Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Excel 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Excel, click here: Counting with Subtotals.

Counting with Subtotals

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated April 2, 2022)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

Suppose that you have two adjacent columns of data. In the first column you have a list of names and in the second column a list of states. If you want to find out how many people live in each state, you can use the subtotaling features of Excel. To use this feature to answer your query, follow these steps:

  1. Make sure there are column heads on each column, such as "Name" and "State." (The subtotaling feature requires the presence of column heads.)
  2. Sort the columns by the values in the second (states) column.
  3. Make sure one of the cells is still selected in either of the columns.
  4. Choose Subtotals from the Data menu. Excel displays the Subtotal dialog box. (See Figure 1.)

    5. Figure 1. The Subtotal dialog box.

  5. Make sure the At Each Change In drop-down list is set to State. (Use the name of the second column.) This indicates where Excel will insert subtotals.
  6. The Use Function drop-down list should be set to Count.
  7. Using the list in the Add Subtotal To box, choose the columns to which subtotals should be added.
  8. Make sure the Summary Below Data check box is selected.
  9. Click on OK.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2750) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Excel (Excel 2007 and later) here: Counting with Subtotals.

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

Opening Documents in Print Layout View

If you have a Word 2003 document that always seems to open in reading layout mode, you may want to turn that "feature" ...

Discover More

Getting Rid of "Comment" in Comments

When you add a comment to a document, Word presents that comment in a very specific way. If you want to change the way in ...

Discover More

Odd Arrow Key Behavior

Press the up or down arrow keys, and you expect Excel to change which cell is selected. If this doesn't occur on your ...

Discover More

Professional Development Guidance! Four world-class developers offer start-to-finish guidance for building powerful, robust, and secure applications with Excel. The authors show how to consistently make the right design decisions and make the most of Excel's powerful features. Check out Professional Excel Development today!

More ExcelTips (menu)

Problems with Nested Subtotals

If you have a worksheet that has nested subtotals, you may have run across a problem where the subtotals and grand total ...

Discover More

Formatting Subtotal Rows

Excel automatically formats subtotals for you. But what if you want to change the default to something more suitable for ...

Discover More

Copying Subtotals

If you have added subtotals to your worksheet data, you might want to copy those subtotals somewhere else. This is easy ...

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.

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

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 2 + 2?

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 menu interface (Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, or Excel 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the ribbon 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.

Links and Sharing
OUR COMPANY
OUR PRODUCTS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2024 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.