric data in a single column (e.g., B2:B6).
2In an empty cell, enter =MAX(B2:B6)-MIN(B2:B6).
3The result is the range — the spread between the highest and lowest values.
4Label the cell 'Range' in an adjacent cell for clarity.

Tips

Combine with AVERAGE to assess whether the range is large relative to the mean, which indicates high variability.

Need it for your exact data?

Describe your columns in plain English and get the precise formula for your sheet, with the right Excel or Sheets syntax.

Frequently asked

Is the statistical range the same as the IQR?

No. The range spans all data; the interquartile range (IQR) spans only the middle 50%. Use QUARTILE(B2:B6,3)-QUARTILE(B2:B6,1) for IQR.

Does the range include text or blank cells?

MAX and MIN ignore text and blank cells automatically, so your range calculation will only consider numeric values.

More on RANK & statistical aggregates

RANK.EQ

Returns the rank of a number in a list, assigning the same rank to ties (same as RANK). Essential for leaderboards.

How to rank values

Rank a number against a list with RANK — highest first or lowest first. Works the same in Excel and Google Sheets.

RANK.AVG

Returns the rank of a number, averaging ranks for ties. Useful in statistical analysis where tied ranks should not cluster.

How to calculate standard deviation

Measure how spread out your numbers are with STDEV for a sample or STDEVP for a whole population. Works in Excel and Google Sheets.

PERCENTILE

Returns the k-th percentile value from a dataset. Useful for performance benchmarking and threshold analysis.

How to calculate a weighted average

Combine values and their weights with SUMPRODUCT divided by the total weight. Works the same in Excel and Google Sheets.

Formulas used

MAX MIN QUARTILE

Written and reviewed by FormulaCraft Team. Each formula on this page is run through our verification engine before publishing.

Last reviewed: May 28, 2026