Aggregate Functions in Tableau

Applies to: Tableau Cloud, Tableau Desktop, Tableau Public, Tableau Server

This article introduces aggregate functions and their uses in Tableau. It also demonstrates how to create an aggregate calculation using an example.

Why use aggregate functions

Aggregate functions allow you to summarize or change the granularity of your data.

For example, you might want to know exactly how many orders your store had for a particular year. You can use the COUNTD function to tally the exact number of unique orders your company had, and then break the visualization down by year.

The calculation might look something like this:

COUNTD(Order ID)

The visualization might look something like this:

Aggregate functions available in Tableau

Aggregations and floating-point arithmetic: The results of some aggregations may not always be exactly as expected. For example, you may find that the SUM function returns a value such as -1.42e-14 for a column of numbers that you know should sum to exactly 0. This happens because the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 754 floating-point standard requires that numbers be stored in binary format, which means that numbers are sometimes rounded at extremely fine levels of precision. You can eliminate this potential distraction by using the ROUND function (see Number Functions) or by formatting the number to show fewer decimal places.

ATTR

Syntax	`ATTR(expression)`
Definition	Returns the value of the expression if it has a single value for all rows. Otherwise returns an asterisk. Null values are ignored.

AVG

Syntax	`AVG(expression)`
Definition	Returns the average of all the values in the expression. Null values are ignored.
Notes	`AVG` can only be used with numeric fields.

COLLECT

Syntax	`COLLECT(spatial)`
Definition	An aggregate calculation that combines the values in the argument field. Null values are ignored.
Notes	`COLLECT` can only be used with spatial fields.

CORR

Syntax	`CORR(expression1, expression2)`
Output	Number from -1 to 1
Definition	Returns the Pearson correlation coefficient of two expressions.
Example	example
Notes	The Pearson correlation measures the linear relationship between two variables. Results range from -1 to +1 inclusive, where 1 denotes an exact positive linear relationship, 0 denotes no linear relationship between the variance, and −1 is an exact negative relationship. The square of a CORR result is equivalent to the R-Squared value for a linear trend line model. See Trend Line Model Terms(Link opens in a new window). Use with table scoped LOD expressions: You can use CORR to visualize correlation in a disaggregated scatter using a table-scoped level of detail expression(Link opens in a new window). For example: {CORR(Sales, Profit)} With a level of detail expression, the correlation is run over all rows. If you used a formula like `CORR(Sales, Profit)` (without the surrounding brackets to make it a level of detail expression), the view would show the correlation of each individual point in the scatter plot with each other point, which is undefined.
Database limitations	`CORR` is available with the following data sources: Tableau data extracts, Cloudera Hive, EXASolution, Firebird (version 3.0 and later), Google BigQuery, Hortonworks Hadoop Hive, IBM PDA (Netezza), Oracle, PostgreSQL, Presto, SybaseIQ, Teradata, Vertica. For other data sources, consider either extracting the data or using `WINDOW_CORR`. See Table Calculation Functions(Link opens in a new window).

COUNT

Syntax	`COUNT(expression)`
Definition	Returns the number of items. Null values are not counted.

COUNTD

Syntax	`COUNTD(expression)`
Definition	Returns the number of distinct items in a group. Null values are not counted.

COVAR

Syntax	`COVAR(expression1, expression2)`
Definition	Returns the sample covariance of two expressions.
Notes	Covariance quantifies how two variables change together. A positive covariance indicates that the variables tend to move in the same direction, as when larger values of one variable tend to correspond to larger values of the other variable, on average. Sample covariance uses the number of non-null data points n - 1 to normalize the covariance calculation, rather than n, which is used by the population covariance (available with the `COVARP` function). Sample covariance is the appropriate choice when the data is a random sample that is being used to estimate the covariance for a larger population. If `<expression1>` and `<expression2>` are the same, for example `COVAR([profit], [profit])`, `COVAR` returns a value that indicates how widely values are distributed. The value of `COVAR(X, X)` is equivalent to the value of `VAR(X)` and also to the value of `STDEV(X)^2`.
Database limitations	`COVAR` is available with the following data sources: Tableau data extracts, Cloudera Hive, EXASolution, Firebird (version 3.0 and later), Google BigQuery, Hortonworks Hadoop Hive, IBM PDA (Netezza), Oracle, PostgreSQL, Presto, SybaseIQ, Teradata, Vertica. For other data sources, consider either extracting the data or using `WINDOW_COVAR`. See Table Calculation Functions(Link opens in a new window).

