RANK in BigQuery

This page is a quick reference checkpoint for RANK in BigQuery: behavior, syntax rules, edge cases, and a minimal example; plus the official vendor documentation.


Function Details

RANK assigns a ranking number to each row, giving equal values the same rank and leaving gaps after ties.

Assigns the same rank to peer rows; ranks may not be consecutive. Return type is INT64.

If this behavior feels unintuitive, the tutorial below explains the underlying pattern step-by-step.

RANK() OVER (window_clause)

SELECT RANK() OVER (PARTITION BY region ORDER BY sales DESC) AS sales_rank FROM sales_table;

What should you do next?

If you came here to confirm syntax, you’re done. If you came here to get better at window functions, choose your next step.

Understand the pattern

RANK is part of a bigger window-function pattern. If you want the “why”, start here: Ranking Functions

Prove it with a real query

Reading docs is useful. Writing the query correctly under pressure is the skill.

Species Revenue Rankings

Support Status

  • Supported: yes
  • Minimum Version: BigQuery is continuously updated and has no versioned SQL engine, so minimum version information does not apply.

Official Documentation

For the authoritative spec, use the vendor docs. This page is the fast “sanity check”.

View BigQuery Documentation →

Looking for more functions across all SQL dialects? Visit the full SQL Dialects & Window Functions Documentation.