How to Find the Percentage of Two Numbers

The formula

P% = (smaller number ÷ larger number) × 100

Or in the general case: P% = (part ÷ whole) × 100. The order matters only insofar as you put the part on top.

Example: 18 is what percent of 24?

18 ÷ 24 = 0.75
0.75 × 100 = 75%

So 18 is 75% of 24.

Example: test scored 42 out of 60

42 ÷ 60 = 0.70
0.70 × 100 = 70%

The student scored 70%.

What if you want the bigger relative to the smaller?

Reverse the formula: 24 is what percent of 18? → 24 ÷ 18 × 100 = 133.33%. The result is over 100% because the “part” is larger than the “whole” in this comparison.

Common applications

• Test scores out of a total
• Survey results (responses / sample)
• Conversion rates (sales / visitors)
• Market share (your sales / total sales)
• Approval rates (approvals / applications)