Comments on: How to find top or bottom N values in Excel

Want to identify the highest or lowest values in a column or row? Need to return not only the values themselves but their names too? With this tutorial, you will learn how to find top 3, 5, 10 or n values in a dataset and retrieve matching data. Continue reading →

Table of contents

Comments page 3. Total comments: 165

  1. Hello, I am trying to find the top three values from a list of 20 and return the associated name. I am also trying to find the bottom three values and the associated name of which it has duplicate values but I need to return two different names. Downloading your sheet I am unable to match the names. The Small and Large functions are working correctly to provide the values correctly. The name is returning incorrect values when I am switching my formula to Index with the imbedded Countif function for both top and bottom.
    {=INDEX($P$5:$P$24;MATCH(1;($Q$5:$Q$24=LARGE($Q$5:$Q$24;R5))*(COUNTIF(T$5:T5;$P$5:$P$24)=0);0))}

    Goodride -3,30%
    Rotalla -0,80%
    Goodyear -2,00%
    Continental -1,50%
    Hankook -1,60%
    Nankang -2,10%
    Michelin -1,10%
    Pirelli -0,50%
    Nokian -1,40%
    Bridgestone -3,00%
    Nexen -1,50%
    Falken -2,70%
    Star Performer -3,30%
    Dunlop -1,30%
    Kleber -1,60%
    Maxxis -3,20%
    Toyo -2,90%
    Barum -0,70%
    Uniroyal 1,30%
    Vredestein -0,10%

    I receive the top three values as 1,3%, -0,1%, -0,5% with the return names as Uniroyal, Vredestein Pirelli
    the bottom three values are -3,3%, -3,3%, -3,2%. However without the countif function added I receive Goodride as the name for values 1 and 2, when I add the countif function in I am receiving not a name value but a 0.

    How can I set this as a standard formula to follow in multiple data reviews to avoid a hard sort each time. (FYI, the sort formula is not a function that I am able to utilize , nor can I use the filter in a formula)

    1. Hello!
      Use the recommendations given in the section: How to find top values with duplicates.

      Cell S5 --

      {=INDEX($P$5:$P$24, MATCH(1, ($Q$5:$Q$24=LARGE($Q$5:$Q$24, R5)) * (COUNTIF($S$4:S4, $P$5:$P$24)=0), 0))}

      Cell T5 --

      =INDEX($P$5:$P$24, MATCH(1, ($Q$5:$Q$24=SMALL($Q$5:$Q$24, R5)) * (COUNTIF($T$4:T4, $P$5:$P$24)=0), 0))

      I hope I answered your question. If you have any other questions, please don’t hesitate to ask.

      1. Hello Alexander,
        Unfortunately, I am still receiving an error. Could it be because the data I am using has been created in an older version of excel and I am working in the data in "compatibility mode"

        1. Hi!
          Please describe in detail the error you are getting. Make sure your percentages are written as numbers, not text.

          1. I am having the same issue. The first name of two on the same value/time is shown for 1st & 2nd.

  2. Hi

    I need code wise top 3 amount and need to remove the extra values i.e. not top 3

    Sample file:

    Code Amount
    1 100000
    1 74777
    1 52000
    1 20000
    1 15000
    1 13000
    2 50000
    2 25000
    3 80000
    3 60000
    3 44000
    3 30200
    3 10000
    4 88000
    4 72000
    5 96000
    5 40000
    5 20000
    6 150000
    6 30000
    6 22000
    6 11000

    1. Hi!
      You can use this formula:

      =SUM(INDEX($A$2:$A$23,MATCH(LARGE($B$2:$B$23,{1;2;3}),$B$2:$B$23,0)))

      I think you know that Excel formulas do not delete values in cells.

  3. Hi, Iam facing difficulty when using the formula:-

    =INDEX($A$2:$A$12, MATCH(LARGE(IF($B$2:$B$12=$F$1, $C$2:$C$12), E5), IF($B$2:$B$12=$F$1, $C$2:$C$12), 0))

    When iam trying to get the name from my data to get top 3, one of 2 names having same value and it returns to me the same value .How to resolve it.

  4. Dear Ablebits,

    Many appreciations for your support on this. would u pls help me to find top 10 with column criterias which have the most sum from the below table consisting multiple columns combined with both common and unique data of numerous values either text or number for instance-

    names item no list of items source value
    rick 221144 apple italy 33475
    mina 231673 soap greece 32197
    ranta 371582 steel uae 4583199
    rick 221144 apple china 13626 rick 221144 apple italy 45178
    mina 231673 soap greece 89135

    now, i want find which will showcase as below format-

    Top 10 names list of items value
    1 rick* apple* 92,279*
    2
    3
    4
    5
    6
    7
    8
    9
    10
    what will be the way to find * cells mentioned above?
    Thanks for your persisting support and cooperation

    Gratitude
    Ronoy.

