How do you use the RANK function in Excel

The RANK function in Excel is used to determine the rank of a number within a list of numbers. It can rank numbers in ascending or descending order. The basic syntax of the RANK function is:

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RANK(number, ref, [order])

• number: The number whose rank you want to find.
• ref: The range of cells containing the list of numbers to rank against.
• order (optional): A number that specifies how to rank the number. If order is 0 or omitted, Excel ranks the number as if the list is sorted in descending order (largest number gets rank 1). If order is any non-zero value, Excel ranks the number as if the list is sorted in ascending order (smallest number gets rank 1).

Example Usage:

1. Ranking in Descending Order (default):
   To rank the number in cell A1 against the range A1

   in descending order:

    

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   =RANK(A1, A1:A10)

   If A1 contains the largest number in the range, this will return 1.

2. Ranking in Ascending Order:
   To rank the same number in ascending order:

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   =RANK(A1, A1:A10, 1)

   If A1 contains the smallest number in the range, this will return 1.

Notes:

• If two or more numbers in the list are the same, RANK will assign them the same rank, and the next rank(s) will be skipped. For example, if two numbers are tied for rank 1, the next rank will be 3.
• If you need to assign unique ranks to duplicate values, you can use the RANK.EQ or RANK.AVG functions:
  • RANK.EQ: Returns the same rank for duplicate values (same as RANK).
  • RANK.AVG: Returns the average rank for duplicate values.