Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, and 2013. If you are using an earlier version (Excel 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Excel, click here: Counting Odds and Evens.
Pini has a range of whole numbers (let's say C2:J2) and some of the numbers can be odd and some even. He would like a formula to count the number of odd values in the range and another to count the number of even values in the range.
There are a couple of ways to derive the desired counts, without resorting to intermediate values or macros. One way is to use an array formula, such as the following, to determine a count of odd values:
=SUM((MOD(C2:J2,2)<>0)*1)
Enter the formula using Ctrl+Shift+Enter and you get the desired count. Only a small change is required for the array formula to return the count of even numbers:
=SUM((MOD(C2:J2,2)=0)*1)
If you prefer to not use an array formula, you could use SUMPRODUCT to return the same count, as a regular formula. For example, here is the formula to return a count of odd values:
=SUMPRODUCT(--(MOD(C2:J2,2)=1),--(C2:J2<>""))
This is the formula for even values:
=SUMPRODUCT(--(MOD(C2:J2,2)=0),--(C2:J2<>""))
Another advantage of using the SUMPRODUCT approach is that it compensates for possible blank cells in your range. The earlier array formulas will always count blank cells as if they contain an even value.
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (7987) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, and 2013. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Counting Odds and Evens.
Save Time and Supercharge Excel! Automate virtually any routine task and save yourself hours, days, maybe even weeks. Then, learn how to make Excel do things you thought were simply impossible! Mastering advanced Excel macros has never been easier. Check out Excel 2010 VBA and Macros today!
Do you need to determine the top three values in a range of columns? The techniques discussed in this tip will come in ...
Discover MoreExcel is very good at counting things, even when those things need to meet specific criteria. This tip shows how you can do a ...
Discover MoreIf you use serial numbers that include both letters and numbers, you might wonder how you can increment the numeric portion ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
2013-08-06 11:28:24
Bryan
GJCase, it's another way of coercing the true/false into a number. The first negative multiplies by -1 then the second multiplies by -1 again. Yet another reason why I don't like this kind of formula.
2013-08-05 14:12:37
GJCase
Does anyone know why it is necessary to use the double negative on the SUMPRODUCT formulae? I have noticed in the past that these do not work without this, but I've never seen an explanation why this is so.
2013-08-05 07:49:26
Bryan
I always get a little confused with mods and coercions, so I prefer the following two array formulas:
=SUM(IF(ODD(C2:J2)=C2:J2,1,0))
=SUM(IF(EVEN(C2:J2)=C2:J2,1,0))
The odd form will count blanks correctly, but the even form will count them as even numbers (0).
These formulas are a little simpler to understand, but for some reason there's an extra coercion... ISODD/ISEVEN won't work like you expect them to in an array formula:
=SUM(ISODD(C2:J2*1)*1)
=SUM(ISEVEN(C2:J2*1)*1)
(For those who don't know, multiplying a true/false by 1 lets you add them together as if they were numbers. True*1=1, False*1 = 0. This is called coercion, as you are coercing the true/false to be numbers.)
Got a version of Excel that uses the ribbon interface (Excel 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the menu interface.
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2017 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, and 2013. If you are using an earlier version (Excel 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Excel, click here: 
Comments