MS SQL Server - AVG() function example

In this article, we would like to show you how to use AVG() function in MS SQL Server.

Quick solution:

SELECT AVG([column_name]) FROM [table_name];

Practical example

To show how the AVG() function works, we will use the following table:

Note:

At the end of this article you can find database preparation SQL queries.

Example 1

In this example, we will display the average salary.

Query:

SELECT AVG([salary]) FROM [users];

Output:

Example 2

In this example, we will display every user whose salary is less than average. This shows that we are able to use AVG() function in different places in query (e.g. as subselect or having).

Query:

SELECT * FROM [users] 
WHERE [salary] < (SELECT AVG([salary]) 
FROM [users]);

Output:

Database preparation

create_tables.sql file:

CREATE TABLE [users] (
	[id] INT IDENTITY(1,1),
	[name] VARCHAR(50) NOT NULL,
	[surname] VARCHAR(50) NOT NULL,
	[department_id] INT,
    [salary] DECIMAL(15,2) NOT NULL,
	PRIMARY KEY ([id])
);

insert_data.sql file:

INSERT INTO [users]
	([name], [surname], [department_id], [salary])
VALUES
	('John', 'Stewart', 1, '3512.00'),
	('Chris', 'Brown', 2, '1344.00'),
	('Kate', 'Lewis', 3, '6574.00'),
	('Ailisa', 'Gomez', NULL, '6500.00'),
	('Gwendolyn', 'James', 2, '4200.00'),
	('Simon', 'Collins', 4, '3320.00'),
	('Taylor', 'Martin', 2, '1500.00'),
	('Andrew', 'Thompson', NULL, '2100.00');