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EXCEL DATA ANALYSIS

RANK A VALUE WITHIN A DATA LIST

f you want your data analysis to rank the values within a The optional order argument specifies the sorting order
data list, you can accomplish this using the RANK used to rank the number specified by the number
I worksheet function. For example, you can determine argument. The value of the order argument can be any
how a sales person's total sales ranks in comparison to number. Although the order argument specifies a sort
other sales people. order, the list is not actually sorted. If the value of order is
0, or omitted, Excel ranks the number as if the list were
The RANK function has three arguments, of which the first sorted in descending order. This means that Excel specifies
two arguments are required. The order argument is optional. how the number compares to the largest numbers in the
list. For example, if your list contains the numbers 35, 56, 97,
=RANK(number, ref, [order]) 23, 15, 25, 31, and you want to rank the number 35 in
descending order, the RANK function returns the value 3. If
The number argument specifies the number you want to the order argument is another number, Excel ranks the
rank. Keep in mind that if the list contains duplicate number as if the list were in ascending order.
numbers, those numbers are assigned the same rank. For
example, if you have the list 4, 6, 5, 6, 8, 9, the number 6 has Excel also has a Rank and Percentile Add-in. For more on
a rank of 3, but the number 8 has a rank of 2 because 6 using this feature, see Chapter 11.
appears in the list twice. The ref argument specifies the list
of numbers that you want to use for the ranking. Excel
ignores any non-numeric values in the list.

RANK A VALUE WITHIN A DATA LIST

RANK

⁄ Open a worksheet that ¤ Select the formula cell. ■ The Insert Function dialog Note: See the section "Add a
contains the numbers you box displays. Function via the Insert Function
want to rank. ‹ Click Insert ➪ Function. Dialog Box" for more information.
› Select the RANK function.
ˇ Click OK.
■ The Function Arguments
dialog box displays.
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