How to Calculate Variance in Excel To calculate variance in Excel, you will need to have your data set already entered into the software. Once you have your data, you can choose your formula based ...

Excel's STDEV formula can automatically calculate the standard deviation of any set of numbers, so you don't have to go through the math yourself.

The following article will show you, step-by-step, how to calculate the historical variance of stock returns with a detailed example.