MS SQL Server - COUNT() function example

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

Quick solution:

SELECT COUNT(*) AS [alias_name] FROM [table_name];

Practical example

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

Note:

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

Example

In this example, we will display the number of users.

Query: 

SELECT COUNT(*) AS [number of users] 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');