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sqlsql-serverstring-lengthmaxlength

Retrieve the maximum length of a VARCHAR column in SQL Server

I want to find the longest VARCHAR in a specific column of a SQL Server table.

Here's an example:

ID = INT IDENTITY
DESC = VARCHAR(5000)

ID | Desc
---|-----
1  | a
2  | aaa
3  | aa

What's the SQL to return 3? Since the longest value is 3 characters?

Solution

  • Use the built-in functions for length and max on the description column:

    SELECT MAX(LEN(DESC)) FROM table_name;

    Note that if your table is very large, there can be performance issues.