Neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) calculator
A ratio worked out from two white blood cell counts. A higher value is a general sign of stress or inflammation, not a diagnosis. Type your results in the units on your report and it works out NLR as you type, in your browser.
AI-verified against cited sources. Awaiting expert reviewLast reviewed 2026-10-03Inflammation
Type your results above, or fill in the example, to see NLR.
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Educational information, not medical advice. Blood Test Tracker doesn’t diagnose or treat, and it doesn’t replace your clinician. Talk with your clinician before changing medications, supplements or care.
How it’s worked out
The formula
NLR = absolute neutrophil count ÷ absolute lymphocyte count, both in the same unit (for example ×10³/µL). Dividing the neutrophil percentage by the lymphocyte percentage gives the same number.
A worked example
Example numbers, not anyone’s real results, run through the same code as the calculator above.
| Neutrophils (abs) | 4 ×10³/µL |
|---|---|
| Lymphocytes (abs) | 2 x10³/µL |
| NLR | 2.00 ratio |
For an adult, this result is in the usual range.
What NLR tells you
The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) compares two kinds of white blood cell. Neutrophils are first responders that rise quickly with infection, injury and stress. Lymphocytes are the cells behind longer-term immune defense, and they often fall when the body is under stress. You get the NLR by dividing the absolute neutrophil count by the absolute lymphocyte count from a complete blood count (CBC) with differential. Using the two percentages gives the same number.
The NLR packs two results into one number that tends to rise when the body is under stress or inflammation. Researchers study it as a low-cost, general marker in infection, heart disease and cancer. In a US government health survey (NHANES), adults over 30 with a higher NLR had higher death rates on average over the following years. It does not diagnose any condition, it has no official cutoffs, and many ordinary things can move it, so it is most useful as one clue alongside your other results.
Read the full page on NLR, with what a high or low result can mean.
Usual ranges
The ranges the result above is placed on. Your own lab’s printed range comes first if it gives one.
- Adults0.78–3.53 ratio
Sources: BMC Research Notes, Medicine (Baltimore), Caspian Journal of Internal Medicine, Scientific Reports
Sources
The equation
- Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, past, present and future perspectives, Bratislava Medical Journal (Bratislavske lekarske listy) (2021)
4 more sources for the ranges and the explanation
- What is the normal value of the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio?, BMC Research Notes (2017)
- Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and mortality in the United States general population, Scientific Reports (2021)
- Reference values of neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio, lymphocyte-monocyte ratio, platelet-lymphocyte ratio, and mean platelet volume in healthy adults in South Korea, Medicine (Baltimore) (2018)
- Normal values of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio among Iranian population: Results of Tabari cohort, Caspian Journal of Internal Medicine (2019)
AI-verified against cited sources. Awaiting expert review. Last reviewed 2026-10-03. The calculator is version 1.0.0 of our code for this equation, tested against published examples. How we build and check these pages.