Neutrophils (Percent)
The share of your white blood cells that are neutrophils. The absolute neutrophil count is usually the more useful number.
AI-verified against cited sources. Awaiting expert reviewAlso called Neut%, NEUT%LOINC 770-8
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What it is
Neutrophils are white blood cells that act first against bacteria. On a CBC with differential, the lab sorts your white cells into types and reports each as a percent of the total. This line is the neutrophil share. Because the types always add up to 100, the percent can move when a different type of white cell goes up or down, even if the number of neutrophils has not changed.
Why it matters
A neutrophil percent that is high or low is a clue, not an answer. It can point to infection, inflammation, stress or a medicine effect, but it can also shift only because another white cell type changed. Clinicians pair it with the absolute neutrophil count and your total white blood cell count to see what is really happening.
If it’s low
A low neutrophil percent means neutrophils make up a smaller share of your white cells than usual. A common reason is that another cell type, often lymphocytes during a viral illness, has risen and taken a bigger share. It can also mean there are fewer neutrophils, so look at the absolute count.
Common causes
- A viral infection such as the flu, when lymphocytes make up a bigger share
- Medicines that lower neutrophils, including some antibiotics and chemotherapy
- Naturally lower neutrophil counts, such as with the Duffy-null variant
- Radiation therapy or bone marrow conditions such as aplastic anemia
- Widespread severe bacterial infection (sepsis), which needs urgent care
What can help
- Ask your clinician to review the absolute neutrophil count, which tells you whether the number of neutrophils is actually low
- Ask whether to repeat the test after an illness has passed
If it’s high
A high neutrophil percent means neutrophils make up a larger share of your white cells than usual. Most often this reflects a temporary reaction such as an infection, inflammation or stress. It can also happen when other white cells are low. Check the absolute count to see which it is.
Common causes
- Bacterial infection
- Inflammation, trauma or surgery
- Physical or emotional stress
- Cigarette smoking
- Corticosteroid medicines
- Inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis or gout
- Less often, bone marrow conditions such as leukemia or myeloproliferative disorders
What can help
- Ask your clinician to look at the absolute neutrophil count and total white blood cell count alongside the percent
- If you had a recent illness or a hard workout, ask whether to repeat the test when you are well and rested
- Ask whether any medicine you take could be involved
Usual ranges
What labs print as the reference range, by who was tested. Ranges differ a little between labs, so the range on your own report is the one your result is judged against.
For adults: 39.4–72.5 %. Source: ARUP Laboratories, Labcorp, Quest Diagnostics, MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine, Elsevier.
- Adults (this one applies)39.4–72.5 %
Sources: ARUP Laboratories, Labcorp, Quest Diagnostics, MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine, Elsevier
See Neutrophils % by age and sex, with the U.S. survey numbers where they exist.
How common is your level?
NHANES describes the US civilian, non-institutionalized population, not a 'healthy' reference group. People with disease, on medication, fasting or not (except fasting-subsample markers), smokers and so on are all included. A percentile says where a value sits among Americans of that sex and age, not whether it is normal.
Use the left and right arrow keys to read each age. Shift moves five years.
Reference data derived from CDC/NCHS National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), cycles 2015-2016, 2017-March 2020 (pre-pandemic), August 2021-August 2023. Analysis by bloodtesttracker.com; not endorsed by CDC, NCHS or HHS.
Explore Neutrophils % by age and sex: every percentile as a table, with a download.
What can affect your result
- All the other white cell types, since the percentages add up to 100
- Infections, stress and inflammation, which raise neutrophils
- Medicines such as steroids (raise) and chemotherapy (lower)
- Ancestry: the Duffy-null variant lowers neutrophil counts without raising infection risk
- Age: babies and young children have a much lower neutrophil share than adults
- Lab method: whether band (young) neutrophils are included varies by lab
- The percent moves when any other white cell type rises or falls, because all the percentages add up to 100.
- Hard exercise, acute stress, pain, injury or surgery can raise neutrophils for hours.
- Corticosteroid medicines, lithium, growth-factor injections (G-CSF) and smoking raise neutrophils.
- Many medicines can lower neutrophils, including some antibiotics, antithyroid, anti-seizure and psychiatric medicines, and chemotherapy.
- When a lab counts band (young) neutrophils separately, this line may show only mature (segmented) neutrophils.
- A difficult draw, a clotted sample or a sample that is too old can throw off cell counts.
Can change within hours to days.
When to talk to a clinician
A neutrophil percent by itself rarely needs urgent attention. What matters most is the absolute neutrophil count. If that is below 0.5 ×10³/µL (500 cells/µL), contact the clinician who ordered the test today. A fever above 38.0°C (100.4°F) with a low neutrophil count needs urgent care. If you feel very unwell, call 911 or your local emergency number.
Questions you could ask
- Which of my results matter most on this differential?
- Is the range on my lab report the right one for me?
- Is my absolute neutrophil count also high?
- Could an infection, stress or a medicine explain this?
- Is my absolute neutrophil count low, or is another white cell type taking a bigger share?
- Should we repeat the test after I have recovered from any illness?
Questions people ask
Why is my neutrophil percent high or low when my white blood cell count is in the usual range?
The percentages always add up to 100. If one cell type rises, the others' shares drop. A viral illness that raises lymphocytes can push the neutrophil percent down even when the number of neutrophils is fine. The absolute neutrophil count shows the real number.
Why does my lab not show a range for neutrophil percent?
Some labs, including Labcorp on its CBC with differential, give a range only for the absolute counts and print 'Not Estab.' for the percentages. Percentages depend on every other white cell type, so the absolute counts are easier to interpret.
What are segs and polymorphs?
They are other names for mature neutrophils. Segmented neutrophils (segs) and polymorphs refer to the same cell. Band neutrophils are slightly younger. If your lab counts bands on a separate line, the neutrophil line may show only the segmented cells.
Show the science and sources
Units
- 1 % = 1 %
- 1 % = 0.01 fraction (0–1)
Open the Neutrophils % unit converter
For clinicians and researchers
Relative neutrophils are the band plus segmented forms as a share of leukocytes, reported by automated 5-part analyzers or counted on a manual differential. Where a lab reports bands separately, this line may contain segmented forms only, and the total is the sum of the two. Some regional reports print total neutrophils together with separate band and segmented lines, and the total is the value that belongs here. A textbook gives the adult relative neutrophil count as roughly 50%–70% with an absolute count of about 2–7.7 ×10⁹/L. ARUP's interval for adults is 39.4%–72.5%. Labcorp does not establish a percent interval for adults and prints 'Not Estab.'. Because the differential is a closed system, an absolute increase in one cell line lowers the percentages of the others, so interpretation should rest on the absolute neutrophil count.
LOINC 770-8 (primary), 26511-6, 23761-0, 26505-8, 769-0, 71676-1. Specimen: whole-blood.
Sources
- CBC with Platelet Count and Automated Differential (test 0040003), hotline effective March 1, 2021, ARUP Laboratories (2021)
- CBC With Differential/Platelet, sample patient report (test 005009), Labcorp
- CBC (includes Differential and Platelets) (test code 6399), Quest Diagnostics
- Blood differential test, MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine
- Nonmalignant leukocyte disorders (Rodak's Hematology, 6th edition), Elsevier (2019)
AI-verified against cited sources. Awaiting expert review. Last reviewed 2026-10-03. How we build and check these pages.