# ORDER BY > For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.redpanda.com/llms.txt). Component-specific: [cloud-data-platform-full.txt](https://docs.redpanda.com/cloud-data-platform-full.txt) --- title: ORDER BY latest-operator-version: v26.1.4 latest-console-tag: v3.7.3 latest-connect-version: 4.93.0 latest-redpanda-tag: v26.1.9 docname: sql/sql-clauses/order-by page-component-name: cloud-data-platform page-version: master page-component-version: master page-component-title: Cloud page-relative-src-path: sql/sql-clauses/order-by.adoc page-edit-url: https://github.com/redpanda-data/cloud-docs/edit/main/modules/reference/pages/sql/sql-clauses/order-by.adoc description: The ORDER BY clause sorts the rows returned by a SELECT statement. page-topic-type: reference page-git-created-date: "2026-05-26" page-git-modified-date: "2026-05-26" --- The `ORDER BY` clause sorts the rows returned by a `SELECT` statement. ## [](#syntax)Syntax ```sql SELECT columns FROM table_name ORDER BY sort_expression1 [ASC | DESC] [NULLS FIRST | NULLS LAST]; ``` ### [](#parameters)Parameters - `columns`: The columns to retrieve. - `table_name`: The table to retrieve records from. - `ORDER BY`: The expression used to order the results. - `ASC` or `DESC`: Optional. Specifies whether results are returned in ascending or descending order. Default is `ASC`. - `NULLS FIRST` or `NULLS LAST`: Optional. Specifies where `NULL` values appear in the sort order. `NULLS FIRST` places `NULL` values before non-null values. `NULLS LAST` places `NULL` values after non-null values. The default is `NULLS LAST` for `ASC` order and `NULLS FIRST` for `DESC` order. ## [](#examples)Examples The following examples use a table called `salaryemp`. To create the table, run the query: ```sql CREATE TABLE salaryemp ( emp_id int, emp_name text, emp_div text, emp_sal int ); INSERT INTO salaryemp VALUES (1002, 'Mike', 'Marketing', 6000), (1003, 'Sean', 'Marketing', 6500), (1004, 'Victor', 'Finance', 7000), (1005, 'Lewis', 'Sales', 5500), (1006, 'David', 'Marketing', 8000), (1007, 'Meghan', 'Finance', 7500), (1008, 'Harry', 'Operations', 4500), (1009, 'Steve', 'Marketing', 6800), (1010, 'Omar', 'Finance', 8000), (1011, 'David', 'Sales', 8200); ``` To verify the inserted values, run: ```sql SELECT * FROM salaryemp; ``` The query returns: ```sql +-----------+------------+----------------+-------------+ | emp_id | emp_name | emp_div | emp_sal | +-----------+------------+----------------+-------------+ | 1002 | Mike | Marketing | 6000 | | 1003 | Sean | Marketing | 6500 | | 1004 | Victor | Finance | 7000 | | 1005 | Lewis | Sales | 5500 | | 1006 | David | Marketing | 8000 | | 1007 | Meghan | Finance | 7500 | | 1008 | Harry | Operations | 4500 | | 1009 | Steve | Marketing | 6800 | | 1010 | Omar | Finance | 8000 | | 1011 | David | Sales | 8200 | +-----------+------------+----------------+-------------+ ``` ### [](#order-by-in-ascending-order)ORDER BY in ascending order This example uses the `ORDER BY` clause to sort employees by their division: ```sql SELECT emp_name, emp_div FROM salaryemp ORDER BY emp_div; ``` The query returns: ```sql +------------+----------------+ | emp_name | emp_div | +------------+----------------+ | Victor | Finance | | Omar | Finance | | Meghan | Finance | | Mike | Marketing | | Sean | Marketing | | David | Marketing | | Steve | Marketing | | Harry | Operations | | Lewis | Sales | | David | Sales | +------------+----------------+ ``` ### [](#order-by-in-descending-order)ORDER BY in descending order The following statement selects all records from the `salaryemp` table and sorts them by `emp_sal` in