ROW_NUMBER

Returns the row number of each row within the partition of a result set.

ROW_NUMBER numbers all rows sequentially.

See also RANK, which provides the same value for identical consecutive rows (e.g. 1, 2, 2, 4, 4, 6).

Syntax

ROW_NUMBER( )
      OVER (
         [ PARTITION BY partition_expr [, ...] ]
         [ ORDER BY order [ ASC | DESC ] [, ...]]
      )

Arguments

None

Returns

The row number, with data type BIGINT.

Notes

  • The ORDER BY clause that is used determines the order in which the rows appear in a result set, and thus the rank.

  • Rank is non-deterministic. It may return different results each time it is called with a specific set of input values even if there has been no change in the table contents.

Examples

For these examples, assume a table named nba, with the following structure:

CREATE TABLE nba
(
   "Name" text(40),
   "Team" text(40),
   "Number" tinyint,
   "Position" text(2),
   "Age" tinyint,
   "Height" text(4),
   "Weight" real,
   "College" text(40),
   "Salary" float
 );

Here’s a peek at the table contents (Download nba.csv):

nba.csv

Name

Team

Number

Position

Age

Height

Weight

College

Salary

Avery Bradley

Boston Celtics

0.0

PG

25.0

6-2

180.0

Texas

7730337.0

Jae Crowder

Boston Celtics

99.0

SF

25.0

6-6

235.0

Marquette

6796117.0

John Holland

Boston Celtics

30.0

SG

27.0

6-5

205.0

Boston University

R.J. Hunter

Boston Celtics

28.0

SG

22.0

6-5

185.0

Georgia State

1148640.0

Jonas Jerebko

Boston Celtics

8.0

PF

29.0

6-10

231.0

5000000.0

Amir Johnson

Boston Celtics

90.0

PF

29.0

6-9

240.0

12000000.0

Jordan Mickey

Boston Celtics

55.0

PF

21.0

6-8

235.0

LSU

1170960.0

Kelly Olynyk

Boston Celtics

41.0

C

25.0

7-0

238.0

Gonzaga

2165160.0

Terry Rozier

Boston Celtics

12.0

PG

22.0

6-2

190.0

Louisville

1824360.0

RANK vs. ROW_NUMBER

t=> SELECT ROW_NUMBER () OVER (PARTITION BY "Age" ORDER BY "Height") FROM nba;
row_number
----------
         1
         2
         1
         2
         3
         4
         5
         6
         7
         8
         9
        10
        11
        12
        13
        14
        15
        16
        17
        18
        19
         1
         2
         3
         4
[...]


t=> SELECT RANK () OVER (PARTITION BY "Age" ORDER BY "Height") FROM nba;
rank
----
   1
   1
   1
   2
   2
   2
   5
   6
   6
   8
   8
  10
  10
  10
  13
  14
  14
  14
  14
  18
  19
   1
   2
   2
   2
[...]