MIN (Transact-SQL)

Applies to: SQL Server Azure SQL Database Azure SQL Managed Instance Azure Synapse Analytics Analytics Platform System (PDW) SQL analytics endpoint in Microsoft Fabric Warehouse in Microsoft Fabric

Returns the minimum value in the expression. May be followed by the OVER clause.

Transact-SQL syntax conventions

Syntax

-- Aggregation Function Syntax  
MIN ( [ ALL | DISTINCT ] expression )  
  
-- Analytic Function Syntax   
MIN ( [ ALL ] expression ) OVER ( [ <partition_by_clause> ] [ <order_by_clause> ] )  

Arguments

ALL
Applies the aggregate function to all values. ALL is the default.

DISTINCT
Specifies that each unique value is considered. DISTINCT is not meaningful with MIN and is available for ISO compatibility only.

expression
Is a constant, column name, or function, and any combination of arithmetic, bitwise, and string operators. MIN can be used with numeric, char, varchar, uniqueidentifier, or datetime columns, but not with bit columns. Aggregate functions and subqueries are not permitted.

For more information, see Expressions (Transact-SQL).

OVER ( [ partition_by_clause ] order_by_clause)
partition_by_clause divides the result set produced by the FROM clause into partitions to which the function is applied. If not specified, the function treats all rows of the query result set as a single group. order_by_clause determines the logical order in which the operation is performed. order_by_clause is required. For more information, see OVER Clause (Transact-SQL).

Return Types

Returns a value same as expression.

Remarks

MIN ignores any null values.

With character data columns, MIN finds the value that is lowest in the sort sequence.

MIN is a deterministic function when used without the OVER and ORDER BY clauses. It is nondeterministic when specified with the OVER and ORDER BY clauses. For more information, see Deterministic and Nondeterministic Functions.

Examples

A. Simple example

The following example returns the lowest (minimum) tax rate. The example uses the AdventureWorks2022 database

SELECT MIN(TaxRate)  
FROM Sales.SalesTaxRate;  
GO  

Here's the result set.

-------------------
 
5.00
 
(1 row(s) affected)

B. Using the OVER clause

The following example uses the MIN, MAX, AVG and COUNT functions with the OVER clause to provide aggregated values for each department in the HumanResources.Department table in the AdventureWorks2022 database.

SELECT DISTINCT Name  
       , MIN(Rate) OVER (PARTITION BY edh.DepartmentID) AS MinSalary  
       , MAX(Rate) OVER (PARTITION BY edh.DepartmentID) AS MaxSalary  
       , AVG(Rate) OVER (PARTITION BY edh.DepartmentID) AS AvgSalary  
       ,COUNT(edh.BusinessEntityID) OVER (PARTITION BY edh.DepartmentID) AS EmployeesPerDept  
FROM HumanResources.EmployeePayHistory AS eph  
JOIN HumanResources.EmployeeDepartmentHistory AS edh  
     ON eph.BusinessEntityID = edh.BusinessEntityID  
JOIN HumanResources.Department AS d  
 ON d.DepartmentID = edh.DepartmentID  
WHERE edh.EndDate IS NULL  
ORDER BY Name;  

Here's the result set.

Name                          MinSalary             MaxSalary             AvgSalary             EmployeesPerDept  
----------------------------- --------------------- --------------------- --------------------- ----------------  
Document Control              10.25                 17.7885               14.3884               5  
Engineering                   32.6923               63.4615               40.1442               6  
Executive                     39.06                 125.50                68.3034               4  
Facilities and Maintenance    9.25                  24.0385               13.0316               7  
Finance                       13.4615               43.2692               23.935                10  
Human Resources               13.9423               27.1394               18.0248               6  
Information Services          27.4038               50.4808               34.1586               10  
Marketing                     13.4615               37.50                 18.4318               11  
Production                    6.50                  84.1346               13.5537               195  
Production Control            8.62                  24.5192               16.7746               8  
Purchasing                    9.86                  30.00                 18.0202               14  
Quality Assurance             10.5769               28.8462               15.4647               6  
Research and Development      40.8654               50.4808               43.6731               4  
Sales                         23.0769               72.1154               29.9719               18  
Shipping and Receiving        9.00                  19.2308               10.8718               6  
Tool Design                   8.62                  29.8462               23.5054               6  
  
 (16 row(s) affected)  

Examples: Azure Synapse Analytics and Analytics Platform System (PDW)

C. Using MIN

The following example uses the MIN aggregate function to return the price of the least expensive (minimum) product in a specified set of sales orders.

-- Uses AdventureWorks  
  
SELECT DISTINCT MIN(UnitPrice)  
FROM dbo.FactResellerSales   
WHERE SalesOrderNumber IN (N'SO43659', N'SO43660', N'SO43664');  

Here's the result set.

------  
5.1865

D. Using MIN with OVER

The following examples use the MIN OVER() analytic function to return the price of the least expensive product in each sales order. The result set is partitioned by the SalesOrderID column.

-- Uses AdventureWorks  
  
SELECT DISTINCT MIN(UnitPrice) OVER(PARTITION BY SalesOrderNumber) AS LeastExpensiveProduct,  
       SalesOrderNumber  
FROM dbo.FactResellerSales    
WHERE SalesOrderNumber IN (N'SO43659', N'SO43660', N'SO43664')  
ORDER BY SalesOrderNumber;  

Here's the result set.

LeastExpensiveProduct SalesOrderID  
--------------------- ----------  
5.1865                SO43659  
419.4589              SO43660  
28.8404               SO43664

See Also

Aggregate Functions (Transact-SQL)
MAX (Transact-SQL)
OVER Clause (Transact-SQL)