descending order: ```sql SELECT * FROM salaryemp ORDER BY emp_sal DESC; ``` The query returns: ```sql +-----------+------------+----------------+-------------+ | emp_id | emp_name | emp_div | emp_sal | +-----------+------------+----------------+-------------+ | 1011 | David | Sales | 8200 | | 1006 | David | Marketing | 8000 | | 1010 | Omar | Finance | 8000 | | 1007 | Meghan | Finance | 7500 | | 1004 | Victor | Finance | 7000 | | 1009 | Steve | Marketing | 6800 | | 1003 | Sean | Marketing | 6500 | | 1002 | Mike | Marketing | 6000 | | 1005 | Lewis | Sales | 5500 | | 1008 | Harry | Operations | 4500 | +-----------+------------+----------------+-------------+ ``` ### [](#order-by-with-both-asc-and-desc-parameters)ORDER BY with both ASC and DESC parameters The following statement selects all records from the `salaryemp` table and sorts the rows by `emp_sal` in ascending order and `emp_div` in descending order: ```sql SELECT * FROM salaryemp ORDER BY emp_sal ASC, emp_div DESC; ``` The query returns: ```sql +-----------+------------+----------------+-------------+ | emp_id | emp_name | emp_div | emp_sal | +-----------+------------+----------------+-------------+ | 1008 | Harry | Operations | 4500 | | 1005 | Lewis | Sales | 5500 | | 1002 | Mike | Marketing | 6000 | | 1003 | Sean | Marketing | 6500 | | 1009 | Steve | Marketing | 6800 | | 1004 | Victor | Finance | 7000 | | 1007 | Meghan | Finance | 7500 | | 1006 | David | Marketing | 8000 | | 1010 | Omar | Finance | 8000 | | 1011 | David | Sales | 8200 | +-----------+------------+----------------+-------------+ ``` ### [](#order-by-with-text-data-types)ORDER BY with TEXT data types In this example, two small tables are created with `text` data: ```sql CREATE TABLE strings ( column1 text ); INSERT INTO strings VALUES ('A'), ('B'), ('a'), ('b'); CREATE TABLE texts ( column1 TEXT ); INSERT INTO texts VALUES ('A'), ('B'), ('a'), ('b'); ``` When using the `ORDER BY` clause with these data types, records with uppercase letters are sorted lexicographically first, followed by records with lowercase letters. ```sql SELECT * FROM strings ORDER BY column1; SELECT * FROM texts ORDER BY column1; ``` The query returns: ```sql column1 --------- A B a b ``` ### [](#order-by-with-interval-data-type)ORDER BY with INTERVAL data type For this example, create a new table called `interval_data`: ```sql CREATE TABLE interval_data ( duration INTERVAL ); INSERT INTO interval_data (duration) VALUES (INTERVAL '1 month 30 days 20 hours'), (INTERVAL '2 months 20 hours'), (INTERVAL '1 month 30 days 19 hours'), (INTERVAL '2 months 1 hours'); ``` `ORDER BY` on an `interval` column sorts values by their total duration. For example, `1 month 30 days 20 hours` is greater than `2 months 1 hour` because `1 month` equals `30 days`, making the first interval equivalent to `60 days 20 hours` versus `60 days 1 hour`. ```sql SELECT * FROM interval_data ORDER BY duration; ``` The query returns: ```sql duration ------------------------ 2 mons 01:00:00 1 mon 30 days 19:00:00 1 mon 30 days 20:00:00 2 mons 20:00:00 ``` This total-duration sorting also applies when mixing `hours` and `days`. For example, `24 hours 5 minutes` and `1 day 5 minutes` represent the same total duration: ```sql INSERT INTO interval_data (duration) VALUES (INTERVAL '24 hours 5 minutes'), (INTERVAL '1 day 5 minutes'), (INTERVAL '1 day 2 minutes'); ``` ```sql SELECT * FROM interval_data ORDER BY duration; ``` The query returns: ```sql duration ------------------------ 1 day 00:02:00 24:05:00 1 day 00:05:00 2 mons 01:00:00 1 mon 30 days 19:00:00 1 mon 30 days 20:00:00 2 mons 20:00:00 ```