11/24/23, 5:26 PM How to Make Box Plot (Box and Whisker Chart) in Excel?

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Home » How to Make Box Plot (Box and Whisker Chart) in Excel?

How to Make Box Plot (Box and Whisker

Chart) in Excel?
by Steve Scott

Box plots (also called box and whisker charts) provide a great way
to visually summarize a dataset, and gain insights into the
distribution of the data.

In this tutorial, we will discuss what a box plot is, how to make a
box plot in Microsoft Excel (new and old versions), and how to
interpret the results.

Table of Contents

What is a Box Plot (Box and Whisker Chart)?

A box plot is used in statistical analysis to visualize the

distribution in a set of data.

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An example of a Box Plot chart created in Excel

The box plot divides numerical data into ‘quartiles’ or four parts.

The main ‘box’ of the box plot is drawn between the first and third
quartiles, with an additional line drawn to represent the second
quartile, or the ‘median’.

The width of the box basically marks the most concentrated area
of the data distribution.

A box plot can also contain ‘whiskers’ which are simply lines that
depict the minimum and maximum values that are outside the
first and third quartiles.

Why Use a Box Plot?

A box plot is a great way to visually summarize your data using 5

descriptive indicators.

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They can be quite helpful when you want to see how the data is
distributed and the range to which the data extends.

In this way, box plots also help us find outliers and can tell if the
data is symmetric or skewed.

Box plots are especially helpful when you want to compare

different sample distributions, and since it provides a 5-point
summary of the entire dataset, it is really useful when the
datasets you are studying are very large.

How to Interpret a Box Plot

Before we see how to create a box plot (also called a box and
whisker chart), let us first learn to understand and interpret a box
plot.

The image below shows employee salaries of a given company:

This data can be represented with a box and whisker plot as

shown below:

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Let us interpret this chart by looking at its 5 indicators:

The tip of the top whisker (line) marks the maximum value
in the data. From the above chart we can see that the
highest salary paid by the company is $40,000.
The length of the top whisker represents how far the highest
value is from the median of the dataset. This value can help
us identify if the dataset is skewed or if there are any
potential outliers.
The top edge of the box marks the third quartile of the data.
The bottom edge of the box marks the first quartile of the
data.
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The line that runs across the middle of the box is the
second quartile or the median value of the data.
The vertical width of the box represents the spread in the
data. In other words, it tells us if there is a large amount of
variation in employee salaries or if they are more or
concentrated around the median. In the above chart, we can
see that the range of salaries is 40,000-10,000 = $30,000.
The length of the bottom whisker represents how far the
lowest value is from the median of the dataset. This also
helps us see if the dataset is skewed.
The tip of the bottom whisker marks the minimum value in
the data (or the lowest salary paid by the company). From
the above chart we can see that the highest salary paid by
the company is $10,000.

Also read: How to Make Bubble Chart in Excel

How to Create a Box Plot Chart in Excel

Now that we understand box plots a little better, let us see how to
create them in Excel.

Up until Excel 2016, there was no separate feature in Excel to

create box plots.

As such, in older versions, if you need to create a box plot, you

need to improvise a stacked chart and convert it into a box plot.

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The box plot was included as a separate charting option only from
Excel 2016 onwards.

So, in this tutorial, we will show you how to create a box plot in
both older as well as newer Excel versions.

We are going to create the box plot based on the dataset shown
below:

The above screenshot displays employee salaries for two different

companies – Company A and Company B.

Let us see how to create a box plot from the above data in both
older and newer Excel versions.

Creating a Box Plot in Newer Excel Versions

(2016, 2019, & Office 365)
If you’re using newer versions of Excel-like Excel 2016 or Excel in
Office 365, creating a box plot is much simpler.

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This is because these versions already have a template to create a

box plot.

So you can generate a chart directly from your original dataset and
you don’t need to compute quartiles or differences between the
quartiles, etc.

For example, on Office 365, all you need to do is:

1. Select the range of cells containing your data. In our case,

we can directly select the cells in the range A1:A10.
2. From the Insert tab, click on the icon for Insert Statistic
Chart as shown in the image below:

3. This displays a dropdown menu, from where you can select

the ‘Box and Whisker’ chart.

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4. You should now get a Box Plot of your data.

5. By default, the box plot performs quartile calculation with

exclusive median. To convert it into inclusive median, select
the Series Options icon from your Format Data Series
sidebar and check the radio button next to ‘Inclusive
median’ under the ‘Quartile Calculation’ category:

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As you can see, in just a few clicks, you get a box plot ready. You
can now go ahead and change the Chart title.

Note: The crosses that you can see in each box indicate the mean
of the dataset.

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Creating a Box Plot in Older Excel Versions

(2013, 2010, 2007)
Older Excel versions do not have chart templates to create a box
plot, but you can create one from a stacked bar chart.

To create a box plot in Excel versions 2013 and older, you need to
follow the steps shown below:

1. Compute 5 summary descriptors from the data

2. Compute the Quartile differences
3. Create a stacked column chart from the above computed
values
4. Convert the stacked column chart into a box plot.

Let us see how to perform each of these steps in more detail.

Step 1: Compute the 5 Summary Descriptors from the

Data

First, we need to compute the 5 summary descriptors.

For this, create a second table based on the main data, using the
formulas shown below (Make sure they are in the same order as
shown below too):

Descriptor Formula

Minimum Value =MIN(range)

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First Quartile =QUARTILE.INC(range,1)

Median =QUARTILE.INC(range,2)

Third Quartile =QUARTILE.INC(range,3)

Maximum Value =MAX(range)

Here are the formulas that we used for our sample dataset:

Step 2: Compute the Quartile Differences

The next step is to find the differences between each of the

above-computed values. These will help us specify the heights for
every column segment of our stacked column chart.

