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Refresh RANK article and fix example query (UUF 508416) (#35893)
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‎docs/includes/sssampledbdwobject-md.md‎

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---
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author: rwestMSFT
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ms.author: randolphwest
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ms.date: 08/09/2023
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ms.date: 11/18/2025
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ms.service: sql
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ms.topic: include
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---
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`AdventureWorksDW2022`
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`AdventureWorksDW2025`

‎docs/t-sql/functions/rank-transact-sql.md‎

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---
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title: "RANK (Transact-SQL)"
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description: "RANK (Transact-SQL)"
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description: RANK returns the rank of each row within the partition of a result set.
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author: MikeRayMSFT
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ms.author: mikeray
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ms.date: "10/25/2016"
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ms.reviewer: randolphwest
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ms.date: 11/20/2025
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ms.service: sql
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ms.subservice: t-sql
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ms.topic: reference
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monikerRange: ">=aps-pdw-2016 || =azuresqldb-current || =azure-sqldw-latest || >=sql-server-2016 || >=sql-server-linux-2017 || =azuresqldb-mi-current || =fabric || =fabric-sqldb"
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---
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# RANK (Transact-SQL)
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[!INCLUDE [sql-asdb-asdbmi-asa-pdw-fabricse-fabricdw-fabricsqldb](../../includes/applies-to-version/sql-asdb-asdbmi-asa-pdw-fabricse-fabricdw-fabricsqldb.md)]
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Returns the rank of each row within the partition of a result set. The rank of a row is one plus the number of ranks that come before the row in question.
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ROW_NUMBER and RANK are similar. ROW_NUMBER numbers all rows sequentially (for example 1, 2, 3, 4, 5). RANK provides the same numeric value for ties (for example 1, 2, 2, 4, 5).
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> [!NOTE]
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> RANK is a temporary value calculated when the query is run. To persist numbers in a table, see [IDENTITY Property](../../t-sql/statements/create-table-transact-sql-identity-property.md) and [SEQUENCE](../../t-sql/statements/create-sequence-transact-sql.md).
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:::image type="icon" source="../../includes/media/topic-link-icon.svg" border="false"::: [Transact-SQL syntax conventions](../../t-sql/language-elements/transact-sql-syntax-conventions-transact-sql.md)
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## Syntax
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```sql
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RANK ( ) OVER ( [ partition_by_clause ] order_by_clause )
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```
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Returns the rank of each row within the partition of a result set. The rank of a row is one plus the number of ranks that come before the row in question.
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`ROW_NUMBER` and `RANK` are similar. `ROW_NUMBER` numbers all rows sequentially (for example 1, 2, 3, 4, 5). `RANK` provides the same numeric value for ties (for example 1, 2, 2, 4, 5).
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> [!NOTE]
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> `RANK` is a temporary value calculated when the query is run. To persist numbers in a table, see [IDENTITY (Property)](../statements/create-table-transact-sql-identity-property.md) and [CREATE SEQUENCE](../statements/create-sequence-transact-sql.md).
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:::image type="icon" source="../../includes/media/topic-link-icon.svg" border="false"::: [Transact-SQL syntax conventions](../../t-sql/language-elements/transact-sql-syntax-conventions-transact-sql.md)
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## Syntax
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```syntaxsql
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RANK ( ) OVER ( [ partition_by_clause ] order_by_clause )
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```
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## Arguments
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OVER **(** [ _partition\_by\_clause_ ] _order\_by\_clause_**)**
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*partition_by_clause* divides the result set produced by the FROM clause into partitions to which the function is applied. If not specified, the function treats all rows of the query result set as a single group. _order\_by\_clause_ determines the order of the data before the function is applied. The *order_by_clause* is required. The \<rows or range clause/> of the OVER clause cannot be specified for the RANK function. For more information, see [OVER Clause &#40;Transact-SQL&#41;](../../t-sql/queries/select-over-clause-transact-sql.md).
