How to Calculate R-Squared with RSQ

RSQ shows what share of the variation in one measure a straight line on another explains — the R² of a trendline.

You will learn to

• Calculate R² between a driver and an outcome
• Find the share of variation left unexplained
• Compare two predictors with R²

How it works

RSQ(known_ys, known_xs) returns R squared: the proportion of the variation in y that a straight-line fit on x explains. 0.90 means 90% of the ups and downs in y line up with x; the other 10% is due to something else. It is the same number as the R² Excel shows on a chart trendline, and equals CORREL squared.

Use RSQ to judge how useful a predictor is, and to compare predictors — including a human forecast against a simple driver. Remember the y range comes first.

=RSQ(C2:C11,B2:B11)