SQL MIN/MAX

Starting here? This lesson is part of a full-length tutorial in using SQL for Data Analysis. Check out the beginning.

In this lesson we'll cover:

• The SQL MIN and MAX functions

• Practice problems

MIN and MAX are SQL aggregation functions that return the lowest and highest values in a particular column.

They're similar to COUNT in that they can be used on non-numerical columns. Depending on the column type, MIN will return the lowest number, earliest date, or non-numerical value as close alphabetically to "A" as possible. As you might suspect, MAX does the opposite—it returns the highest number, the latest date, or the non-numerical value closest alphabetically to "Z."

For example, the following query selects the MIN and the MAX from the numerical volume column in the Apple stock prices dataset.

SELECT MIN(volume) AS min_volume,
       MAX(volume) AS max_volume
  FROM tutorial.aapl_historical_stock_price

Practice Problem

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What was the highest single-day increase in Apple's share value?

Try it outSee the answer

Practice Problem

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What was Apple's lowest stock price (at the time of this data collection)?

Try it outSee the answer

SELECT MIN(volume) AS min_volume,  MAX(volume) AS max_volume   FROM tutorial.aapl_historical_stock_price