PivotTables in Excel Kevin Estes

What is a PivotTable? A PivotTable is a table of statistics that summarizes the data of a more extensive table (or dataset)

Why use a PivotTable? A PivotTable can instantly summarize a large dataset (no filtering, manually counting, etc.) A PivotTable is especially useful when the data needs be summarized in multiple ways (think of a client database where you can summarize data by individuals, cities, programs they are involved in, insurance provider, etc.) A PivotTable does not change underlying data, no matter what changes you make to it

Example The City of Albuquerque Open Building Permits dataset is a good example of a dataset that can be summarized well with a PivotTable (even though it is not the most exciting) Link: https://www.cabq.gov/abq-data

Example Questions to Answer How many commercial and residential building permits are open? Which area in Albuquerque (SW, SE, NW, NE) has the most open building permits? What months are most building permits issued? (Bonus Points) What $ plan valuation range is most common?

Summary Starting a pivot table is easy! Just select any cell in your dataset, go to the “Insert” tab, and click on the “PivotTable” button in the left-hand corner. Once you have set up a pivot table just start adding variables to rows, columns, and values. Play with it! Search out PivotTable resources online, there are some amazing examples (https://exceljet.net/things-to-know-about-excel-pivot- tables). Once comfortable with PivotTables, PivotCharts is the next step!