SQL Server SELECT TOP Statement

This SQL tutorial focuses on the SQL Server SELECT TOP statement, and provides explanations and examples.

The TOP statement allows limiting the number of records returned from a query, as well as displaying the number of highest/lowest rows, according to a certain condtion (Top N Analysis).

Limiting the Number of Rows

To limit the number of results returned, use the TOP command.

SELECT TOP N column, column, column ..
FROM table

For example, the following query returns only the first 10 results.

SELECT TOP 10 first_name
FROM employees

SQL Server SELECT TOP Clause – TOP-N Analysis

TOP-N analysis is used to limit the number of rows returned from an ordered set of data items. This are very useful when you would like to return the N lowest or highest rows.

SELECT TOP N column, column, column ..
FROM table
ORDER BY column

For example, the following SQL Server example returns the top ten earners in the company:

SELECT TOP 10 first_name, salary
FROM employees
ORDER BY salary DESC

You can use the keyword PERCENT to receive a certain percentage of the data, rather than an arbitrary number of rows. The following example returns the top 10 percent earners in the company.

SELECT TOP 10 PERCENT first_name, salary
FROM employees
ORDER BY salary DESC