Best 40 Excel Books for Data Analysis & Business Modeling

[Note: This blog post contains the best 40 Excel books for data analysis and business modeling. I’ve also listed here the best books for financial & scientific data analysis, data visualization, SQL, and other necessary books to prepare you as a complete data analyst. – Kawser Ahmed, Founder ExcelDemy.com]

Analyzing data, taking the business decision based on the data has become the core part of a business.

Genius data analysts (with the help of world-class programmers) are making complex algorithms just based on every data they can collect.

In the blink of an eye, computer-generated algorithms are making billions of dollars trades every day.

Businesses are monitoring every step of their customers, taking an important decision based on the collected information.

Smartphone applications are tracking people everywhere. What they’re liking on Facebook, where they’re checking in for some foods or travel, what products they’re searching on Google; all are important information for businesses now.

So, data and data analysis is the indispensable part of a business 😊

Read More: Best 39 Excel Book for Advanced Users [Ultimate Resource]

The demand for data analysts has made them the top-paying professionals in a business.

If you want to be one of them (high paying professionals), be a nerdy data analyst 😊

So, you might think that whether Excel is the best tool to be one of them.

No, Excel is not the best tool and not the only one.

But as a starting tool and for small business decisions, it is the best tool.

On this page, I’ve collected the best books that will help you perform better data analysis with the business information.

Excel was always the best and easy-going tool for data analysis and will be in the future.

Read More: Best 14 Power BI Books for Business Intelligence

The Best Book for Data Analysis with Excel

Want to just choose one book for starting your data analysis career?

Choose Wayne Winston’s book on Data Analysis: Microsoft Excel Data Analysis and Business Modeling (5th Edition)

It’s the fifth edition and it is for Excel 2016.

Read More: Best 78 Excel Training Books for Beginners, Data Analysis & Advanced Users

There are other versions of this book. Here they are:

• Microsoft Excel 2013 Data Analysis and Business Modeling
• Microsoft Excel 2010 Data Analysis and Business Modeling (Business Skills)
• Microsoft® Office Excel® 2007: Data Analysis and Business Modeling (Business Skills)

Why is this book best for mastering data analysis?

Best Data Analysis and Business Modeling Book (Excel 2016)

There are several reasons, I have chosen this book as my top book to master data analysis with Excel.

Here are a few:

#1 Book materials

This book has covered almost all the materials to analyze data with Excel. The version I use (written for Excel 2013) has 889 pages with 87 chapters.

#2 About the author and the book

1. He has his own consulting firm and uses the same techniques (taught in the book) for solving his clients’ business problems. So what you will get is the real-world problem-solving approach.
2. He is teaching data analysis and business modeling to MBA students at Indiana University (Kelley School of Business) for the last 20 years.
3. He has taught thousands of Fortune 500 corporations analysts.
4. The chapters are short. At the end of every chapter, you will get practicing problems (in total more than 600) with solutions (the best part).

So…

1. If you want to learn data analysis and business modeling from a single book
2. Want to learn with the real-world data analysis approach
3. And want to solve real-world problems after every chapter

Buy this book: Microsoft Excel Data Analysis and Business Modeling (5th Edition)

