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SPSS FAQ
How do I interpret the results from crosstabs? 

It can be tricky to interpret the results from crosstabs in SPSS. Consider the example below.  We have included row percentages, column percentages and cell percentages.
We have reproduced this table below, with footnotes explaining the percentages.
Anxiety * Tension Crosstabulation

Tension

Total

low

high

Anxiety

low

Count

5

21

26

% within Anxiety

19.2%1

80.8%

100.0%

% within Tension

25.0%2

75.0%

54.2%4

% of Total

10.4%3

43.8%

54.2%4

   

high

Count

15

7

22

% within Anxiety

68.2%

31.8%

100.0%

% within Tension

75.0%

25.0%

45.8%

% of Total

31.3%

14.6%

45.8%

Total

   

Count

20

28

48

% within Anxiety

41.7%5

58.3%

100.0%

% within Tension

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

% of Total

41.7%5

58.3%

100.0%

1. This is the row percentage (i.e., out of the 26 who are low anxiety, 5 are low tension, 5/26=19.2%).
2. This is the column percentage (i.e., out of the 20 who are low tension, 5 are low anxiety, 5/20=25%).
3. This is the cell percentage (i.e., out of all 48, 5 are low anxiety and low tension, 5/48=10.4%).
4. This is the overall row percentage (i.e., out of all 48 people, 26 were low anxiety, 26/48=54.2%).
5. This is the overall column percentage (i.e., out of all 48 people, 20 were low tension, 20/48=41.7%).

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