  5. Dear Ablebits,

    Many appreciations for your support on this. would u pls help me to find top 10 with column criterias which have the most sum from the below table consisting multiple columns combined with both common and unique data of numerous values either text or number for instance-

    names item no list of items source value
    rick 221144 apple italy 33475
    mina 231673 soap greece 32197
    ranta 371582 steel uae 4583199
    rick 221144 apple china 13626 rick 221144 apple italy 45178
    mina 231673 soap greece 89135

    now, i want find which will showcase as below format-

    Top 10 names list of items value
    1 rick* apple* 92,279*
    2
    3
    4
    5
    6
    7
    8
    9
    10
    what will be the way to find * cells mentioned above?
    Thanks for your persisting support and cooperation

    Gratitude
    Ronoy.

  6. Hi Svetlana, Thank you for you helpful post! I was hoping you can help, I have two columns setup like this:

    Name Grade
    Abby 8
    Abby 8
    Abby 7
    Bob 6
    Bob 9
    Frank 8

    I need this data to be converted into columns like this:

    Abby 8 8 7
    Bob 6 9
    Frank 8

    I'm using this expression =INDEX($A$2:$A$112, MATCH(0, COUNTIF($D$1:$D1, $A$2:$A$112), 0)) to express the unique names which works.

    I'm using this: =IFERROR(INDEX($B$2:$B$116, MATCH(0, COUNTIF($D2:D2,$B$2:$B$116)+IF($A$2:$A$116$D2, 1, 0), 0)), 0) to transpose the information but it only work for unique number. Do you know a way I can turn the unique part off because then I think it will work.

    Grateful for any help.

    Thanks
    Rich

  7. Hello

    I'm using your Top Values Duplicate. I have a sheet with the following columns:

    A - Category (general text with repeats)
    B - Acceleration (3 digit number with repeats)

    I'm trying to extract the top 5 highest numbers and output them in other cells. I would like the returned values from column B with the matching value from column A output in the cells. When I adapt your formula I can get the correct value output from column B, however the text output from column A will return an #N/A value. I've even copied my data in to your example spreadsheet and the same occurs.

    =INDEX(A15:A23, MATCH(TRUE, (B15:B23=LARGE(B15:B23, J15)) * (COUNTIF(L$1:L14, A15:A23)=0), 0))

    J15 refers to the cell with '1' text (top 1st). L14 refers to header for column of extracted A column data.

    What am I doing wrong?! Thanks.

    1. Hello!
      I can't see your details, so I can't verify for sure. This is not exactly the formula in the article. Replace TRUE with 1.

  8. Hi...I tried your formula and I am encountering a problem. It seems like it only worked if I limited the scope to about 110 cells but anything more, "#VALUE" comes out as the result. I am sure there is nothing wrong with your formula but would you know how I can resolve this? Is there a formatting issue I need to check?

    1. Hi!
      I can't guess which formula you used. There are a lot of formulas in this article. I can't see your data. Describe the problem in more detail and I'll try to help.

      1. Hi,

        Sorry for being vague in my question. I tried to find the top values given a criteria. I have a set of data in Column A with Account Names, Column B with Booking Month, Column C with Status and Column D with Amounts. I need to get the Top 5 Accounts with its corresponding Status and Amount depending on the month indicated on the sheet. The current month is specified on cell F1. I used the formula as follows:

        =XLOOKUP(LARGE(IF($B$5:$B$116=$F$1, $D$5:$D$116), E5), IF($B$5:$B$116=$F$1, $D$5:$D$116), $A$5:$A$116)

        The above formula works. However, I already have entries up to row 280. If I change the formula to include row 280 instead of only up to 116, the result shows: "#VALUE!". Even if I change it to include row 117, the same results come out.

        Thanks in advance!

  9. I have a list of about 100 or so numbers, which is also expected to grow larger. I know how to find the ten highest values, but I really need to know which rows contain the values since some are duplicates. Is that possible? It would save a lot of time and possible mistakes when try to manually look through the entire list. Hope that I explained that clear enough to understand. If I need to clarify anything please let me know. Thanks for any help you can provide.

      1. Thanks for the help, I'll definitely try it and let you know.

  10. This is one of the best help articles I've ever read for defining a somewhat complex set of functions. I'm proficient, but very un-expert, and this was the key to creating the sheet I was trying to create! Thank you so much for your quality work!!