More Excel Books for Data Analysis

• Data Analysis and Business Modeling with Excel 2013 by David Roja
• Guerrilla Data Analysis Using Microsoft Excel: 2nd Edition Covering Excel 2010/2013 by Oz du Soleil, Bill Jelen
• Excel Data Analysis: Modeling and Simulation by Hector Guerrero
• Decision Analytics: Microsoft Excel by Conrad Carlberg
• Marketing Analytics: Data-Driven Techniques with Microsoft Excel by Wayne L. Winston
• Basic Marketing Research: Using Microsoft Excel Data Analysis, 3rd Edition by Alvin C. Burns, Ronald F. Bush
• Hidden Secrets of Data Analysis in Excel: How to Use Microsoft® Excel Differently to Gain a Productive Edge by Jason Khoo
• Microsoft Office Excel 2007 Data Analysis: Your Visual Blueprint for Creating and Analyzing Data, Charts, and PivotTables by Denise Etheridge
• Learn Excel 2007 through Excel 2010 From MrExcel: Master Pivot Tables, Subtotals, Charts, VLOOKUP, IF, Data Analysis and Much More – 512 Excel Mysteries Solved by Bill Jelen
• Exploratory Data Analysis in Business and Economics: An Introduction Using SPSS, Stata, and Excel by Thomas Cleff
• Business Data Analysis using Excel by David Whigham
• Excel 2016 Pivot Table Data Crunching (includes Content Update Program) (MrExcel Library) by Bill Jelen, Michael Alexander
• Managing Data Using Excel (Research Skills) by Mark Gardener

Data Analysis with Excel and SQL

• Data Analysis Using SQL and Excel by Gordon S. Linoff

Statistical Data Analysis with Excel

In a sense, data analysis means actually statistical data analysis. But I am making a different list here. This list consists of books that focus wholly on statistical analysis using Excel.

• Statistical Analysis with Excel For Dummies by Joseph Schmuller
• Statistical Analysis: Microsoft Excel 2013 by Conrad Carlberg
• Statistics for People Who (Think They) Hate Statistics: Using Microsoft Excel 2016 by Neil J. Salkind
• Even You Can Learn Statistics and Analytics: An Easy to Understand Guide to Statistics and Analytics (3rd Edition) by David M. Levine, David F. Stephan
• Elementary Statistics Using Excel (5th Edition) by Mario F. Triola
• Understanding Educational Statistics Using Microsoft Excel and SPSS by Martin Lee Abbott

Data Analysis with Power BI and Power Pivot

• Analyzing Data with Power BI and Power Pivot for Excel (Business Skills) by Alberto Ferrari, Marco Russo

Scientific Data Analysis with Excel

Excel book for scientific data analysis:

• Advanced Excel for scientific data analysis, 3rd edition by Robert de Levie

Financial Data Analysis with Excel

If you’re searching for an Excel book for analyzing your financial data, here is the book:

• Financial Analysis with Microsoft Excel by Timothy R. Mayes

Data Visualization Books

Why am I referring to these books (data visualization books) here?

OK!

You know how to analyze your data but don’t know how to make the presentation of your analysis, then you only the 50% of the data analysis.

And even knowing the data visualization techniques can improve your data analyzing power.

And this list contains the best books on data visualization, hand-picked by me, and very carefully selected.

• Meaningful Graphs: Converting Data into Informative Excel Charts by James M. Smith
• Data Smart: Using Data Science to Transform Information into Insight by John W. Foreman
• Effective Data Visualization: The Right Chart for the Right Data by Stephanie D. H. Evergreen
• R for Excel Users: An Introduction to R for Excel Analysts by John L Taveras
• Storytelling with Data: A Data Visualization Guide for Business Professionals by Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic
• The Truthful Art: Data, Charts, and Maps for Communication by Alberto Cairo
• Good Charts: The HBR Guide to Making Smarter, More Persuasive Data Visualizations by Scott Berinato
• Show Me the Numbers: Designing Tables and Graphs to Enlighten by Stephen Few
• Better Presentations: A Guide for Scholars, Researchers, and Wonks by Jonathan Schwabish
• The Functional Art: An introduction to information graphics and visualization (Voices That Matter) by Alberto Cairo
• Data at Work: Best practices for creating effective charts and information graphics in Microsoft Excel (Voices That Matter) by Jorge Camões

SQL Books that you need

SQL is the ultimate tool to analyze millions of rows of data. Learning some SQL techniques can boost your data analysis ability hugely. This book is one of the best in the SQL category on Amazon.

• SQL in 10 Minutes, Sams Teach Yourself (4th Edition) by Ben Forta

So, this is a complete list of data analysis books that you can use or buy. If you’ve any other important books, please let me know and I will update this list.