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## Return Types
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**bigint**
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## Remarks
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If two or more rows tie for a rank, each tied row receives the same rank. For example, if the two top salespeople have the same SalesYTD value, they are both ranked one. The salesperson with the next highest SalesYTD is ranked number three, because there are two rows that are ranked higher. Therefore, the RANK function does not always return consecutive integers.
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The sort order that is used for the whole query determines the order in which the rows appear in a result set.
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RANK is nondeterministic. For more information, see [Deterministic and Nondeterministic Functions](../../relational-databases/user-defined-functions/deterministic-and-nondeterministic-functions.md).
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## Examples
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### A. Ranking rows within a partition
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The following example ranks the products in inventory the specified inventory locations according to their quantities. The result set is partitioned by `LocationID` and logically ordered by `Quantity`. Notice that in location 3, products 494 and 495 have the same quantity. Because they are tied, they are both ranked one.
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```sql
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USE AdventureWorks2022;
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GO
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SELECT i.ProductID, p.Name, i.LocationID, i.Quantity
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,RANK() OVER
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(PARTITION BY i.LocationID ORDER BY i.Quantity DESC) AS Rank
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FROM Production.ProductInventory AS i
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INNER JOIN Production.Product AS p
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ON i.ProductID = p.ProductID
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WHERE i.LocationID BETWEEN 3 AND 4
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ORDER BY i.LocationID;
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GO
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```
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[!INCLUDE[ssResult](../../includes/ssresult-md.md)]
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```
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ProductID Name LocationID Quantity Rank
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----------- ---------------------- ------------ -------- ----
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494 Paint - Silver 3 49 1
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495 Paint - Blue 3 49 1
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493 Paint - Red 3 41 3
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496 Paint - Yellow 3 30 4
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492 Paint - Black 3 17 5
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495 Paint - Blue 4 35 1
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496 Paint - Yellow 4 25 2
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493 Paint - Red 4 24 3
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492 Paint - Black 4 14 4
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494 Paint - Silver 4 12 5
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(10 row(s) affected)
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```
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### B. Ranking all rows in a result set
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The following example returns the top ten employees ranked by their salary. Because a PARTITION BY clause was not specified, the RANK function was applied to all rows in the result set.
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```sql
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USE AdventureWorks2022
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SELECT TOP(10) BusinessEntityID, Rate,
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RANK() OVER (ORDER BY Rate DESC) AS RankBySalary
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FROM HumanResources.EmployeePayHistory AS eph1
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WHERE RateChangeDate = (SELECT MAX(RateChangeDate)
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FROM HumanResources.EmployeePayHistory AS eph2
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WHERE eph1.BusinessEntityID = eph2.BusinessEntityID)
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ORDER BY BusinessEntityID;
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```
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[!INCLUDE[ssResult](../../includes/ssresult-md.md)]
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#### OVER ( [ *partition_by_clause* ] *order_by_clause* )
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The *partition_by_clause* divides the result set produced by the `FROM` clause into partitions to which the function is applied. If not specified, the function treats all rows of the query result set as a single group.
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The *order_by_clause* determines the order of the data before the function is applied. The *order_by_clause* is required. The `<rows or range clause>` of the `OVER` clause can't be specified for the `RANK` function. For more information, see [SELECT - OVER clause](../queries/select-over-clause-transact-sql.md).
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## Return types
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**bigint**
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## Remarks
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If two or more rows tie for a rank, each tied row receives the same rank. For example, if the two top salespeople have the same `SalesYTD` value, they're both ranked one. The salesperson with the next highest `SalesYTD` is ranked number three, because there are two rows that are ranked higher. Therefore, the `RANK` function doesn't always return consecutive integers.
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The sort order that is used for the whole query determines the order in which the rows appear in a result set.
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`RANK` is nondeterministic. For more information, see [Deterministic and nondeterministic functions](../../relational-databases/user-defined-functions/deterministic-and-nondeterministic-functions.md).
