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399. TOP-N Queries

Learn how to retrieve the highest or lowest N records from a dataset.

📘 Lesson 399 of 728 ⏱ 11 min 🎯 Intermediate

A TOP-N query sorts data according to a chosen metric and returns only the required number of highest or lowest records.

Top-N analysis is a common business requirement for identifying best customers, highest sales, lowest prices, or top-performing products.

Find the five employees with the highest salaries.

SQL 
SELECT
    EmployeeName,
    Salary
FROM Employees
ORDER BY Salary DESC
FETCH FIRST 5 ROWS ONLY;

TOP-N queries are widely used in sales leaderboards, customer analysis, product rankings, financial analysis, and management reporting.

  • TOP-N returns a limited number of ranked rows.
  • ORDER BY determines the ranking.
  • DESC is commonly used for highest values.
  • ASC can be used for lowest values.
  • Different databases use different row-limiting syntax.
How do you find the top five salaries?

Sort salary in descending order and limit the result to five rows.

Why is ORDER BY required for a TOP-N query?

ORDER BY determines which rows qualify as the highest or lowest N records.

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