Calculate the smallest or largest number in a range - Excel

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Calculate the smallest or largest number in a range

Applies to: Microsoft Office Excel 2003

Let's say you want to find out who has the the smallest error rate in a production run at a factory or the largest salary in your department. There are several ways to calculate the smallest or largest number in a range.

What do you want to do?

If the cells are in a contiguous row or column

If the cells are not in a contiguous row or column

If the cells are in a contiguous row or column

Select a cell below or to the right of the numbers for which you want to find the smallest number.
Click the arrow next to AutoSum , and then click Min (calculates the smallest), or Max (calculates the largest), and then press ENTER.

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If the cells are not in a contiguous row or column

To do this task, use the MIN, MAX, SMALL, or LARGE functions.

Example

The example may be easier to understand if you copy it to a blank worksheet.

Show How to copy an example

Create a blank workbook or worksheet.
Select the example in the Help topic.
Note Do not select the row or column headers.

Selecting an example from Help
Press CTRL+C.
In the worksheet, select cell A1, and press CTRL+V.
To switch between viewing the results and viewing the formulas that return the results, press CTRL+` (grave accent), or on the Tools menu, point to Formula Auditing, and then click Formula Auditing Mode.

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A
Data
10
7
9
27
0
4
Formula	Description (Result)
=MIN(A2:A7)	Smallest number in the range (0)
=MAX(A2:A7)	Largest number in the range (27)
=SMALL(A2:A7, 2)	Second smallest number in the range (4)
=LARGE(A2:A7,3)	Third largest number in the range (9)

Function details