COVARP

Syntax	`COVARP(expression 1, expression2)`
Definition	Returns the population covariance of two expressions.
Notes	Covariance quantifies how two variables change together. A positive covariance indicates that the variables tend to move in the same direction, as when larger values of one variable tend to correspond to larger values of the other variable, on average. Population covariance is sample covariance multiplied by (n-1)/n, where n is the total number of non-null data points. Population covariance is the appropriate choice when there is data available for all items of interest as opposed to when there is only a random subset of items, in which case sample covariance (with the `COVAR` function) is appropriate. If `<expression1>` and `<expression2>` are the same, for example `COVARP([profit], [profit])`, `COVARP` returns a value that indicates how widely values are distributed. Note: The value of `COVARP(X, X)` is equivalent to the value of `VARP(X)` and also to the value of `STDEVP(X)^2`.
Database limitations	`COVARP` is available with the following data sources: Tableau data extracts, Cloudera Hive, EXASolution, Firebird (version 3.0 and later), Google BigQuery, Hortonworks Hadoop Hive, IBM PDA (Netezza), Oracle, PostgreSQL, Presto, SybaseIQ, Teradata, Vertica For other data sources, consider either extracting the data or using `WINDOW_COVAR`. See Table Calculation Functions(Link opens in a new window).

MAX

Syntax	`MAX(expression)` or `MAX(expr1, expr2)`
Output	Same data type as the argument, or `NULL` if any part of the argument is null.
Definition	Returns the maximum of the two arguments, which must be of the same data type. `MAX` can also be applied to a single field as an aggregation.
Example	MAX(4,7) = 7 MAX(#3/25/1986#, #2/20/2021#) = #2/20/2021# MAX([Name]) = "Zander"
Notes	For strings `MAX` is usually the value that comes last in alphabetical order. For database data sources, the `MAX` string value is highest in the sort sequence defined by the database for that column. For dates For dates, the `MAX` is the most recent date. If `MAX` is an aggregation, the result will not have a date hierarchy. If `MAX` is a comparison, the result will retain the date hierarchy. As an aggregation `MAX(expression)` is an aggregate function and returns a single aggregated result. This displays as `AGG(expression)` in the viz. As a comparison `MAX(expr1, expr2)` compares the two values and returns a row-level value. See also `MIN`.

MEDIAN

Syntax	`MEDIAN(expression)`
Definition	Returns the median of an expression across all records. Null values are ignored.
Notes	`MEDIAN` can only be used with numeric fields.
Database limitations	`MEDIAN` is not available for the following data sources: Access, Amazon Redshift, Cloudera Hadoop, HP Vertica, IBM DB2, IBM PDA (Netezza), Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL, SAP HANA, Teradata. For other data source types, you can extract your data into an extract file to use this function. See Extract Your Data(Link opens in a new window).

MIN

Syntax	`MIN(expression)` or `MIN(expr1, expr2)`
Output	Same data type as the argument, or `NULL` if any part of the argument is null.
Definition	Returns the minimum of the two arguments, which must be of the same data type. `MIN` can also be applied to a single field as an aggregation.
Example	MIN(4,7) = 4 MIN(#3/25/1986#, #2/20/2021#) = #3/25/1986# MIN([Name]) = "Abebi"
Notes	For strings `MIN` is usually the value that comes first in alphabetical order. For database data sources, the `MIN` string value is lowest in the sort sequence defined by the database for that column. For dates For dates, the `MIN` is the earliest date. If `MIN` is an aggregation, the result will not have a date hierarchy. If `MIN` is a comparison, the result will retain the date hierarchy. As an aggregation `MIN(expression)` is an aggregate function and returns a single aggregated result. This displays as `AGG(expression)` in the viz. As a comparison `MIN(expr1, expr2)` compares the two values and returns a row-level value. See also `MAX`.

