Margin of Error Calculator
Calculate the margin of error for your survey or study with confidence levels and detailed explanations.
About Margin of Error
What is Margin of Error?
The margin of error is a statistic expressing the amount of random sampling error in a survey’s results. It represents the radius of a confidence interval for a given statistic.
Formula
For a proportion, the margin of error (MOE) is calculated as:
MOE = z × √[p(1-p)/n] × FPC
Where:
z = z-score for confidence level
p = sample proportion
n = sample size
FPC = Finite Population Correction (if applicable)
Common Z-Scores
- 90% Confidence Level: z = 1.645
- 95% Confidence Level: z = 1.96
- 99% Confidence Level: z = 2.576
Tips
- • Larger sample sizes reduce the margin of error
- • Higher confidence levels increase the margin of error
- • A 50% proportion gives the maximum margin of error
- • Use the finite population correction when sampling more than 5% of the population