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Asked: 2026-05-11T11:30:55+00:00

I’m trying to figure out which is the more efficient way to get the

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I’m trying to figure out which is the more efficient way to get the nth highest record in a mySQL database:

SELECT *  FROM table_name ORDER BY column_name DESC LIMIT n - 1, 1

or

SELECT * FROM table_name AS a  WHERE n - 1 = (     SELECT COUNT(primary_key_column)      FROM products b      WHERE  b.column_name > a. column_name)

There is an index on column_name.

I would think mySQL would efficiently perform the limit clause and the first option is the way to go.

I wasn’t too clear what the 2nd query does exactly, so if that is more efficient can someone explain why.

Thanks.

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  1. I tried EXPLAIN on both those queries on a database of mine (note: the optimizer may choose different plans for your schema/data) and it definitely looks like the first one wins in every regard: it’s simpler to read and understand, and will most likely be faster.

    As aaronls said, and EXPLAIN confirms, the second query has a correlated subquery which will require an extra iteration through the entire table for each row.

    Since the first one is way easier to read, I’d choose it in a shot. If you do find that it’s a bottleneck (after profiling your application), you could give the second a try but I don’t see how it could possibly be faster.

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