Calculate Percentage Increase in Excel: Formula + Examples

Q: What is the Excel formula for percentage increase?

=(New-Old)/Old. Format the cell as Percentage (Ctrl+Shift+%) to see the % symbol.

Q: How do I calculate year-over-year growth in Excel?

Use =(This Year - Last Year) / Last Year. Works for any time period.

Calculating percentage increase in Excel is one of the most common tasks in finance, sales reporting, and data analysis. The formula is simple once you understand it.

The Basic Percentage Increase Formula

The formula to calculate percentage increase between an old value and a new value is:

=(New Value - Old Value) / Old Value

Format the result cell as a Percentage (Ctrl+Shift+%) to display it correctly.

Step-by-Step Example

Say last month's sales (B2) were $10,000 and this month's (C2) are $12,500:

=(C2-B2)/B2   → 25%

Calculate Percentage Increase for an Entire Column

If your old values are in column B and new values in column C, enter this in D2 and drag down:

=(C2-B2)/B2

Handle Negative Numbers (Avoid #DIV/0!)

If the old value might be zero, wrap it with IFERROR:

=IFERROR((C2-B2)/B2, "N/A")

Show Percentage Increase or Decrease with a Label

Use IF to add a label:

=IF((C2-B2)/B2>0,"▲ "&TEXT((C2-B2)/B2,"0.0%"),"▼ "&TEXT(ABS((C2-B2)/B2),"0.0%"))

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Excel formula for percentage increase?

=(New-Old)/Old. Format the cell as Percentage to see the % symbol.

How do I calculate year-over-year growth in Excel?

Same formula: =(This Year - Last Year) / Last Year. Works for any time period.

Why does my percentage show as a decimal?

Select the cell and press Ctrl+Shift+% to apply Percentage formatting.

Need more formula help? Try our IF Formula Generator or explore our formula guides for more tips.