How to Use Excel's VARP Function

1. Learn the syntax of VARP. It is VARP(number1,number2,...) where number1, number2,... are up to 30 arguments which evaluate to numbers and comprise a complete population. VARP requires at least one argument.
2. Use arrays, names or references that contain numbers as arguments for VARP, in addition to pure numbers. Only numbers in an array or reference will be counted. Empty cells, error values, logical values or text in an array or reference will be ignored.
3. Enter logical values and text that represents numbers directly into the argument list. Error values or text that does not evaluate to a number will cause an error.
4. Ensure VARP is the correct function to use. VAR should be used instead of VARP if the data represents only a population sample. Use the VARPA function instead if you wish to include a reference that contains logical values or numbers represented by text in the calculation.
5. Calculate the VARP as the sum of (number - AVERAGE(number1,number2,...))^2/n where number is each value in the population and n is the number of values in the population. For A2 = 3.5, A3 = 5, A4 = 7.23 and A5 = 2.99, VARP(A2,A3,A4,A5) would return 2.71335.