String Data Types

Data type Description Max size Storage

char(n) Fixed width character 8,000 characters Defined width

string

varchar(n) Variable width character 8,000 characters 2 bytes + number of chars

string

varchar(max) Variable width character 1,073,741,824 characters 2 bytes + number of chars

string

text Variable width character 2GB of text data 4 bytes + number of chars
string

nchar Fixed width Unicode 4,000 characters Defined width x 2

string

nvarchar Variable width Unicode 4,000 characters

string

nvarchar(max) Variable width Unicode 536,870,912 characters

string

ntext Variable width Unicode 2GB of text data

string

binary(n) Fixed width binary string 8,000 bytes

varbinary Variable width binary 8,000 bytes

string

varbinary(max) Variable width binary 2GB

string

image Variable width binary 2GB

string
 Numeric Data Types

Data type Description Storage

bit Integer that can be 0, 1, or NULL

tinyint Allows whole numbers from 0 to 255 1 byte

smallint Allows whole numbers between -32,768 and 32,767 2 bytes

int Allows whole numbers between -2,147,483,648 and 2,147,483,647 4 bytes

bigint Allows whole numbers between -9,223,372,036,854,775,808 and 8 bytes

9,223,372,036,854,775,807

decimal(p,s) Fixed precision and scale numbers. 5-17 bytes

Allows numbers from -10^38 +1 to 10^38 –1.

The p parameter indicates the maximum total number of digits that

can be stored (both to the left and to the right of the decimal point). p
must be a value from 1 to 38. Default is 18.

The s parameter indicates the maximum number of digits stored to

the right of the decimal point. s must be a value from 0 to p. Default
value is 0

numeric(p,s) Fixed precision and scale numbers. 5-17 bytes

Allows numbers from -10^38 +1 to 10^38 –1.

The p parameter indicates the maximum total number of digits that

can be stored (both to the left and to the right of the decimal point). p
must be a value from 1 to 38. Default is 18.

The s parameter indicates the maximum number of digits stored to

the right of the decimal point. s must be a value from 0 to p. Default
value is 0

smallmoney Monetary data from -214,748.3648 to 214,748.3647 4 bytes

money Monetary data from -922,337,203,685,477.5808 to 8 bytes

922,337,203,685,477.5807
 float(n) Floating precision number data from -1.79E + 308 to 1.79E + 308. 4 or 8 bytes

The n parameter indicates whether the field should hold 4 or 8 bytes.

float(24) holds a 4-byte field and float(53) holds an 8-byte field.
Default value of n is 53.

real Floating precision number data from -3.40E + 38 to 3.40E + 38 4 bytes

Date and Time Data Types

Data type Description Storage

datetime From January 1, 1753 to December 31, 9999 with an accuracy of 3.33 8 bytes
milliseconds

datetime2 From January 1, 0001 to December 31, 9999 with an accuracy of 100 6-8 bytes
nanoseconds

smalldatetime From January 1, 1900 to June 6, 2079 with an accuracy of 1 minute 4 bytes

date Store a date only. From January 1, 0001 to December 31, 9999 3 bytes

time Store a time only to an accuracy of 100 nanoseconds 3-5 bytes

datetimeoffset The same as datetime2 with the addition of a time zone offset 8-10 bytes

timestamp Stores a unique number that gets updated every time a row gets created
or modified. The timestamp value is based upon an internal clock and
does not correspond to real time. Each table may have only one
timestamp variable

Other Data Types

Data type Description

sql_variant Stores up to 8,000 bytes of data of various data types, except text, ntext, and timestamp

uniqueidentifier Stores a globally unique identifier (GUID)

xml Stores XML formatted data. Maximum 2GB

cursor Stores a reference to a cursor used for database operations

table Stores a result-set for later processing