MS Excel RANK Function

RANK Function Basics

 If you give the RANK function a number, and a list of numbers, it will tell you the rank of that number in the list, either in ascending or descending order.

For example, here's a list of 10 student test scores, in cells B2:B11. To find the rank of the score in cell B2, enter this formula in cell C2:

=RANK(B2,$B$2:$B$11)

There are 3 arguments for the RANK function:

• number: in this example, the number to rank is in cell B2
• ref: We want to compare the number to the list of numbers in cells $B$2:$B$11. I used an absolute reference, so the referenced range will stay the same when we copy the formula down to the cells below
• order: (optional) Use zero, or leave this argument empty, to find the rank in the list in descending order. For ascending order, type a 1, or any other number except zero. I left this blank, to find the rand in descending order. If you were comparing golf scores, you could type a 1, to rank in ascending order.

I copied the formula down to cell C11, and the scores were ranked in descending order, as promised.