How to Display Percentage in an Excel Graph (3 Methods)

Method 1 – Show Percentages in a Stacked Column Chart in Excel

  • Select the range of cells that you want to consider while plotting a stacked column chart.
  • Go to the Insert ribbon.
  • From the Charts group, select a stacked column chart as shown in the screenshot below:

Display Percentage in an Excel Graph: Choose a graph

  • Navigate to Chart Design, then select Add Chart Element.
  • Choose Data Labels and select Center.

Display Percentage in Excel Graph: Chart Design > Add Chart Element > Data Labels > Center.

  • You will have data labeled in the stacked column chart.
  • Create one secondary data table and convert all the general numerical values into percentages.
  • Click one of the data labels of the stacked column chart, go to the formula bar, type equal (=), and then click on the cell of its percentage equivalent.
  • Hit the Enter button.

  • Repeat the same process to convert all of the numbers into their corresponding percentages.

Display Percentage in Excel Graph

Read More: How to Make an X-Y Graph in Excel


Method 2 – Format Graph Axis to Percentages in Excel

  • Select the cell ranges.
  • Go to the Insert tab from the main ribbon.
  • From the Charts group, select any one of the graph samples.

Format Graph Axis to Percentage in Excel

  • Double-click on the chart axis that you want to change to percentages.

Change Graph Axis to Percentage in Excel

  • You will see a dialog box appear on the right.
  • Select Axis Options.
  • Go to Chart.
  • Navigate to Number.
  • From the Category box, select Percentage.
  • If you want to adjust the decimal places, tweak it from the next box below.

  • Here’s the result.

Read More: How to Create a Chart from Selected Range of Cells in Excel


Method 3 – Show the Percentage Change in Excel Graph

Part 1 – Create the Data Table

The Month and the Revenue are the main columns. We need to create another column, the Helper column.

  • Use the following formula in cell D5.
=C6
  • Press Enter.
  • Drag the Fill Handle icon to the end of the Helper column.

Show Percentage Change in Excel Graph: Create Data Table

  • Create another column called Difference using the following formula:
=C6-C5

  • Use the following formula to create the Positive column. This column will contain only the positive difference values.
=IF(E5>0,-E5,"")

  • Create another column, called the Negative, using the following formula:
=IF(E5<0,-E5,"")

Part 2 – Generate a Graph

  • Select the Month, Revenue, and Helper columns.
  • Go to Insert and select the Clustered Column command to insert a column graph.

Show Percentage Change in Excel Graph: Generate a graph

  • Double-click on the Helper columns in the graph.
  • Click on the plus icon and uncheck the Legend option.
  • Go to More Options from the Error Bars option.

Show Percentage Change in Excel Graph

  • The Format Error Bars dialog box will appear.
  • Make sure that the direction is set to Both and the End Style is Cap.
  • From the Error Amount options, select Custom and click on Specify Value.

Format Error Bars: Show Percentage Change in Excel Graph

  • The Custom Error Bars box will appear. Select the whole Positive column cell ranges in the Positive Error Value box.
  • Select the whole Negative column cell ranges in the Negative Error Value box.
  • Hit the OK button.

  • Right-click on the Blue columns in the graph, which are originally the Revenue column series.
  • From the pop-up list, select Format Data Series.

Format Data Series

  • Select the Graph in the Format Data Series dialog box.
  • Put the Series Overlap to 0% and Gap Width also to 0%.

  • Select all the Helper columns in the graph.
  • Go to the Format tab.
  • Navigate to Shape Fill and choose No Fill.

Format the columns in Excel Graph

Part 3 – Display Percentage in Graph

  • Select the Helper columns and click on the plus icon.
  • Go to More Options via Data Labels.

  • Select Chart on the Format Data Labels dialog box.
  • Uncheck the Value option.
  • Check the Value From Cells option.
  • Select the cell ranges to extract percentage values.

Display Percentage in Excel Graph

  • Create a column called Percentage using the following formula:
=E5/C5

Part 4 – The Final Graph with Percentage Change

  • You will see a graph with percentage change as in the picture below:

The Final Graph: Display Percentage in Graph

Read More: How to Make a Graph from a Table in Excel


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Mrinmoy Roy
Mrinmoy Roy

Mrinmoy Roy, a dedicated professional with a BSc in Electronics and Communication Engineering from Khulna University of Engineering & Technology, Bangladesh, brings over two years of expertise to the ExcelDemy project. As a prolific contributor, he has authored around 180 articles, showcasing his deep knowledge and passion for Microsoft Excel, Data Analysis, and VBA. His unwavering commitment to continuous learning, combined with versatile skills, renders him well-suited for roles in data management and spreadsheet solutions. He has interest... Read Full Bio

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