# COVAR

## Content

This function returns the covariance, which is the average of the products of deviations for each data point pair in two sets of numbers.

## Syntax

`COVAR( array1, array2 )`

## Arguments

The two arrays of data in the arguments of this function should meet these criteria:

* The data should contain numbers, names, arrays, or references that are numeric. If some cells do not contain numeric data, they are ignored.
* The data sets should be the same size, with the same number of data points.
* The data sets should not be empty, nor should the standard deviation of their values equal zero.

## Remarks

Use this covariance function to determine the relationship between two sets of data. For example, you can examine whether greater income accompanies greater levels of education in a population.

The covariance is calculated as follows, where *n* is the size of the arrays and mu is the mean.

![](https://gcdocumentsitekrblob.blob.core.windows.net/document-site-files/images/8d606653-16a0-474d-b9dc-e2b4d01c2446/images/Func-COVAR.png)

## Data Types

Accepts arrays of numeric data for both arguments. Returns numeric data.

## Examples

`COVAR(J2:J5,L2:L5)`

`COVAR(R2C12:R15C12,R2C14:R15C14)`

`COVAR({7,5,6},{7,4,4})` gives the result 1

`COVAR({5,10,15,20,25},{4,8,16,32,64})` gives the result 144