What COUNT does
COUNT tells you how many cells contain numeric values. Use it when you need to count numbers only, not all nonblank cells.
Practical examples
Count numeric entries in one range
=COUNT(A2:A6)
This counts only numeric cells in A2:A6. Blank cells and text entries are ignored.
Count numbers across multiple ranges
=COUNT(B2:B10,D2:D10)
This is useful when the values you want to count are stored in separate columns.
Common mistakes and notes
COUNT ignores text values
If a cell contains "42" stored as text, COUNT does not include it. Use COUNTA if you want to count all nonblank cells instead.
Dates usually count as numbers
Excel stores valid dates as serial numbers, so COUNT includes them even if they are formatted as dates.
COUNT is different from COUNTA and COUNTBLANK
Use COUNT for numeric cells, COUNTA for nonblank cells, and COUNTBLANK for blank cells. Picking the wrong one is a common reporting mistake.