Excel PERCENTILE.EXC Function

The Excel PERCENTILE.EXC function calculates the "kth percentile" for a set of data. The k:th percentile is a value below which k percent of values in the data set fall. A percentile calculated with .4 as k means 40% percent of values are less than or equal to the calculated result, a percentile calculated with k = .9 means 90% percent of values are less than or equal to the calculated result.

To use PERCENTILE.EXC, provide a range of values and a number between 0 and 1 for the "k" argument, which represents percent. For example:

=PERCENTILE.EXC(range,.4) // 40th percentile
=PERCENTILE.EXC(range,.9) // 90th percentile

You can also specify k as a percent using the % character:

=PERCENTILE.EXC(range,80%) // 80th percentile

In the example shown, the formula in G5 is:

=PERCENTILE.EXC(scores,E5)

where "scores" is the named range C5:C14.

PERCENTILE.INC vs. PERCENTILE.EXC

The reason the PERCENTILE.EXC function is exclusive is because the function excludes percentages from 0 to 1/(N+1) as well as N/(N+1) to 1, where N is the size of the input array. On the other hand, PERCENTILE.INC includes the full range from 0 to 1 as valid k values.

Effectively, PERCENTILE.EXC will always choose a value farther away from the mean of the data set, compared to PERCENTILE.INC. Note that both functions map to the full range of data.

Error Values

PERCENTILE.EXC will return the #NUM error if k is less than 1/(n+1) or greater than n/(n+1). In the example shown, where the array contains 10 values, the minimum value for k is 0.091 and the maximum is 0.909.

Note: Microsoft classifies PERCENTILE as a "compatibility function", now replaced by the PERCENTILE.INC function.

Notes

1. k can be provided as a decimal (.5) or a percentage (50%)
2. k must be between 0 and 1, or PERCENTILE.EXC will return the #NUM! error.
3. PERCENTILE.EXC will return the #NUM error if k is less than 1/(n+1) or greater than n/(n+1).
4. PERCENTILE.EXC will interpolate when k is not a multiple of 1/(n+1).