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## Examples
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[!INCLUDE [article-uses-adventureworks](../../includes/article-uses-adventureworks.md)]
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### A. Rank rows within a partition
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The following example ranks the products in inventory the specified inventory locations according to their quantities. The result set is partitioned by `LocationID` and logically ordered by `Quantity`. In location 3, products 494 and 495 have the same quantity. Because they're tied, they're both ranked one.
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```sql
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USE AdventureWorks2025;
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GO
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SELECT i.ProductID,
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p.Name,
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i.LocationID,
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i.Quantity,
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RANK() OVER (PARTITION BY i.LocationID ORDER BY i.Quantity DESC) AS Rank
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FROM Production.ProductInventory AS i
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INNER JOIN Production.Product AS p
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ON i.ProductID = p.ProductID
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WHERE i.LocationID BETWEEN 3 AND 4
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ORDER BY i.LocationID;
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```
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[!INCLUDE [ssResult](../../includes/ssresult-md.md)]
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```output
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ProductID Name LocationID Quantity Rank
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----------- ---------------------- ------------ -------- ----
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494 Paint - Silver 3 49 1
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495 Paint - Blue 3 49 1
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493 Paint - Red 3 41 3
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496 Paint - Yellow 3 30 4
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492 Paint - Black 3 17 5
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495 Paint - Blue 4 35 1
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496 Paint - Yellow 4 25 2
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493 Paint - Red 4 24 3
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492 Paint - Black 4 14 4
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494 Paint - Silver 4 12 5
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```
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BusinessEntityID Rate RankBySalary
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---------------- --------------------- --------------------
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1 125.50 1
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2 63.4615 4
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3 43.2692 11
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4 29.8462 28
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5 32.6923 22
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6 32.6923 22
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7 50.4808 6
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8 40.8654 14
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9 40.8654 14
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10 42.4808 13
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```
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## Examples: [!INCLUDE[ssazuresynapse-md](../../includes/ssazuresynapse-md.md)] and [!INCLUDE[ssPDW](../../includes/sspdw-md.md)]
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### C: Ranking rows within a partition
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The following example ranks the sales representatives in each sales territory according to their total sales. The rowset is partitioned by `SalesTerritoryGroup` and sorted by `SalesAmountQuota`.
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```sql
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-- Uses AdventureWorks
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SELECT LastName, SUM(SalesAmountQuota) AS TotalSales, SalesTerritoryRegion,
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RANK() OVER (PARTITION BY SalesTerritoryRegion ORDER BY SUM(SalesAmountQuota) DESC ) AS RankResult
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FROM dbo.DimEmployee AS e
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INNER JOIN dbo.FactSalesQuota AS sq ON e.EmployeeKey = sq.EmployeeKey
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INNER JOIN dbo.DimSalesTerritory AS st ON e.SalesTerritoryKey = st.SalesTerritoryKey
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WHERE SalesPersonFlag = 1 AND SalesTerritoryRegion != N'NA'
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GROUP BY LastName, SalesTerritoryRegion;
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```
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[!INCLUDE[ssResult](../../includes/ssresult-md.md)]
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### B. Rank all rows in a result set
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The following example returns the top 10 employees ranked by their salary. Because a `PARTITION BY` clause isn't specified, the `RANK` function is applied to all rows in the result set.
