Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. 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: Rounding To the Nearest Even Integer.

Rounding To the Nearest Even Integer

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated October 11, 2024)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021


Chuck asked if there was a way in Excel to force rounding to the nearest even integer. He expressed this desire based on some statistical analysis that he was doing.

There are several ways that you can round to the nearest even integer, but the answer you select depends on how you define "nearest." For instance, if the number you want to round is 13, is the nearest even integer 12 or 14? Does the answer change if dealing with negative numbers, as in -13?

If you believe that the next even integer is always away from zero, then you can use the EVEN function, which always rounds to the next even integer away from zero. Thus, -13 is rounded to -14, and 13 is rounded to 14. This may work great when rounding integers, but it doesn't work that great if you are rounding non-whole values. For instance, EVEN rounds 12 to 12, but rounds 12.1 to 14, even though 12.1 is clearly closer to 12 than to 14.

If the numbers you are rounding are non-whole numbers, you'll need a formula. The following formula will work for this purpose:

=ROUND(A2/2,0)*2

Assuming your non-rounded value is in cell A2, this formula divides the value by 2 and then rounds that value to an integer, and then multiplies the result by 2. What this means is that all values, 11.1 through 12.999, are rounded to 12. (This works for negative values, as well.)

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (10845) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Rounding To the Nearest Even Integer.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Fitting Your Printout on a Page

Tired of wasting paper when you print a worksheet? You can scale Excel's output so that it fits only the number of pages ...

Discover More

Rounding Numbers

The primary method of rounding values is to use the ROUND function in your formulas. Here's an introduction to this ...

Discover More

Changing Multiple Cells at Once

Excel includes several different methods of editing information in your cells. If you want to edit multiple cells all at ...

Discover More

Solve Real Business Problems Master business modeling and analysis techniques with Excel and transform data into bottom-line results. This hands-on, scenario-focused guide shows you how to use the latest Excel tools to integrate data from multiple tables. Check out Microsoft Excel Data Analysis and Business Modeling today!

More ExcelTips (ribbon)

Rounding Time

Need to round the time in a cell to a certain value? There are a couple of ways you can do this with a formula.

Discover More

Rounding by Powers of 10

Need to round a value by a power of 10? You can do it by using the ROUND function as described in this tip.

Discover More

Rounding Up to the Next Half

When processing data it is not unusual to need to round that data in some way. For instance, you may need to round a ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is two minus 0?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


This Site

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.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.