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Math

Standard Deviation Calculator

Paste a list of numbers to instantly compute both the sample standard deviation (s, dividing by n − 1) and the population standard deviation (σ, dividing by n), plus mean, median, IQR and sum of squares. A per-value deviation table is shown below so you can verify each step for homework or a stats report.

Sample std. dev. (s)

2.1381

Divides by n − 1 (Bessel's correction). Use when your data is a sample.

Sample variance (s²)

4.5714

Population std. dev. (σ)

2.0000

Divides by n. Use when your data is the entire population.

Population variance (σ²)

4.0000

Other descriptive statistics

Count n
Sum Σx
Mean x̄
Median
Min
Max
Range
Q1 (25th pct.)
Q3 (75th pct.)
IQR
Sum of squares Σ(x−x̄)²
Sorted ascending
Show working (per-value deviations & squares)
i xᵢ xᵢ − x̄ (xᵢ − x̄)²

Formula

x̄ = Σxᵢ ÷ n SS = Σ(xᵢ − x̄)² // sum of squared deviations s² = SS ÷ (n − 1) // sample variance (Bessel's correction) s = √s² // sample standard deviation σ² = SS ÷ n // population variance σ = √σ² // population standard deviation

Frequently asked

Should I use sample (n − 1) or population (n) standard deviation?

Rule of thumb: use population (σ) when your numbers ARE the entire group you care about; use sample (s) when they are a sample drawn from a larger population whose spread you want to estimate. Most textbook problems default to sample SD unless they explicitly say "population".

Why does sample standard deviation divide by n − 1 instead of n?

It's called Bessel's correction. When we use the sample mean we "spend" one degree of freedom, leaving n − 1 truly independent residuals. Dividing by n systematically underestimates the population variance; dividing by n − 1 makes s² an unbiased estimator of σ².

Is a larger standard deviation always "worse"?

No — standard deviation just measures spread. For exam scores, a small SD means everyone scored similarly. For stock returns, a larger SD means more volatility / risk. SD is always non-negative; if every input value is identical, σ = s = 0.

How many data points can I paste in?

The maths itself has no hard limit — browsers can comfortably handle tens of thousands of values. To keep the page responsive, the step-by-step working table only renders the first 100 rows, but every statistic above is computed over the full dataset.

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