How to Use the QUERY Function in Google Sheets (with Examples, 2026)
QUERY is the most powerful single function in Google Sheets — it filters, sorts, groups, and summarizes data using a SQL-like language, all in one cell. Here’s how to use it, clause by clause, with examples you can adapt.
QUERY Syntax
=QUERY(data, query, [headers])- data — the range to run against (e.g.,
A1:E100). - query — a quoted string of clauses (e.g.,
"SELECT A, C WHERE C > 100"). - headers — how many header rows the data has (usually
1).
Inside the query string, reference columns by their spreadsheet letter (A, B, C…), not by header name.
1. SELECT — Choose Columns
Return only columns A and C:
=QUERY(A1:E100, "SELECT A, C", 1)SELECT * returns every column.
2. WHERE — Filter Rows
=QUERY(A1:E100, "SELECT A, B, C WHERE C > 100", 1)Combine conditions with AND / OR:
=QUERY(A1:E100, "SELECT * WHERE C > 100 AND B = 'Paid'", 1)- Wrap text values in single quotes:
B = 'Paid'. - Wrap dates like this:
WHERE D > date '2026-01-01'.
3. ORDER BY — Sort
=QUERY(A1:E100, "SELECT A, C ORDER BY C DESC", 1)DESC for largest-first, ASC (default) for smallest-first.
4. GROUP BY — Summarize
Total column C for each value in column A:
=QUERY(A1:E100, "SELECT A, SUM(C) GROUP BY A", 1)Aggregates available: SUM, COUNT, AVG, MAX, MIN. Any column in SELECT that isn’t aggregated must appear in GROUP BY.
5. LABEL and LIMIT
- Rename headers in the output:
=QUERY(A1:E100, "SELECT A, SUM(C) GROUP BY A LABEL SUM(C) 'Total'", 1)- Cap the rows returned:
=QUERY(A1:E100, "SELECT A, C ORDER BY C DESC LIMIT 10", 1)6. Query Another Sheet
Reference a range on a different tab:
=QUERY('Sales'!A1:E100, "SELECT A, C WHERE C > 100", 1)To query a separate spreadsheet file, wrap IMPORTRANGE as the data argument and reference columns as Col1, Col2, etc.
7. Reference a Cell in the Query String
Build dynamic queries by concatenating a cell value into the string:
=QUERY(A1:E100, "SELECT A, C WHERE B = '" & G1 & "'", 1)Now changing G1 changes the filter.
8. Troubleshooting
”Unable to parse query string”
A clause is out of order or quoting is wrong. The clause order is fixed: SELECT → WHERE → GROUP BY → ORDER BY → LIMIT → LABEL. Use single quotes for text inside the query, double quotes around the whole string.
#VALUE! — column mismatch
You referenced a column letter outside the data range, or mixed data types in a column. QUERY expects each column to be a single type; numbers stored as text cause this.
Results include the header row
Set the third argument to 1 so QUERY treats the first row as a header.
Dates won’t filter
Use the date keyword and ISO format: WHERE D >= date '2026-01-01'.
Related Google Sheets guides: How to use VLOOKUP · How to create a pivot table · How to use the IF function · How to remove duplicates · How to use conditional formatting
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