This post will guide you how to use the PERCENTILE function with syntax and examples in Microsoft excel.

Description

The Excel PERCENTILE function returns the kth percentile from a supplied range of values. So you can use the PERCENTILE function to determine the 30% percentile in a range in Excel. This function has been replaced by the PERCENTILE.INC function in Excel 2010.

The PERCENTILE function is a build-in function in Microsoft Excel and it is categorized as a Statistical Function.

The PERCENTILE function is available in Excel 2016, Excel 2013, Excel 2010, Excel 2007, Excel 2003, Excel XP, Excel 2000, Excel 2011 for Mac.

Syntax

The syntax of the PERCENTILE function is as below:

= PERCENTILE (array,k)

Where the PERCENTILE function arguments are:

• array – This is a required argument.  A range or array or cell reference that you want to get the kth percentile.
• K – This is a required argument. The percentile value. And it can be a value between 0 and 1.

Note:

• If K argument is non-numeric, the PERCENTILE function will return the #VALUE! Error.
• If K is small than 0 or greater than 1, the PERCENTILE function will return the #NUM! Error.
• If k is not a multiple of 1/(n – 1), PERCENTILE interpolates to determine the value at the k-th percentile.

Excel PERCENTILE Function Examples

The below examples will show you how to use Excel PERCENTILE Function to get the k-th percentile of values for a set of data.

Example 1:  to get the 50th percentile of the values in the range A1:A4, using the following formula:

= PERCENTILE(A1:A4,0.5)