How to Calculate a Rolling Average in Excel | Excelchat (2024)

While analyzing data in Excel, you might need to calculate averages of different subsets of a specified data range to get the variations or fluctuations in the data. If you want to forecast the trend in data, this is referred to as amoving average,rolling average,running average,or moving mean.

Finding the Rolling Average in Excel

This technique is used to analyze the trend in data for a certain interval of time or period. It is frequently used to get the trends in sales data, economic data, statistical data, weather temperatures, and stock prices to show the average value of data set over a given period of time. For example, you need to calculate the moving average of sales data for the last 3 months to get the trend in sales data.

In this article, you will learn how to calculate moving average or rolling average in Excel. In Excel, there are various methods to calculate moving average or rolling average which will be discussed here.

Suppose you have business sales data of 12 months and you want to see the trend in sales by calculating a moving average or rolling average over a period ofthe last 3 months. You can calculate the moving average by using the following methods in Excel.

Using theAVERAGE function in Excel

Using theAverage function, you can easily calculate a series of averages or a moving average of the required interval of time/period of a given data range of 12 months sales. As you need to get the series moving averages of the last 3 months, therefore you need to enter the cell references of first three cells in the AVERAGE function in the third adjacent cell of monthly sales data, like in cell C4, and drag or copy it down, as shown below.

=AVERAGE(B2:B4)

How to Calculate a Rolling Average in Excel | Excelchat (1)

How to Calculate a Rolling Average in Excel | Excelchat (2)

In column C, you get a series of averages for a period of last 3 months, and that is referred to as moving the average or rolling average of last 3 months sales data.

Using Analysis ToolPak Add-in for Moving Average in Excel

In Excel, Analysis ToolPak add-in has a built-in option to calculate moving average for the range of data. For this purpose, you need to first install this add-in from available add-ins in Excel Options dialog box.

After installing Analysis ToolPak add-in, you need to go back to the main Excel interface, click on the Data tab and click on Data Analysis button in Analysis section.

How to Calculate a Rolling Average in Excel | Excelchat (3)

A Data Analysis dialog box appears, click on Moving Average option from Analysis Tools and click on OK.

How to Calculate a Rolling Average in Excel | Excelchat (4)

How to Calculate a Rolling Average in Excel | Excelchat (5)

Now, Moving Analysis dialog box appears to make calculations. You need to do followings in this dialog box;

  • First, put a cursor in theInput Range section and select the range of sales data B2:B13.
  • Second, go to Interval section and insert 3 as an interval period.
  • Third, insert the data range to show the result of the moving average in theOutput Range section as C2:C13.
  • Fourth, you can select Chart Output checkbox optionally to generate chart as well showing a trend of sales.
  • Finally, press OK button to calculate the moving average of sales data for the last 3 months.

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You will get a series of moving averages in output cells range, and a Moving Average chart will also be created, showing actual and forecast trend based on thelast 3 months sales figures.

Adding Moving Average Trendline in an Excel Chart

You can show Moving Average Trendline in an existing chart in Excel by supplying interval as 3 months in our example here. First, you need to insert a Column Chart for 12 months sales figures in Excel, and then you need to add Moving Average Trendline in that chart.

First, insert a column Chart for the selected range of data below.

How to Calculate a Rolling Average in Excel | Excelchat (7)

Click anywhere in chart area, in Chart Tools, go to Layout tab, click on the drop-down button of Trendline button in Analysis section and then click on More Trendline Options.

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A Format Trendline dialog box appears. In Trendline Options, select Moving Average and enter 3 as period and click theClose button.

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A Moving Average Trendline is added in thecreated chart showing the monthly sales performance in Excel. This approach is good where you do not need to calculate and show moving average figures, but you only need to show the trend of a sales forecast based on the moving average over a certain period.

Still need some help with Excel formatting or have other questions about Excel? Connect with a liveExcel experthere for some 1 on 1 help. Your first session is always free.

Are you still looking for help with the VLOOKUP function? View our comprehensive round-up of VLOOKUP function tutorials here.

How to Calculate a Rolling Average in Excel | Excelchat (2024)

FAQs

How do you calculate rolling average in Excel? ›

How to calculate moving average in Excel
  1. Create a time series in Excel. A time series is a data point series arranged according to a time order. ...
  2. Select "Data Analysis" ...
  3. Choose "Moving Average" ...
  4. Select your interval, input and output ranges. ...
  5. Create a graph using the values.
8 Apr 2022

How do you calculate a rolling average? ›

A rolling average continuously updates the average of a data set to include all the data in the set until that point. For example, the rolling average of return quantities at March 2012 would be calculated by adding the return quantities in January, February, and March, and then dividing that sum by three.

How do you do a 3 day rolling average in Excel? ›

Click anywhere in chart area, in Chart Tools, go to Layout tab, click on the drop-down button of Trendline button in Analysis section and then click on More Trendline Options. A Format Trendline dialog box appears. In Trendline Options, select Moving Average and enter 3 as period and click the Close button.

How do you write a 12 month rolling average? ›

The 12-month rolling sum is the total amount from the past 12 months. As the 12-month period “rolls” forward each month, the amount from the latest month is added and the one-year-old amount is subtracted. The result is a 12-month sum that has rolled forward to the new month.

