Percentage of a percentage
To find a percentage of a percentage, multiply the two as decimals: 25% of 60% is 0.25 × 0.60 = 0.15, which is 15% of the total.
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Of 100 customers, 30 are from Texas, and 20% of those bought online. What percent of all customers bought online?
When it comes up: when a percentage is of a group that is already a percentage of something else: 25% of online sales, which are 60% of all sales; part of the customers from one state. To know how much of the total it is, multiply the two.
How to do it: turn each percentage into a decimal (25% is 0.25), multiply, and turn the result back into a percentage.
When the same number goes up and then down, the math multiplies the same way: see percent change.
Practice it in If something goes up 50% and then down 50%, where a number that rises and falls doesn't land where it started.
How it's used
In Excel
B2 holds 60% and C2 holds 25%
- marked: =B2*C2Gives 15%: 25% of 60%.
- =B2*C2*D2For three levels, multiply all three.
- Percent formatIf you see 0.2 instead of 20%, change the cell's format.
When to look closer
25% off, then 10% more
A $40 item
- marked: 25% off: $40 × 0.75 = $30
The sign says 25% off plus an extra 10% off. Is that 35% off?
Ask your Maestro about Percentage of a percentage
It answers from the free course page closest to this word, the way it answers while you study.
You: What does "Percentage of a percentage" mean, in plain words?
Your Maestro: I'll explain it with a case of yours: it sticks better than a definition. Which percentage in your report is of a group, not the total?
Asking about: Answers from the page "If something goes up 50% and then down 50%, are you back where you started?"
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Related terms
- Percentage
A percentage says how many parts out of every 100 something is. You get it by dividing the part by the total and multiplying by 100: 45 out of 180 customers is 45 ÷ 180 × 100 = 25%.
- Percent change
Percent change says how much a number moved relative to where it started: (new − old) ÷ old × 100. If sales go from $80K to $100K, they're up 25%.
- Cross-multiplication (rule of three)
Cross-multiplication (the rule of three) finds a missing number when two amounts change in proportion. If 3 lb cost $87, 5 lb cost 87 × 5 ÷ 3 = $145.
- Weighted average
A weighted average gives each value a weight for how much it counts, instead of treating them all the same: multiply each value by its weight, add them up and divide by the sum of the weights.