SQL MIN and MAX Functions – Complete Guide with Examples (2026-27)

✅ What are SQL MIN and MAX Functions?

MIN() and MAX() are SQL aggregate functions — they perform a calculation on a set of values and return a single result.

✅ MIN(column) — returns the smallest / lowest value in the column.

✅ MAX(column) — returns the largest / highest value in the column.

✅ Both functions ignore NULL values automatically — only non-NULL rows are considered.

✅ Both work on numeric, date, and text columns.

✅ Sample Employees Table (used in all examples below):-

✅ SQL MIN and MAX Syntax

MIN() Syntax

SELECT MIN(column_name)
FROM table_name
WHERE condition;

MAX() Syntax

SELECT MAX(column_name)
FROM table_name
WHERE condition;

Both MIN() and MAX() Together

SELECT MIN(column_name) AS MinValue,
       MAX(column_name) AS MaxValue
FROM table_name
WHERE condition;

✅ MIN vs MAX – Quick Comparison Table

✅ Example 1 – MIN: Find the Lowest Salary

Return the smallest salary value from the Employees table.

✅ SELECT Query:-

SELECT MIN(Salary)
FROM Employees;

✅ Result Show:-

✅ Example 2 – MAX: Find the Highest Salary

Return the largest salary value from the Employees table.

✅ SELECT Query:-

SELECT MAX(Salary)
FROM Employees;

✅ Result Show:-

✅ Example 3 – MIN and MAX with Alias (AS)

Use the AS keyword to give the result columns readable names. Also shows both MIN and MAX in a single query:

✅ SELECT Query:-

SELECT MIN(Salary) AS LowestSalary,
       MAX(Salary) AS HighestSalary
FROM Employees;

✅ Result Show:-

✅ Example 4 – MIN with WHERE Clause

Find the lowest salary only within the IT department using a WHERE clause to filter rows before MIN is applied:

✅ SELECT Query:-

SELECT MIN(Salary) AS LowestSalary_IT
FROM Employees
WHERE Department = 'IT';

✅ Result Show:-

✅ Similarly, find the maximum salary in HR:-

SELECT MAX(Salary) AS HighestSalary_HR
FROM Employees
WHERE Department = 'HR';

✅ Result Show:-

✅ Example 5 – MIN and MAX with GROUP BY

Use GROUP BY to find the minimum and maximum salary for each department separately:

✅ SELECT Query:-

SELECT Department,
       MIN(Salary) AS LowestSalary,
       MAX(Salary) AS HighestSalary
FROM Employees
GROUP BY Department
ORDER BY Department;

✅ Result Show:-

✅ Example 6 – MAX with HAVING

Use HAVING to filter groups after GROUP BY — show only departments where the highest salary is more than 10000:

✅ SELECT Query:-

SELECT Department,
       MAX(Salary) AS HighestSalary
FROM Employees
GROUP BY Department
HAVING MAX(Salary) > 10000
ORDER BY HighestSalary DESC;

✅ Result Show:-

✅ Example 7 – MIN with Subquery (Get Full Employee Row)

MIN(Salary) returns only the salary value. To get the complete employee record with the lowest salary, use a subquery:

✅ SELECT Query – Employee with lowest salary:-

SELECT *
FROM Employees
WHERE Salary = (SELECT MIN(Salary) FROM Employees);

✅ Result Show:-

✅ Similarly – Employee with highest salary:-

SELECT *
FROM Employees
WHERE Salary = (SELECT MAX(Salary) FROM Employees);

✅ Result Show:-

✅ MIN and MAX on Text and Date Columns

MIN() and MAX() are not limited to numbers — they work on any orderable column:

MIN / MAX on Text (alphabetical order)

-- First name alphabetically
SELECT MIN(Name) AS FirstAlphabetically FROM Employees;

-- Last name alphabetically
SELECT MAX(Name) AS LastAlphabetically FROM Employees;

✅ Result:-

MIN / MAX on Dates (earliest / latest)

-- Earliest hire date (longest-serving employee)
SELECT MIN(HireDate) AS EarliestHire FROM Employees;

-- Most recent hire date (newest employee)
SELECT MAX(HireDate) AS LatestHire FROM Employees;

✅ Result:-

✅ Key Points to Remember

✅ MIN() returns the smallest value — lowest number, earliest date, or first alphabetically.

✅ MAX() returns the largest value — highest number, latest date, or last alphabetically.

✅ Both ignore NULL values — rows with NULL in the target column are automatically skipped.

✅ Use AS to name the result — MIN(Salary) AS LowestSalary gives a readable column header.

✅ Use WHERE to filter before aggregating — WHERE Department = 'IT' limits MIN/MAX to IT rows only.

✅ Use GROUP BY for per-group results — find MIN/MAX for each department, city, or category.

✅ Use HAVING to filter groups — not WHERE — when filtering by aggregate results after GROUP BY.

✅ Use a subquery to get the full row — WHERE Salary = (SELECT MIN(Salary) FROM Employees) retrieves the complete record.

✅ Work in all databases — MIN() and MAX() syntax is identical in MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQL Server, Oracle, and SQLite.

✅ Common SQL MIN / MAX Mistakes to Avoid