PERCENTILE

Syntax	`PERCENTILE(expression, number)`
Definition	Returns the percentile value from the given expression corresponding to the specified `<number>`. The `<number>` must be between 0 and 1 (inclusive) and must be a numeric constant.
Example	PERCENTILE([Score], 0.9)
Database limitations	This function is available for the following data sources: Non-legacy Microsoft Excel and Text File connections, Extracts and extract-only data source types (for example, Google Analytics, OData, or Salesforce), Sybase IQ 15.1 and later data sources, Oracle 10 and later data sources, Cloudera Hive and Hortonworks Hadoop Hive data sources, EXASolution 4.2 and later data sources. For other data source types, you can extract your data into an extract file to use this function. See Extract Your Data(Link opens in a new window).

STDEV

Syntax	`STDEV(expression)`
Definition	Returns the statistical standard deviation of all values in the given expression based on a sample of the population.

STDEVP

Syntax	`STDEVP(expression)`
Definition	Returns the statistical standard deviation of all values in the given expression based on a biased population.

SUM

Syntax	`SUM(expression)`
Definition	Returns the sum of all values in the expression. Null values are ignored.
Notes	`SUM` can only be used with numeric fields.

VAR

Syntax	`VAR(expression)`
Definition	Returns the statistical variance of all values in the given expression based on a sample of the population.

VARP

Syntax	`VARP(expression)`
Definition	Returns the statistical variance of all values in the given expression on the entire population.

Create an aggregate calculation

Follow along with the steps below to learn how to create an aggregate calculation.

In Tableau Desktop, connect to the Sample - Superstore saved data source, which comes with Tableau.
Navigate to a worksheet and select Analysis > Create Calculated Field.
In the calculation editor that opens, do the following:
- Name the calculated field Margin.
- Enter the following formula:
  IIF(SUM([Sales]) !=0, SUM([Profit])/SUM([Sales]), 0)
  Note: You can use the function reference to find and add aggregate functions and other functions (like the logical IIF function in this example) to the calculation formula. For more information, see Use the functions reference in the calculation editor.
- When finished, click OK.
The new aggregate calculation appears under Measures in the Data pane. Just like your other fields, you can use it in one or more visualizations.
Note: Aggregation calculations are always measures.
When Margin is placed on a shelf or card in the worksheet, its name is changed to AGG(Margin), which indicates that it is an aggregate calculation and cannot be aggregated any further.

Rules for aggregate calculations

The rules that apply to aggregate calculations are as follows:

For any aggregate calculation, you cannot combine an aggregated value and a disaggregated value. For example, SUM(Price)*[Items] is not a valid expression because SUM(Price) is aggregated and Items is not. However, SUM(Price*Items) and SUM(Price)*SUM(Items) are both valid.
Constant terms in an expression act as aggregated or disaggregated values as appropriate. For example: SUM(Price*7) and SUM(Price)*7 are both valid expressions.
All of the functions can be evaluated on aggregated values. However, the arguments to any given function must either all be aggregated or all disaggregated. For example: MAX(SUM(Sales),Profit) is not a valid expression because Sales is aggregated and Profit is not. However, MAX(SUM(Sales),SUM(Profit)) is a valid expression.
The result of an aggregate calculation is always a measure. This includes expressions like ATTR(Dimension) or MIN(Dimension).
Like predefined aggregations, aggregate calculations are computed correctly for grand totals. Refer to Grand Totals for more information.

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