---
title: "How to get the second highest value in a column without using a subquery with TOP or ORDER BY?"  
description: "How to get the second highest value in a column without using a subquery with TOP or ORDER BY?"  
author: "Ashutosh Patel"  
published: 2025-04-30  
updated: 2025-04-30  
canonical: https://www.mindstick.com/forum/161550/how-to-get-the-second-highest-value-in-a-column-without-using-a-subquery-with-top-or-order-by  
category: "SQL Server"  
tags: ["mssql server", "sql server", "sql"]  
reading_time: 1 minute  

---

# How to get the second highest value in a column without using a subquery with TOP or ORDER BY?

How to get the [second highest](https://www.mindstick.com/forum/160917/how-to-write-a-query-to-find-the-second-highest-salary-in-sql-server) [value](https://www.mindstick.com/articles/23219/an-optimized-description-adds-value-to-experience-and-in-turn-effectively-guest-posting-packages) in a [column](https://www.mindstick.com/forum/33860/how-to-calculate-column-summary-in-sql-server) without using a [subquery](https://www.mindstick.com/forum/1279/using-alias-in-subquery) with TOP or [ORDER](https://www.mindstick.com/articles/12276/how-timely-order-deliveries-can-improve-customer-experience) BY?


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Original Source: https://www.mindstick.com/forum/161550/how-to-get-the-second-highest-value-in-a-column-without-using-a-subquery-with-top-or-order-by

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