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```sql
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USE AdventureWorks2025;
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GO
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SELECT TOP (10) BusinessEntityID,
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Rate,
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RANK() OVER (ORDER BY Rate DESC) AS RankBySalary
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FROM HumanResources.EmployeePayHistory AS eph1
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WHERE RateChangeDate = (
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SELECT MAX(RateChangeDate)
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FROM HumanResources.EmployeePayHistory AS eph2
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WHERE eph1.BusinessEntityID = eph2.BusinessEntityID
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)
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ORDER BY BusinessEntityID;
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```
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LastName TotalSales SalesTerritoryRegion RankResult
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---------------- ------------- ------------------- --------
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Tsoflias 1687000.0000 Australia 1
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Saraiva 7098000.0000 Canada 1
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Vargas 4365000.0000 Canada 2
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Carson 12198000.0000 Central 1
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Varkey Chudukatil 5557000.0000 France 1
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Valdez 2287000.0000 Germany 1
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Blythe 11162000.0000 Northeast 1
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Campbell 4025000.0000 Northwest 1
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Ansman-Wolfe 3551000.0000 Northwest 2
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Mensa-Annan 2753000.0000 Northwest 3
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Reiter 8541000.0000 Southeast 1
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Mitchell 11786000.0000 Southwest 1
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Ito 7804000.0000 Southwest 2
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Pak 10514000.0000 United Kingdom 1
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```
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## See Also
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[DENSE_RANK &#40;Transact-SQL&#41;](../../t-sql/functions/dense-rank-transact-sql.md)
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[ROW_NUMBER &#40;Transact-SQL&#41;](../../t-sql/functions/row-number-transact-sql.md)
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[NTILE &#40;Transact-SQL&#41;](../../t-sql/functions/ntile-transact-sql.md)
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[Ranking Functions &#40;Transact-SQL&#41;](../../t-sql/functions/ranking-functions-transact-sql.md)
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[Built-in Functions &#40;Transact-SQL&#41;](~/t-sql/functions/functions.md)
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[!INCLUDE [ssResult](../../includes/ssresult-md.md)]
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```output
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BusinessEntityID Rate RankBySalary
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---------------- --------------------- --------------------
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1 125.50 1
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2 63.4615 4
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3 43.2692 11
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4 29.8462 28
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5 32.6923 22
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6 32.6923 22
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7 50.4808 6
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8 40.8654 14
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9 40.8654 14
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10 42.4808 13
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```
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## Examples: Azure Synapse Analytics and Analytics Platform System (PDW)
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### C: Ranking rows within a partition
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The following example ranks the sales representatives in each sales territory according to their total sales. The rowset is partitioned by `SalesTerritoryGroup` and sorted by `SalesAmountQuota`.
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```sql
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-- Uses AdventureWorks
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SELECT e.LastName,
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st.SalesTerritoryGroup,
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SUM(sq.SalesAmountQuota) AS TotalSales,
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RANK() OVER (PARTITION BY st.SalesTerritoryGroup ORDER BY SUM(sq.SalesAmountQuota) DESC) AS RankResult
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FROM dbo.DimEmployee AS e
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INNER JOIN dbo.FactSalesQuota AS sq
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ON e.EmployeeKey = sq.EmployeeKey
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INNER JOIN dbo.DimSalesTerritory AS st
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ON e.SalesTerritoryKey = st.SalesTerritoryKey
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WHERE e.SalesPersonFlag = 1
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AND st.SalesTerritoryGroup <> N'NA'
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GROUP BY e.LastName, st.SalesTerritoryGroup;
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```
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[!INCLUDE [ssResult](../../includes/ssresult-md.md)]
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```output
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LastName SalesTerritoryGroup TotalSales RankResult
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------------------ -------------------- ------------ -----------
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Pak Europe 10514000.00 1
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Varkey Chudukatil Europe 5557000.00 2
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Valdez Europe 2287000.00 3
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Carson North America 12198000.00 1
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Mitchell North America 11786000.00 2
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Blythe North America 11162000.00 3
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Reiter North America 8541000.00 4
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Ito North America 7804000.00 5
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Saraiva North America 7098000.00 6
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Vargas North America 4365000.00 7
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Campbell North America 4025000.00 8
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Ansman-Wolfe North America 3551000.00 9
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Mensa-Annan North America 2753000.00 10
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Tsoflias Pacific 1687000.00 1
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```
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## Related content
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- [DENSE_RANK (Transact-SQL)](dense-rank-transact-sql.md)
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- [ROW_NUMBER (Transact-SQL)](row-number-transact-sql.md)
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- [NTILE (Transact-SQL)](ntile-transact-sql.md)
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- [Ranking Functions (Transact-SQL)](ranking-functions-transact-sql.md)
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- [What are the SQL database functions?](functions.md)

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