📏 Population Variance Calculator
Calculate the population variance and standard deviation of your full data set (use this when your data represents the entire population, not just a sample).
Population vs. sample variance
Population variance measures how spread out a data set is around its mean, when that data set represents the entire population you care about (not just a sample drawn from a larger group). It is calculated by averaging the squared differences between each value and the mean, dividing by N rather than N-1.
How this calculator works
Enter your data values (leave the extra slots at zero or clear them if you have fewer than eight values). The calculator finds the mean, squares the difference between each value and the mean, sums those squared differences, and divides by the total count N to get the population variance. Taking the square root gives the population standard deviation, in the same units as your original data.
If your data is only a sample meant to estimate a larger population, use a sample variance calculator instead, which divides by N-1 to correct for that. Provided for general educational purposes.