MIN() Function in PostgreSQL

Last Updated : 4 Aug, 2026

MIN() function in PostgreSQL is an aggregate function that returns the smallest value from a set of values in a column. It can be used with numeric, date and text data types and is commonly used with the GROUP BY clause.

  • Find the smallest value in a column.
  • Retrieve the earliest date from a dataset.
  • Determine the minimum value for each group.
  • Summarize data using aggregate queries.

Syntax

SELECT MIN(column_name)
FROM table_name;

Where:

  • MIN(): Returns the smallest value from a column.
  • column_name: The column whose minimum value is returned.
  • GROUP BY: Groups rows before calculating the minimum value (optional).

Working

1

Example 1: Find the Minimum Price

The following query returns the lowest product price.

Query:

SELECT MIN(Price) AS MinimumPrice
FROM Products;

Output:

2
  • MIN() function returns the smallest value in the Price column.

Example 2: Find the Minimum Price in Each Category

The following query returns the lowest product price for each category.

Query:

SELECT
    Category,
    MIN(Price) AS MinimumPrice
FROM Products
GROUP BY Category;

Output:

3
  • GROUP BY clause divides the rows by category and MIN() returns the lowest price for each group.

Example 3: Find the Alphabetically First Product

The following query returns the alphabetically first product name.

Query:

SELECT MIN(ProductName) AS FirstProduct
FROM Products;

Output:

4
  • MIN() function can also be used with text columns, where it returns the first value in alphabetical order.
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