Beginner

66. MAX Function

Learn how to find the largest value in a dataset using MAX.

📘 Lesson 66 of 728 ⏱ 6 min 🎯 Beginner

The MAX function returns the largest value from a set of values. It can be used with numeric, date, and other comparable data types depending on the database system.

Maximum values are frequently required in business analysis. Analysts may need to identify the highest salary, largest transaction, highest sales amount, or most recent date.

A sales analyst wants to identify the largest transaction amount recorded in the Sales table. MAX can return the highest SalesAmount value.

SQL 
SELECT
    MAX(SalesAmount) AS HighestSale
FROM Sales;

MAX is useful for sales analysis, salary analysis, transaction monitoring, pricing analysis, inventory reporting, and date analysis.

  • MAX returns the largest value.
  • MAX is an aggregate function.
  • It can work with numeric values.
  • It can be used with dates.
  • NULL values are generally ignored.
What does MAX do in SQL?

MAX returns the largest value from the selected values.

Can MAX return the latest date?

Yes. MAX can return the latest date from a date column.

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