4.1 — Basic Aggregation Functions

What You'll Learn

• How to use SQL aggregation functions: SUM, AVG, COUNT, MIN, MAX
• How this compares to Excel’s summary functions and PivotTable values

Aggregating Data in SQL

Here is the sales data we'll use in our examples:

Product	Amount
Apples	120
Oranges	80
Bananas	50
Pears	60
Grapes	90

In Excel, you use functions like SUM() or create PivotTables to summarize data. In SQL, you use aggregation functions in your queries.

Example: Total sales amount

SELECT SUM(Amount) AS Total_Sales
FROM sales;

Other common functions:

Function	What it does	Example
SUM()	Adds up values	SUM(Amount)
AVG()	Calculates average	AVG(Amount)
COUNT()	Counts rows	COUNT(*)
MIN()	Finds smallest value	MIN(Amount)
MAX()	Finds largest value	MAX(Amount)

Multiple Aggregates

You can use several functions in one query:

SELECT
  COUNT(*) AS Row_Count,
  SUM(Amount) AS Total_Sales,
  AVG(Amount) AS Avg_Sale,
  MIN(Amount) AS Min_Sale,
  MAX(Amount) AS Max_Sale
FROM sales;

Key Points

• Aggregation functions summarize your data, just like Excel formulas or PivotTable values.
• You can use multiple functions in the same query.

Next Steps

Next, you’ll learn how to group your data—just like grouping rows in a PivotTable.