Percent difference compares two things that are on the same scale and are numeric. For example, you could compare two salaries or two test scores (if the grades are numeric) or two weights. You could not compare grades such as "excellent" and "very good" with percent difference because they are not numeric, and you could not compare height to weight with percent difference because they are not on the same scale: Height would be in feet and inches (or meters and centimeters), and weight would be in pounds (or kilograms).
Instructions
1. Find the average of the two values. Suppose you want to find the percent difference between 200 pounds and 150 pounds. The average is 200+150/2 = 175.
2. Find the difference in the two values by subtracting the smaller from the larger. In the example, 200-150 = 50.
3. Divide the difference in step 2 by the average in step 1. In the example, 50/175 = 0.29.
4. Multiply the result in step 3 by 100, to convert to percent. In the example, 0.29x100 = 29 percent.
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