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Top Earner Per Department

HardProQuerying BasicsWindow FunctionsSubqueries & CTEs

Write a SQL query to find the highest paid employee in each department. Return department, employee name, and salary. Use ROW_NUMBER() window function. Order by salary descending.

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Schema

employees

emp_idnamedepartmentpositionsalaryhire_datemanager_idperformance_rating
1Alice JohnsonEngineeringSenior Developer950002019-03-1554.5
2Bob SmithEngineeringDeveloper750002020-06-0113.8
3Carol WilliamsMarketingMarketing Manager850002018-09-20NULL4.2

Expected output: Engineering: Alice, $95k

Hint

This is a Pro challenge — the hint, the step-by-step tutor and the reference solution open in the app.

Concepts

SELECT Window Functions Subquery

Practise the topic: SQL practice questions · Window function practice · CTE practice · Ranking function practice · Advanced SQL interview questions

Read the concept: Window functions tutorial

In these company practice sets

Snowflake · Goldman Sachs

A SQL Quest challenge matched to patterns reported for these companies — not a question any of them has published.

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