  11. Hi,

    I have an excel file with several columns comprising list as below:

    Column D - Name of Equity Instrument (text)
    Column Q - Amount of P&L (number)
    Column Z - Name of Month (text)
    Column AA - Profit or Loss (text)

    I want to be able to extract / get top 5 equity (column D) with highest profit (column AA) and also top 5 equity (column D) with max loss (column AA), based on Profit or Loss specified in column AA. Kindly help me with the formula. Also please advise what addition do I make in the formula, just in case if I wish to extract these details month-wise (column Z).

    Thank you so much for your help.

    1. Hello!
      You can find the examples and detailed instructions in this article. If something is still unclear, please feel free to ask.

  12. Hi,

    I'm getting #N/A values in my list as I drag the formula down and not sure what I am doing incorrectly. Formula is as follows:

    {=INDEX($J$3:$J$2554, MATCH(1, ($R$3:$R$2554=LARGE($R$3:$R$2554, $A9)) * (COUNTIF(AG$8:AG8, $J$3:$J$2554)=0), 0))}

    Appreciate any help you can provide!

    Thanks,

    Evan

    1. Hello!
      An N/A error means the formula

      MATCH(1, ($R$3:$R$2554=LARGE($R$3:$R$2554, $A9)

      did not find the desired value.
      Check if cell reference $A9 should change.
      I also recommend replacing 1 with TRUE.

      MATCH(TRUE, ($R$3:$R$2554=LARGE($R$3:$R$2554, $A9)

      I hope it’ll be helpful.

  13. HI Alexander, Thanks for wonderful explanation. I am very much able to corelate your example with my data. However I am facing one issue, I want to return SMALL function only if the value in specific cell is not equal to -100%... (This is the column from where I need to publish 5 worst performing segments). I tried to put a condition SMALL(IF(POWER($B$2:$B$27,2)1,$C$2:$C$27),ROW(F4)-ROW(F$3)), even if it is array formula, the result is #value.....it seems excel is not able to decipher POWER formula in SMALL...
    This is basically to exclude the WORST values with -100% values.......
    Can you please help??

    1. Hi!
      I am not sure I fully understand what you mean.
      The IF function does not work with arrays and data ranges.

  14. How would you go about finding the top three most referenced input in a column if it is a name? For example, if in column C you have the following list:

    James
    Tina
    Rachel
    James
    Tim
    Jorge
    Manuel
    Emily
    Rachel
    Josephine
    James

    What formula would I utilize to find the top three names in that list?

    1. Hi Nathan,

      You can extract the top three names by using the below formula, where C1:C11 is the list of names:

      =INDEX(SORTBY(UNIQUE(C1:C11), COUNTIF(C1:C11, UNIQUE(C1:C11)), -1), {1;2;3})

  15. u explained this so poorly i cried like 4 times trying to understand. disappointing

  16. Sorry columns went awry after being sent. Looks a mess, I hope it's possible to understand it.

    Ros

  17. Hi, Starting with a grid setup as below.

    A B C D E
    name | round 1 | round 2 | round 3 | round 4
    position position position position
    _______________________________________________________
    bill 2nd 4th 2nd 1st
    fred 3 2 1 4
    rod 4 3 3 3
    dude 1 1 4 2

    Here goes! Match fishing, 12 rounds/matches. 35+ people taking part (column A)
    Column B will show the position each person attained in round 1, 1st through to 35th position. (and so on for each round)

    Firstly, can a formula take away each persons lowest 2 positions?

    1st places | 2nd places | 3rd places | 4th places

    Bill 1 1 0 0
    fred 1 1 0 0
    rod 0 0 2 0
    dude 2 0 0 0

    and ultimately rank them in position order

    dude 1st
    bill =2nd
    fred =2nd
    rod 4th

    I have tried but I'm still a novice in excel. Hope this makes sense.
    Thanks
    Ros

    1. Hello!
      An Excel formula can only change the value of the cell in which it is written.
      You can rate each place with a certain number of points. Then, for each person, calculate the total score. Then use this sum to sort with the SORT function.
      I hope it’ll be helpful.

      1. Thank you, will give it a go.

        Ros

  18. Hi,
    Column A names | Columns B to M - rounds 1 to 12

    The columns will show what position each participant attained in that round.

    Is it possible to rank by each participants top 10 rounds positions and have the lowest 2 disregarded?

    Many thanks in advance

  19. To clarify I am looking for bottom 2 customers per month. Ie Jan is 3 and 10 feb is 8 and 16 Mar is 15 and 20

  20. Hi,

    I am running into an issue where my Index/Match to find the top 10 items in my file only pulls data for one single month.

