# dense_rank > 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: dense_rank 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-functions/window-functions/dense-rank page-component-name: cloud-data-platform page-version: master page-component-version: master page-component-title: Cloud page-relative-src-path: sql/sql-functions/window-functions/dense-rank.adoc page-edit-url: https://github.com/redpanda-data/cloud-docs/edit/main/modules/reference/pages/sql/sql-functions/window-functions/dense-rank.adoc description: The `dense_rank()` window function assigns a rank for each value within a specified group, based on the ORDER BY expression in the OVER clause. page-topic-type: reference page-git-created-date: "2026-05-26" page-git-modified-date: "2026-05-26" --- The `dense_rank()` window function assigns a rank for each value within a specified group, based on the `ORDER BY` expression in the `OVER` clause. Unlike the `rank()` function, which can leave gaps in the ranking sequence when there are ties, `dense_rank()` provides consecutive rank values without any gaps. This function can be used with all [data types supported by Redpanda SQL](https://docs.redpanda.com/cloud-data-platform/reference/sql/sql-data-types/). ## [](#syntax)Syntax The syntax for this function is: ```sql DENSE_RANK() OVER ( [PARTITION BY partition_expression] ORDER BY sort_expression ) ``` The output type for this function is a `bigint` and it indicates the rank of values in a table, regardless of the input types. If the `ORDER BY` expression is omitted, all ranks default to 1. If an optional `PARTITION BY` expression is included, the rankings are reset for each group of rows. The rows with equal values for the ranking criteria receive the same rank. > 📝 **NOTE** > > Unlike `rank()` function, there is no gap in the sequence of ranked values (if two rows are ranked 1, the next rank is 2) ## [](#parameters)Parameters - `()`: This function does not take any arguments, but the parentheses are required. - `PARTITION BY`: Optional. Divides the result set into partitions, each processed independently. If omitted, the entire result set is treated as a single partition. - `ORDER BY`: Order of rows in each partition to which the function is applied. ## [](#examples)Examples The following examples use a `winsales` table that stores information about some sales transactions: ```sql CREATE TABLE winsales( salesid int, dateid date, sellerid int, buyerid text, qty int, qty_shipped int); INSERT INTO winsales VALUES (30001, '8/2/2003', 3, 'b', 10, 10), (10001, '12/24/2003', 1, 'c', 10, 10), (10005, '12/24/2003', 1, 'a', 30, null), (40001, '1/9/2004', 4, 'a', 40, null), (10006, '1/18/2004', 1, 'c', 10, null), (20001, '2/12/2004', 2, 'b', 20, 20), (40005, '2/12/2004', 4, 'a', 10, 10), (20002, '2/16/2004', 2, 'c', 20, 20), (30003, '4/18/2004', 3, 'b', 15, null), (30004, '4/18/2004', 3, 'b', 20, null), (30007, '9/7/2004', 3, 'c', 30, null); ``` ### [](#dense_rank-with-order-by)`dense_rank()` with ORDER BY This example executes the `dense_rank()` function with `ORDER BY` keyword and calculates the descending dense rank of all rows based on the quantity sold: ```sql SELECT salesid, qty, Dense_RANK() OVER (ORDER BY qty DESC) AS d_rnk, RANK() OVER (ORDER BY qty DESC) AS rnk FROM winsales ORDER BY 2,1; ``` Output that includes the sales ID along with the quantity sold and both dense and regular ranks: ```sql salesid | qty | d_rnk | rnk ---------+-----+-------+----- 10001 | 10 | 5 | 8 10006 | 10 | 5 | 8 30001 | 10 | 5 | 8 40005 | 10 | 5 | 8 30003 | 15 | 4 | 7 20001 | 20 | 3 | 4 20002 | 20 | 3 | 4 30004 | 20 | 3 | 4 10005 | 30 | 2 | 2 30007 | 30 | 2 | 2 40001 | 40 | 1 | 1 (11 rows) ``` ### [](#dense_rank-with-order-by-and-partition_by)`dense_rank()` with ORDER BY and PARTITION_BY This example executes the `dense_rank()` function with `ORDER BY` keyword and `PARTITION BY` clause, partitions the table by seller ID, orders each partition by the quantity, and assigns a dense rank to each row: ```sql SELECT salesid, sellerid, qty DENSE_RANK() OVER (PARTITION BY sellerid ORDER BY qty DESC) AS d_rnk FROM winsales ORDER BY 2,3,1; ``` The query returns: ```sql salesid | sellerid | qty | d_rnk ---------+----------+-----+------- 10001 | 1 | 10 | 2 10006 | 1 | 10 | 2 10005 | 1 | 30 | 1 20001 | 2 | 20 | 1 20002 | 2 | 20 | 1 30001 | 3 | 10 | 4 30003 | 3 | 15 | 3 30004 | 3 | 20 | 2 30007 | 3 | 30 | 1 40005 | 4 | 10 | 2 40001 | 4 | 40 | 1 (11 rows) ```