SQL MAX() function

May 16, 2021 SQL

The MAX() function returns the maximum value of the selected column.

SELECT MAX(column_name)
FROM table_name
WHERE condition;

Demonstrate the database

In this tutorial, we'll use the famous Northwind sample database.

Here's the data from the Products table:

ProductID	ProductName	SupplierID	CategoryID	Unit	Price
1	Chais	1	1	10 boxes x 20 bags	18
2	Chang	1	1	24 - 12 oz bottles	19
3	Aniseed Syrup	1	2	12 - 550 ml bottles	10
4	Chef Anton's Cajun Seasoning	2	2	48 - 6 oz jars	22
5	Chef Anton's Gumbo Mix	2	2	36 boxes	21.35

The following SQL statement looks for the price of the most expensive product:

SELECT MAX(Price) AS LargestPrice FROM Products;

The result set is something like this:

LargestPrice
22