SELECT 3rd Highest Salary in SQL

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To select 3rd highest salary in SQL, you can use the LIMIT clause in combination with the ORDER BY clause.

SELECT DISTINCT salary
FROM employees
ORDER BY salary DESC
LIMIT 1 OFFSET 2;
  • We are assuming you have a table named employees with a column named salary that stores the salary information.
  • We use the ORDER BY clause to sort the salaries in descending order (DESC), so the highest salary will come first.
  • We use LIMIT 1 to restrict the result set to just one row.
  • We use OFFSET 2 to skip the first two highest salaries, effectively selecting the 3rd highest salary.

Steps to Select 3rd Highest Salary in SQL

Now, Let’s see with the following steps –

1. Create the Database

You’ll need to have an SQL database system installed for example MySQL. Follow your database system’s documentation for installation and setup instructions.

2. Create the employees Table

This SQL command creates a table named employees with three columns: employee_id, employee_name, and salary. employee_id is the primary key, and salary is where you’ll store salary information

CREATE TABLE employees (
    employee_id INT PRIMARY KEY,
    employee_name VARCHAR(255),
    salary DECIMAL(10, 2)
);

3. Insert Sample Data

Insert some sample data into the employees table

This command populates the employees table with sample employee data, including their names and salaries.

INSERT INTO employees (employee_id, employee_name, salary)
VALUES
    (1, 'John', 50000.00),
    (2, 'Alice', 60000.00),
    (3, 'Bob', 55000.00),
    (4, 'Eve', 75000.00),
    (5, 'Mike', 62000.00);

4. Run the SQL Query

Run the SQL query mentioned earlier to find the 3rd highest salary

This query will return the 3rd highest salary from the employees table based on the sample data

SELECT DISTINCT salary
FROM employees
ORDER BY salary DESC
LIMIT 1 OFFSET 2;

Suggestion

This query will return the 3rd highest salary from the employees table. You can replace employees and salary with your actual table and column names as needed.

Remember to adapt the table structure and data to your specific use case as needed. The provided example is a simplified representation for demonstration purposes.