How Do You Calculate Percentage Increase or Decrease in Excel

Method 1 – Calculate Percentage Increase or Decrease Using Generic Formula

Select the cell where you want to calculate the percentage change and enter the following formula.

=(E5-D5)/D5

Press Enter and drag the Fill Handle to copy the formula to the other cells.

We calculated the percentage change between the old price and the new price by subtracting the old price from the new price and dividing the result by the old price. The calculations have been done using cell reference.

You may find the results in decimal. To change that-

Select the cells that shows the results in decimal.
Go to the Home tab >> Click on the drop-down menu from the Number group >> Select Percentage.

The results will be shown in percentages.

Note: when your percentage changes give a positive value that means the percentage increases. And when it gives a negative value that means the percentage decreases.

Method 2 – Determine Percentage Increase or Decrease for Negative Values

Using the sample dataset, we will calculate the percentage increase or decrease in temperature of each city.

2.1. Both Values Are Negative

The formula for percentage change is:

Percentage Change = (Old Value – New Value)/Old Value

To calculate the percentage change between the old temperature and the new temperature-

Select the cell where you want to calculate the percentage change and enter the following formula.

=(D5-E5)/D5

Press Enter and drag the Fill Handle down to copy the formula to the other cells.

We calculated the percentage change between Old Temp and New Temp by subtracting the New Temp from the Old Temp and dividing the result by the Old Temp.

2.2. Old Value Is Negative and New Value Is Positive

The formula for percentage change is:

Percentage Change = (New Value – Old Value)/ABS(Old Value)

Select the cell where you want to calculate the percentage change and enter the following formula in that selected cell.

=(E5-D5)/ABS(D5)

Press Enter and copy the formula to the other cells by dragging the Fill Handle down.

How Does the Formula Work?

ABS(D5): The ABS function returns the absolute value of the number in cell D5.
(E5-D5)/ABS(D5): The value in cell D5 is subtracted from the value in cell E5. The result is divided by the absolute value of the number in cell D5.

2.3. New Value Is Negative and Old Value Is Positive

The formula for percentage change is:

Percentage Change = (New Value – Old Value)/Old Value

Select the cell where you want to calculate the percentage change and insert the following formula.

=(E5-D5)/D5

Press Enter and drag the Fill Handle down to copy the formula to the other cells.

We calculated the percentage change between Old Temp and New Temp by subtracting the Old Temp from the New Temp and dividing the result by the Old Temp.

How to Use Specific Percentage Increase or Decrease to Calculate Values in Excel

Percentage Increase:

Using the following formula you can calculate the New Value using a specific percentage increase (MarkUP).

New Value = Old Value * (1 + Percentage Increase)

When the price increases by 12%, your updated value will be (100% + 12%) of the present price. 1 is the decimal equivalent of 100%. When you are adding 12% to 1, it will add the decimal equivalent of 12%(0.12) to 1.

Select the cell where you want to calculate the New Price and insert the following formula.

=D7*(1+$C$4)

Press Enter and you will get the result. Drag the Fill Handle to copy the formula.

We summed 1 with MarkUp and multiplied the result by Old Price. The formula returns the New Price. We used absolute cell reference for the MarkUp percentage so that the formula does not change while using Autofill.

Percentage Decrease:

You can calculate the required values using a percentage decrease with a single step similar to the percentage increase.

The formula is:

New Value = Old Value * (1 – Percentage Decrease)

When you count a value decreased by 12%, it means your updated value will be (100% – 12%) of the current value.

Select the cell where you want to calculate the New Price and enter the following formula.

=D7*(1-$C$4)

Press Enter to get the New Price and drag the Fill Handle down to copy the formula.

We subtracted the MarkUp from 1 and multiplied the result by Old Price. The formula returns the New Price. We used absolute cell reference for the discount percentage so that the formula does not change while using Autofill.

How to Determine Values after Percentage Increase or Decrease in Excel

Select the cell where you want to calculate the New Price and insert the following formula.

=D5*(1+E5)

Press Enter and copy the formula to the other cells by dragging the Fill Handle You will get all the values of the New Price.

We summed 1 with the percentage change and multiplied it with the Old Price. The formula returns the New Price.

How to Solve #DIV/0 Error While Calculating Percentage Increase or Decrease in Excel

If your dataset contains zero, you may find a #DIV/0 error as you can not divide any number by 0.

Enter the following formula where you want to calculate the percentage change.

=IF(E5<>0, IFERROR((E5-D5)/D5, 1), IFERROR((E5-D5)/D5, 0))

Press Enter and drag the Fill Handle down to copy the formula to the other cells. Thus, you can solve the error that occurred by zero.

We used the IFERROR function to check if there is any error value. We used the IF function to check if the value of the new price is not equal to 0. The formula will return 1 if it finds any error, and it will return 0 if it finds any error.

Common Errors While Calculating Percentage Increase or Decrease Using Formula in Excel

#Value: It may occur when you leave cells blank or insert different types of data than you should have.
Num!: It may occur when you insert an invalid numeric value into the formula.
#Name?: It occurs when you misspell any function name.
#REF!: It may occur when you refer invalid cell or any cell that has been deleted in a formula.

Download Practice Workbook

Calculating Percentage Increase or Decrease.xlsx

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