Enter the lexical word count and total word count, or select text analysis or comparison, in the Lexical Density Calculator. The calculator will evaluate and display the Lexical Density. 

Text analysis estimates content words using stopword lists, not grammatical tagging. Percentage density uses words, not clauses. Reading scores are approximate and English-only.

Lexical Density Formula

The following formula is used to calculate the Lexical Density. 

LD = I / W × 100
  • Where LD is the Lexical Density (%)
  • I is the number of lexical (content) word tokens 
  • W is the total number of word tokens 

For percentage lexical density, divide content-word tokens by all word tokens and multiply by 100. Lexical items per clause is a separate measure without the percentage multiplier. Automated analysis here uses stopwords as an estimate; manually review grammatical classifications.

How to Calculate Lexical Density?

The following example problems outline how to calculate Lexical Density.

Example Problem #1:

  1. First, determine the number of lexical items.
    1. The number of lexical items is given as 45.
  2. Next, determine the total number of words.
    1. The total number of words is provided as 100.
  3. Finally, calculate the Lexical Density using the equation above: 

LD = I / W * 100

The values given above are inserted into the equation below:

LD = 45 / 100 * 100 = 45 (%)

Example Problem #2: 

For this problem, the variables needed are provided below:

number of lexical items = 12

total number of words = 523

This example problem is a test of your knowledge on the subject. Use the calculator above to check your answer. LD = I / W * 100 = ?