Find the Lowest Value from a List of Numbers (N) in Excel (Formula)

Last Updated: December 26, 2023
puneet-gogia-excel-champs

- Written by Puneet

In Excel, to find the lowest values from a list of numbers, you need to use the SMALL function. With this function, you can’t only get the smallest but the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, or even Kth smallest values from the list.

lowest-value-in-list

In this tutorial, we will learn to write a formula by using this function.

Excel Formula to Get the Lowest Number

You can use the below steps:

  1. First, in a cell enter the SMALL function.
  2. After that, in the first argument (array), refer to the range where you have the list of numbers.
  3. Next, in the second argument (k), enter 1 as you need to get the 1st lowest number from the list.
  4. In the end, hit enter to get the result.
small-function-to-get-lower-value

Once you hit enter, it returns 11 in the result which is the lowest number in the range.

small-function-result

Find Nth Lowest Values from a List of Numbers

And if you want to get the nth smallest value from the same list, you just need to change the value in the second argument (k) in the function. Let’s say you want to get the 3rd smallest value, the formula would be:

nth-lowest-value
=SMALL(A1:A8,3)

It returns 23 which is the 3rd lowest number in the list.

Find the Lowest 3 Values

Now let’s say, you need to get the lowest three values in the single cell. For this, you need to combine the TEXTJOIN function with the SMALL. Just like the below example:

lowest-three-values
 =TEXTJOIN(",",TRUE,SMALL(A1:A8,{1,2,3}))

In the SMALL function, we have used {1,2,3} in the k argument of SMALL to get the 3 lowest values from the list.

small-function-to-get-three-lowest-values

It returns 11,12, and 23 as these are the 3 lowest numbers in the list. Now, you need to have these three numbers in a single cell. That’s why you need to use TEXTJOIN.

three-lowest-values-as-result

And if you want to get the three values in three different cells, you can skip using TEXTJOIN.

three-lowest-values-in-different-cells

Get the Excel File