Excel LARGE Function

LARGE returns the nth largest numeric value from a range or array.

Use it when you need the 2nd, 3rd, or 10th highest value from a list without sorting the data, such as leaderboard scores, sales amounts, or delivery times.

Choose numeric values The array supplies the candidates

Set the position k tells Excel which largest value to return

Return that ranked value 1 is largest, 2 is second largest

LARGE syntax & arguments

Syntax

=LARGE(array, k)

Required Optional

1

array
Required

The numeric values, range, or array to rank from largest to smallest.
2

k
Required

The position to return from the sorted values. Use 1 for the largest value, 2 for the second largest, and so on.

Example

=LARGE(E2:E25, 3)

Return the third largest numeric value from E2:E25.

LARGE caveats

k is a position, not a percentage

k of 1 returns the same value as MAX; k of 2 returns the second largest value.
Ties occupy separate positions

If the two largest values are both 100, LARGE(range, 1) and LARGE(range, 2) can both return 100.
k must be within the numeric list

A k value less than 1 or greater than the number of numeric values returns a #NUM! error.
Text and blanks are ignored

Non-numeric cells do not count toward the ranked positions.
Errors pass through

Error values in the array pass through, so LARGE returns the error instead of a ranked value.