How do you calculate a 10 day rolling average? ›

To calculate it, simply add up the closing prices for the last ten sessions and divide the sum by the number of days that is 10.

How do I create a rolling 12 month in Excel? ›

Automatic Rolling Months in Excel
  1. Step 1: Enter the first date of the series in a cell. ...
  2. Step 2: Select all of the cells where you want the series to be inserted. ...
  3. Step 3: Then, in the Editing Section of the Excel Toolbar, select Home>Fill. ...
  4. Step 4: Select Series from the available options:
  5. Step 6: Finally, click on OK.
16 Oct 2022

How do I calculate rolling 6 months in Excel? ›

Rolling 6 months average

Click on an empty cell (1), and type =AVERAGE($C$3:$C$3) (2), then press enter. Click on cell D4 (1), then write =AVERAGE($C$3:$C$4), and press enter. Note: Follow this step on the rest using $C$3:$C$5 (April), $C$3:$C$6 (May), $C$3:$C$7 (June), and $C$3:$C$8 (July).

How do you calculate a 5 day moving average? ›

A simple moving average is formed by computing the average price of a security over a specific number of periods. Most moving averages are based on closing prices; for example, a 5-day simple moving average is the five-day sum of closing prices divided by five.

What is a rolling 30 day average? ›

30-day rolling average means the arithmetic average of all valid hourly NOx emission rates of the previous 720 valid hours on a rolling basis. 30-day rolling average means the average daily emission rate or concentration during the preceding 30 days.

What is a rolling 90 day average? ›

A 90-day rolling average (sometimes called a moving average) is simply the average taken over the last 90-days. A good explanation of how rolling averages are useful in web analytics can be found in this article: The Math Behind Web Analytics.

What is the fastest way to calculate average in Excel? ›

Use AutoSum to quickly find the average
  1. Click a cell below the column or to the right of the row of the numbers for which you want to find the average.
  2. On the HOME tab, click the arrow next to AutoSum > Average, and then press Enter.

What is a rolling 3 month average? ›

Three-Month Rolling Average Delinquency Ratio means for any Payment Date, the sum of the Delinquency Ratios for such Payment Date and each of the two immediately preceding Payment Dates divided by three.

What is a 3 day rolling average? ›

To do so, we calculate the average of the stock prices from three consecutive days—the day in question and the two previous days—then repeat the same for each day in the data set. This is a three-day moving average, because we average over a period of three days.

What is a 52 week rolling average? ›

The average is called a rolling average because after the shipper reaches the specified period, i.e. 52 weeks, the charges from the oldest week drop off and the charges from the newest week are added. As an example, the invoice received on the 53rd week of an agreement would use the totals of weeks 1-52 divided by 52.

How do you calculate moving average in 6 months? ›

To calculate a simple moving average, the number of prices within a time period is divided by the number of total periods.

How do you use 50 day and 200 day moving averages? ›

The 50-day moving average is calculated by summing up the past 50 data points and then dividing the result by 50, while the 200-day moving average is calculated by summing the past 200 days and dividing the result by 200.

What is the rolling 4 hour average? ›

The Rolling Four-Hour Average (R4HA) is a calculated value based on system utilization in Millions of Service Units (MSU). (R4HA is also commonly referred to as 4HRA or 4-Hour Rolling Average. They both refer to the same thing, but for the purposes of this blog I will use R4HA.) Each IBM machine has an MSU rating.

What is a 7 day rolling period? ›

For a 7-day moving average, it takes the last 7 days, adds them up, and divides it by 7. For a 14-day average, it will take the past 14 days.

How do you calculate a rolling 3 year return? ›

The rolling returns formula is quite simple; add the returns from each calendar year during the desired period (3 years, 5 years, etc) and divide the sum by the number of years. For example, if the ABC Fund had returned 6% from March 1, 2021 to February 28, 2022, the fund had a one-year rolling return of 6%.

How do you calculate 21-day moving average? ›

For example, to calculate a 21-day moving average, the closing prices of the last 21 days are added up and the total is divided by 21. We perform the same calculation with each new trading day forward. Each time, only the prices of the last 21 days are used in the calculation. This is why it is called a moving average.

How do you calculate 25 day moving average? ›

A simple, or arithmetic, moving average is calculated by adding the closing price of the security for a number of time periods (e.g., 12 days) and then dividing this total by the number of time periods. The result is the average price of the security over the time period.

What is the best setting for moving average? ›

5-, 8- and 13-bar simple moving averages offer perfect inputs for day traders seeking an edge in trading the market from both the long and short sides. The moving averages also work well as filters, telling fast-fingered market players when risk is too high for intraday entries.

How to calculate average? ›

Average This is the arithmetic mean, and is calculated by adding a group of numbers and then dividing by the count of those numbers. For example, the average of 2, 3, 3, 5, 7, and 10 is 30 divided by 6, which is 5.

How do you calculate a 3 month moving average? ›

The average needs to be calculated for each three-month period. To do this you move your average calculation down one month, so the next calculation will involve February, March and April. The total for these three months would be (145+186+131) = 462 and the average would be (462 ÷ 3) = 154.

