Coefficient of Variation Calculator Formula

Understand the math behind the coefficient of variation calculator. Each variable explained with a worked example.

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Formulas Used

Coefficient of Variation

cv = (std_dev / abs(mean_val)) * 100

CV as Decimal

ratio = std_dev / abs(mean_val)

Variables

VariableDescriptionDefault
std_devStandard Deviation5
mean_valMean50

How It Works

How to Calculate the Coefficient of Variation

Formula

CV = (Standard Deviation / |Mean|) * 100%

The CV is a dimensionless measure of relative variability. It allows comparison of spread across datasets with different units or vastly different means. A CV of 10% means the standard deviation is 10% of the mean.

Worked Example

A dataset has a mean of 50 and standard deviation of 5. Find the CV.

std_dev = 5mean_val = 50
  1. 01CV = (5 / |50|) * 100%
  2. 02CV = 0.10 * 100%
  3. 03CV = 10%

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