To find the nth highest value of a column, you need to use ORDER BY DESC with LIMIT clause. If you want the second highest value of a column, use the below syntax:
SELECT *FROM yourTableName ORDER BY DESC yourColumnName LIMIT 1,1;
If you want the fourth highest value of a column, use the below syntax:
SELECT *FROM yourTableName ORDER BY DESC yourColumnName LIMIT 3,1;
If you want the first highest value of a column, use the below syntax:
SELECT *FROM yourTableName ORDER BY DESC yourColumnName LIMIT 1;
As discussed in the above syntax, you need to change only in LIMIT clause. To understand the above syntax, let us create a table. The query to create a table is as follows:
mysql> create table NthSalaryDemo -> ( -> Id int NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT, -> Name varchar(10), -> Salary int, -> PRIMARY KEY(Id) -> ); Query OK, 0 rows affected (1.03 sec)
Insert some records in the table using insert command. The query is as follows:
mysql> insert into NthSalaryDemo(Name,Salary) values('Larry',5700);
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.41 sec)
mysql> insert into NthSalaryDemo(Name,Salary) values('Sam',6000);
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.16 sec)
mysql> insert into NthSalaryDemo(Name,Salary) values('Mike',5800);
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.16 sec)
mysql> insert into NthSalaryDemo(Name,Salary) values('Carol',4500);
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.17 sec)
mysql> insert into NthSalaryDemo(Name,Salary) values('Bob',4900);
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.20 sec)
mysql> insert into NthSalaryDemo(Name,Salary) values('David',5400);
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.27 sec)
mysql> insert into NthSalaryDemo(Name,Salary) values('Maxwell',5300);
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.21 sec)
mysql> insert into NthSalaryDemo(Name,Salary) values('James',4000);
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.19 sec)
mysql> insert into NthSalaryDemo(Name,Salary) values('Robert',4600);
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.19 sec)Display all records from the table using select statement. The query is as follows:
mysql> select *from NthSalaryDemo;
The following is the output:
+----+---------+--------+ | Id | Name | Salary | +----+---------+--------+ | 1 | Larry | 5700 | | 2 | Sam | 6000 | | 3 | Mike | 5800 | | 4 | Carol | 4500 | | 5 | Bob | 4900 | | 6 | David | 5400 | | 7 | Maxwell | 5300 | | 8 | James | 4000 | | 9 | Robert | 4600 | +----+---------+--------+ 9 rows in set (0.00 sec)
Case 1: Here is the query to get the nth highest value of a column.
The below query will give the fourth highest value of a column ‘Salary’:
mysql> select *from NthSalaryDemo order by Salary desc limit 3,1;
The following is the output:
+----+-------+--------+ | Id | Name | Salary | +----+-------+--------+ | 6 | David | 5400 | +----+-------+--------+ 1 row in set (0.00 sec)
Case 2: Here is the query to get the second highest value of a column ‘Salary’:
mysql> select *from NthSalaryDemo order by Salary desc limit 1,1;
The following is the output:
+----+------+--------+ | Id | Name | Salary | +----+------+--------+ | 3 | Mike | 5800 | +----+------+--------+ 1 row in set (0.00 sec)
Case 3: Here is the query to get the first highest value of a column:
mysql> select *from NthSalaryDemo order by Salary desc limit 1;
The following is the output:
+----+------+--------+ | Id | Name | Salary | +----+------+--------+ | 2 | Sam | 6000 | +----+------+--------+ 1 row in set (0.00 sec)
Case 4: If you want to get the 8th highest value of a column ‘Salary’, use the following query:
mysql> select *from NthSalaryDemo order by Salary desc limit 7,1;
The following is the output:
+----+-------+--------+ | Id | Name | Salary | +----+-------+--------+ | 4 | Carol | 4500 | +----+-------+--------+ 1 row in set (0.00 sec)