How to Create New Variables in SAS (With Examples)

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Here are the two most common ways to create new variables in SAS:

Method 1: Create Variables from Scratch

data original_data;
    input var1 $ var2 var3;
    datalines;
A 12 6
B 19 5
C 23 4
D 40 4
;
run;

Method 2: Create Variables from Existing Variables

data new_data;
    set original_data;
    new_var4 = var2 / 5;
    new_var5 = (var2 + var3) * 2;
run;

The following examples show how to use each method in practice.

Related: How to Rename Variables in SAS

Example 1: Create Variables from Scratch

The following code shows how to create a dataset with three variables: team, points, and rebounds:

/*create dataset*/
data original_data;
    input team $ points rebounds;
    datalines;
Warriors 25 8
Wizards 18 12
Rockets 22 6
Celtics 24 11
Thunder 27 14
Spurs 33 19
Nets 31 20
;
run;

/*view dataset*/
proc print data=original_data;

Note that you can simply list the variable names after the input function and you can create their values from scratch after the datalines function. 

Note: SAS assumes each new variable is numeric. To create a character variable, simply type a dollar sign “$” after the variable name like we did for the team variable in this example.

Example 2: Create Variables from Existing Variables

The following code shows how to use the set function to create a new dataset whose variables are created from existing variables in another dataset:

/*create new dataset*/
data new_data;
    set original_data;
    half_points = points / 2;
    avg_pts_rebs = (points + rebounds) / 2;
run;

/*view new dataset*/
proc print data=new_data;

We created the new variables half_points and avg_pts_rebs using variables that already existed in our original dataset.

Additional Resources

The following tutorials explain how to perform other common tasks in SAS:

How to Normalize Data in SAS
How to Replace Characters in a String in SAS
How to Replace Missing Values with Zero in SAS
How to Remove Duplicates in SAS