When you’re working with data on your sheet, you might often come across numbers. It can be useful to convert them to percentages as it’s easier to visualize. Fortunately, converting numbers to percentages is easy in Google Sheets.
3 methods to calculate percentages in Google Sheets
- Using the Format as percent icon
- Using the Percent option from Format
- Using the percentage formula
Method 1: Using the Format as percent icon
This is one of the easiest methods. The icon converts any number into a percentage with just one click. You can use this method if your data is in decimals or fractions.
Step 1: Highlight the cell with the data you want to convert.
Select the cell with the data you want to convert into a percentage. For instance, highlight the first four rows here.
Step 2: Click the Format as percent icon.
In the toolbar, you can find a percent symbol (%). It’s called the Format as percent button. Tap on it to convert your data into percentages.
Step 3: Finalize your formatted data.
You can now see your data formatted to percentages.
You can change the number of decimal places using the two options next to the Format as percent icon. The first one with the left-pointing arrow decreases the decimal places. The second one with the right-pointing arrow increases the decimal places.
For instance, increasing the decimal places by one will give the result as below.
Method 2: Using the Percent option from Format
This is similar to the first method. You can also use Format from the main menu bar to convert your data into percentages.
Step 1: Highlight the data you’d like to convert.
Just like the first step in the first method, select the data you want to convert. For instance, select the first five rows to convert, as below.
Step 2: Select Percent from the Format drop-down.
In the main menu bar, click the Format option. This will open a drop-down. Hover over Number from the list, which will open another drop-down. Select Percent from that list.
Step 3: Finalize your results.
You can now see your data formatted to percentages with the default two decimal places.
Method 3: Using the percentage formula
You can also use the percentage formula to calculate the percentage. For instance, here is a list of students with their marks out of 500. The marks need to be converted into percentages.
Step 1: Select a cell to enter the formula.
You need to select a cell to enter the percent formula. Usually, this would be the first cell with the data. Here, the cell is C2. You can see the selected cell in the Name box.
Step 2: Enter the formula.
This is nothing but the usual percent formula. Here, it would be the marks obtained by the student divided by the total marks multiplied by 100. The marks obtained vary with each cell. So, we use the cell name. Since 500 is a constant, we can use the number directly.
The formula would be =(B2/500)*100
Step 3: Press Enter.
After adding the formula, press Enter. Now, you can see your data converted to percentages.
Step 4: Apply the formula to the rest of the cells.
Once you press Enter, you might see a prompt from Google Sheets to autofill. Click the tick or press Ctrl + Enter to apply the formula to all the cells.
If you don’t see this prompt, you can drag the fill handle up to the cell you want the formula to reflect.
This would apply the formula to the rest of the cells.
Wrapping up
You now have three easy methods at hand to convert your number data into percentages.