What is a rolling 5 day period? ›

The rolling 5 day trading period is based on when the market is open (typically Monday through Friday, 9:30AM–4PM EST, excluding holidays). It's important to note that this rolling 5 day period is based on market days only; the weekend and holidays are not included in the rolling 5 day period.

What is a rolling 10 year period? ›

A rolling period includes two or more continuous years and all such periods over the time frame selected. As an example, over any given 10 years, there are eight 3-year rolling periods (1986–1988, 1987–1989, 1988–1990, 1989–1991, etc.). The advantage of using rolling periods is bad returns cannot be hidden as easily.

What are the 3 ways to calculate average? ›

There are three main types of average: mean, median and mode. Each of these techniques works slightly differently and often results in slightly different typical values. The mean is the most commonly used average. To get the mean value, you add up all the values and divide this total by the number of values.

Which is the best method of calculating average value? ›

The most widely used method of calculating an average is the 'mean'. When the term 'average' is used in a mathematical sense, it usually refers to the mean, especially when no other information is given. Add the numbers together and divide by the number of numbers. (The sum of values divided by the number of values).

Which is the simplest way to find the average? ›

How to Find the Mean. The mean is the average of the numbers. It is easy to calculate: add up all the numbers, then divide by how many numbers there are. In other words it is the sum divided by the count.

How do I average a group of times in Excel? ›

To get the average time we should follow the steps: In the cell E2 insert function =AVERAGE(B3:B6)
...
Calculate Average Time with AVERAGE Function
  1. Right-click in the cell where we want to insert AVERAGE time formula.
  2. Select Format Cells and in Number tab choose Time format.
  3. Click OK and Time format will be set.

How do you find the average of multiple groups? ›

Add the means of each group—each weighted by the number of individuals or data points, Divide the sum from Step 1 by the sum total of all individuals (or data points).

How do I average every 10 rows in Excel? ›

1 Answer
  1. in B1 it would be =AVERAGE(A1:A10)
  2. in B2 it would be =AVERAGE(A11:A20)
  3. in B3 it would be =AVERAGE(A21:A30)
5 Apr 2014

How do you calculate 30 day moving average in Excel? ›

Determining the moving average of a data set with Excel
  1. First, click Microsoft Excel's Data tab. ...
  2. Under the Analysis section, click on Data Analysis. ...
  3. From the above list, select Moving Average and click Ok. ...
  4. Enter the data range on the Input Range field.
19 Apr 2022

How do I make a 12 month rolling in Excel? ›

Automatic Rolling Months in Excel
  1. Step 1: Enter the first date of the series in a cell. ...
  2. Step 2: Select all of the cells where you want the series to be inserted. ...
  3. Step 3: Then, in the Editing Section of the Excel Toolbar, select Home>Fill. ...
  4. Step 4: Select Series from the available options:
  5. Step 6: Finally, click on OK.
16 Oct 2022

How do you calculate moving average forecast in Excel? ›

Excel offers an in-built tool to calculate moving averages in Excel.
  1. Go to Data Tab > Analysis > Data Analysis. ...
  2. The Data Analysis dialog box opens up.
  3. Select Moving averages.
  4. In the moving averages dialog box: ...
  5. Click Okay, and there you have the moving averages calculated.
14 Nov 2022

How do you calculate a 2 month rolling average? ›

How do you calculate a rolling average?
  1. Determine your time period. ...
  2. Collect the data. ...
  3. Add your earliest totals. ...
  4. Divide the total by your time period. ...
  5. Calculate the average for your next rolling period. ...
  6. Continue the formula for each rolling period. ...
  7. Complete the formula regularly.
4 Aug 2021

How do I calculate a rolling 6 month in Excel? ›

Rolling 6 months average

Click on an empty cell (1), and type =AVERAGE($C$3:$C$3) (2), then press enter. Click on cell D4 (1), then write =AVERAGE($C$3:$C$4), and press enter. Note: Follow this step on the rest using $C$3:$C$5 (April), $C$3:$C$6 (May), $C$3:$C$7 (June), and $C$3:$C$8 (July).

What is the easiest way to calculate moving average? ›

A simple moving average (SMA) is an arithmetic moving average calculated by adding recent prices and then dividing that figure by the number of time periods in the calculation average.

How do you calculate 21 day moving average? ›

For example, to calculate a 21-day moving average, the closing prices of the last 21 days are added up and the total is divided by 21. We perform the same calculation with each new trading day forward. Each time, only the prices of the last 21 days are used in the calculation. This is why it is called a moving average.

How do you calculate moving average examples? ›

Simple moving average: –

For example, we have the data of the last 30 days of the closing price, and we need to determine the price for the next day then we can take the sum of the 30 days value of the closing price and divide it by 30 to get the prediction of the next day.

How do you calculate a 90 day rolling average? ›

While the weekly visits bounce up and down, the 90-day rolling average is smoother – providing a better idea of the long term trend in traffic. A 90-day rolling average (sometimes called a moving average) is simply the average taken over the last 90-days.

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