    Example:
    Lets say I want to pull the top 2 shortages customers per month

    My current formula is below, only points at March since column L is for March. How can I get this formula to change which column it is pulling the top two sales qty from without re entering the entire formula?
    I am thinking something similar to using a vlookup where you can change the column to lookup by using a number ie: =vlookup(a3,D:E,2,false)

    =INDEX('Shorts by Item'!A:A,MATCH(1,('Shorts by Item'!L:L=LARGE('Shorts by Item'!L:L,Dashboard!A38))*(COUNTIF(Dashboard!B$36:Dashboard!B37,'Shorts by Item'!A:A)=0),0))

    Below is an example with 3 different customers a/b/c and how many units we short shipped the customer each month. I am looking to change the column it pulls from by typing Jan/Feb/Mar/April into a cell.

    Customer | Jan | Feb | Mar | April
    a: | 10 | 20 | 15 | 10
    b: | 18 | 16 | 22 | 12
    c: | 3 | 8 | 20 | 6

    Thanks,
    Danny

  21. How do I find top values with criteria with duplicates?

    e.g. If the long jump had two 5.57m in Group A and I want both unique names?

    Many thanks.

      1. I am trying to combine the two formulas of duplicates and criteria & it doesn’t work. I have check both of these articles and it isn’t working. Can you share with me a formula that comes the two because I can’t find it anywhere

        1. To ensure clear understanding of your task, can you provide an example of the source data and the desired result you are aiming for?

    2. Hi Thabo,

      For this, you can use a combination of FILTER LARGE and IF functions as demonstrated in this example: Filter top n values with criteria

      This solution only works in Excel 365, hope it is the version you use :)

  22. I have just found your site and am really enjoying the content.
    In regards to the "Top Values Duplicates" example, is it possble to set the crieria so that the output is a list of all people who scored 5.48 and above which would mean that of the 11 entries on the name list, 6
    would show up in the results including the top 2 and bottom 2 duplicates.
    Would appreaciate your help with this.

    Rob

    1. Hello!
      You can use these two formulas:
      For values —

      =LARGE(IF($B$2:$B$12>5,$B$2:$B$12), D2)

      For names —

      =INDEX($A$2:$A$12, MATCH(1, ($B$2:$B$12=LARGE($B$2:$B$12, D2))*($B$2:$B$12>5) * (COUNTIF(F$1:F1, $A$2:$A$12)=0), 0))

      I hope I answered your question. If something is still unclear, please feel free to ask.

  23. Hi, I have a list of names and next column I lave a list of the number of orders they have made for that month. How can I make another column next to it which can show their rank in who's made the most orders. Like next to the person with the most orders to have 1, second best to have 2 in the Rank column. And if second best makes more orders, the formula to automatically change into the correct ranking. Any ideas? Thank you very much in advance!

    1. Hello!
      If your data is written in columns A and B, then in column C write the formula

      =COUNTIF($A$2:$A$1000,">="&A2)

      Copy it down along the column.
      Hope this is what you need.

  24. Hi,
    I have a column of 50 numbers. I want to find the highest 18 numbers, add them together and return a total. Is there a formula that can do all this in one cell please?
    Cheers.

      1. Hi, that returned the top score only, not the top 18?

        1. My bad. That works perfectly in Excel. I've been trying to use it in Google Sheets. By any chance do you have a solution for that?
          Kind regards, Ian.

          1. Don't worry. Found the answer.

        2. Hello!
          I wrote this formula based on the description you provided in your original comment. The formula calculates the sum of the 18 largest numbers. If you want to get these numbers, then you need to do it in another cell.

          =LARGE(A1:A50,{1;2;3;4;5;6;7;8;9;10;11;12;13;14;15;16;17;18})

  25. I have a list as follows.

    CLASS-NAME-GRADE
    A-TOD-50
    A-BEN-80
    B -JOHN- 70
    B-PAT - 90

    How do I find the first student name who's score is greater than 45 but in class B.

    Thanks

  26. Hello Svetlana,

    Thank you very much for the posts! I have just started exploring the website looking for some personal tips for work with excel, and I must say that the format of the posts is very nice! Especially, thank you for taking time and posting screenshots with the clear explanations!

    1. Thank you for your positive feedback, Yulia! It's the best incentive for us to keep up and improve :)

Post a comment



Thank you for your comment!
When posting a question, please be very clear and concise. This will help us provide a quick and relevant solution to
your query. We cannot guarantee that we will answer every question, but we'll do our best :)