Create a third table. In this table, specify the following values:

In the first row: The minimum values of your data. In our

example, the formulas used are =E3 and =G3.

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In the second row: The difference between the first quartile

and minimum value. In our example, the formulas are =E4-
E3 and =G4-G3.
In the third row: The difference between the second and
first quartiles. In our example, the formulas are =E5-E4 and
=G5-G4.
In the fourth row: The difference between the third and
second quartiles. In our example, the formulas are =E6-E5
and =G6-G5.
In the fifth row: The difference between the maximum value
and the third quartile. In our example, the formulas are =E7-
E6 and =G7-G6.

Here’s a screenshot of the third table, after applying to our sample

dataset:

Step 3: Create a Stacked Column Chart from the

Computed Values

Now that we have computed all the required differences, we can

use these to specify the heights of each column segment for the

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column chart.

We will later modify this column chart and convert it into a box
plot.

1. Select the range of cells containing the third table (in our
case, cell range J2:K7).

2. From the Insert tab, select the Insert Column Chart button
(under the Charts group).

3. Select the Stacked Column (under the 2-D Column category)

from the dropdown that appears.

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4. This creates a stacked column chart based on our selected

range of cells. However, notice that this does not yet look
like a box plot. This is because the chart was created by
selecting data horizontally from your selection, rather than
vertically.

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5. To reverse this, right click on the chart and click on ‘Select

Data’ from the context menu that appears.

6. Click on the Switch Row/Column button from the dialog box

and click OK.

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Your stacked column chart should now more or less resemble a

box chart, with 5 segments for each column:

You can now go ahead and change the chart title and get rid of the
legend if you need to.

Step 4: Convert the Stacked Column Chart into a Box

Plot
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We are not done yet. We still need to convert this chart into a
proper box plot.

For this, follow the steps shown below:

Remove the bottom segment from all the stacked columns

1. Select the lowest segment of any of one of the stacked

columns. You will notice that clicking on a segment of a
single column automatically selects that segment in all the
columns.

2. Next, select the Format tab from the Chart Tools tab and
click on Format Selection from the Current Selection group.

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3. This opens the Format Data Series sidebar to the right of

your Excel window. Under Series options, click on the icon
for Fill and line.

4. Under the Fill category, check the radio button next to No

Fill.

5. The lowest segment of all your stacked columns should now

disappear.

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Convert the top and second to bottom segments into whiskers for
the box plot

1. Select the second to bottom segment of the stacked

columns.

2. Select the Design tab from the Chart Tools tab and click on
Add Chart Element from the Chart Layouts group.

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3. From the dropdown menu that appears, select Error Bars-

>Standard Deviation.

4. This will add error bars to all the stacked columns as shown
below.

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5. Select the error bar on any one stacked column. It will

automatically select the error bars on all the stacked
columns. From the Format Error Bars sidebar, click on the
icon for Error Bar Options.

6. Under the Direction category, check the radio button next to

‘Minus’. Under the End Style category, check the radio
button next to ‘No Cap’ and under the Error Amount
category, select the radio button next to Percentage. Change
the percentage to 100% in the input box next to it.

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7. Finally remove the second to bottom segment, so that only

the lower whisker is visible. For this again select the
segment, and click on No Fill from the Format Data Series.

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8. Repeat the same steps (a. to h.) on the topmost segment of

the stacked column chart, to convert it into the top whisker
of the box plot.

9. So far, this is how your chart should be looking:

Change the fill and outline for the middle 2 sections:

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1. Select the second from top section of the stacked column

chart (the yellow segment in our sample chart).

2. From the Format Data Series sidebar, select the icon for Fill
and Line under Series Options and check the radio button
next to Solid Fill.
3. Select an appropriate Fill color and Transparency. For our
sample chart, we used the default ‘Blue, Accent 1’ color and
a transparency of 60%.

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4. Under the Border category, check the radio button next to

Solid line and select an appropriate color and transparency
for the box border. We left it at the default settings.

5. Repeat the steps a. To d. for the grey segment of your

stacked chart too.

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Your end result should like an actual box plot, as shown in the
screenshot below:

Also read: How to Find Interquartile Range in Excel

Limitations of the Box Plot

There are a few points to note about box plots:

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The box plot is good at representing bell shaped or Gaussian

distributions, but can hide certain important insights in case
of bimodal or other non-Gaussian distributions.
Box plots are not very intuitive at first glance. So, people
who are not really familiar with concepts like quartiles, etc.
might not be able to understand or interpret a box plot
correctly.

These limitations aside, if your data is more or less symmetrically

distributed around the median, then the box plot can help you
understand the distribution at a glance, even if you have a really
large dataset.

Moreover, the box plot can be quite helpful in understanding the

distribution and range of data. As such, the merits of the box plot
far outnumber the demerits.

In this tutorial, we showed you how to create a box plot using both
older and newer versions of Excel. We hope it was helpful for you.

Other articles you may also like:

How to Add Gridlines in a Chart in Excel?

How to Insert Chart Title in Excel?
How to Create Bar of Pie Chart in Excel?
How to Create Org Chart in Excel?
How to Create a Waterfall Chart in Excel?
How to Create Win/Loss Sparklines Chart in Excel?

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Steve Scott
I am a huge fan of Microsoft Excel and love sharing my knowledge
through articles and tutorials. I work as a business analyst and use
Microsoft Excel extensively in my daily tasks. My aim is to help you
unleash the full potential of Excel and become a data-slaying wizard
yourself.

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