Sumwise

What is the Percentage Difference from 20 to 17?

From 20 to 17 is a 15% decrease

Change
-15%
Difference
-3
New ÷ old
0.85
Direction
decrease

Sumwise · Data: exact arithmetic; unit definitions from NIST SP 811 · Updated · How we check it

How to work it out

  1. Difference: 17 − 20 = -3
  2. Divide by the starting value: -3 ÷ 20 = -0.15
  3. Multiply by 100: -15%
  4. Check: Work forwards from the start: 20 × (1 − 0.15) = 20 × 0.85 = 17.

In a spreadsheet: =(17-20)/20*100. Always divide by the starting value, not the new one. A rise from 40 to 50 is +25%, but the fall from 50 back to 40 is −20%.

What the result means

The new value is 85% of the old one: for every 100 at the start there are now 85, so 15 out of every 100 have gone.

Sales: a price cut from $20 to $17 is a 15% discount.

Why the change back is different

A 15% fall followed by a 15% rise does not bring you back to 20: it gives 19.55. The second percentage is taken of 17, not of 20, so to undo this change you need 17.6471% instead.

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The other way round: Percentage difference from 17 to 20

Practice

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From 4 to 90 is a 2,150% increase

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From 37 to 7 is a 81.0811% decrease

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From 29 to 25 is a 13.7931% decrease

Calculate another

How answers are calculated and checked: methodology.

Questions

What is the Percentage Difference from 20 to 17?

Going from 20 to 17 is a 15% decrease. Formula and steps.

Is going from 20 to 17 an increase or a decrease?

A decrease: the value fell by 3, which is 15% of the starting value.

What is the percentage change from 17 back to 20?

17.6471%. It is a different number because the starting value is now 17, not 20.