Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. If you are using an earlier version (Excel 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Excel, click here: Finding the Dates for Minimums and Maximums.
Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated December 31, 2024)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021
Michael has some data in two columns of a worksheet. Column A is a series of dates and column B contains expenditures for each of those dates. He needs a way to determine the date on which the minimum expenditure occurred and a way to find the date on which the maximum expenditure occurred.
At first glance you might be tempted to think you could use VLOOKUP to figure out the desired date. Unfortunately, that won't work because VLOOKUP keys off of whatever data is in the first column of your data table. Since you want to key off of the amount (looking for the minimum and maximum), you would need to switch the position of the columns, so that column A contained the amount and column B contained the dates. If you do that, you could then use the following formulas to find the dates for the minimum and maximum expenditures, respectively:
=VLOOKUP(MIN(A:A),A:B,2,0) =VLOOKUP(MAX(A:A),A:B,2,0)
If you cannot change the data columns, then you'll need to forego VLOOKUP and use a different approach, instead. The following two formulas will work with the data as originally specified by Michael:
=INDEX(A:A,MATCH(MIN(B:B),B:B,0)) =INDEX(A:A,MATCH(MAX(B:B),B:B,0))
It is important to note that if there are duplicates of the maximum and/or minimum expenditures, these formulas will only find the dates of the first occurrences. If this is not expected to happen often, a formula such as this could be used to alert the user to the existence of duplicates:
=IF(COUNTIF(B:B, MAX(B:B))>1, "Multiple Maximums ", INDEX(A:A, MATCH(MAX(B:B), B:B, 0)))
To make this formula work for minimums, just replace the two instances of MAX with MIN and change the word "Maximums" to "Minimums."
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (9662) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Finding the Dates for Minimums and Maximums.
Excel Smarts for Beginners! Featuring the friendly and trusted For Dummies style, this popular guide shows beginners how to get up and running with Excel while also helping more experienced users get comfortable with the newest features. Check out Excel 2013 For Dummies today!
When working with dates and the relationship between dates, Excel provides a variety of worksheet functions that may ...
Discover MoreNeed to know how many days there are between two dates? It's easy to figure out—unless you need the figure in ...
Discover MoreIf you import information generated on a UNIX system, you may need to figure out how to change the date/time stamps to ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
2021-04-19 02:57:01
Peter Kanters
XLOOKUP is only available in Office 365 which includes other handy new functions like UNIQUE and XMATCH
2021-04-17 17:02:44
John Mann
I can't find XLOOKUP() on my version of Xcel (2010). Can I add it somehow? or is it limited Excel365?
I WILL NOT use Office 365 to for 2 reasons: (1) I have a metered internet connection so want all my software and data storage local. & (2) It reminds me of the now antique conecpt from the sixties and seventies known at time-sharing
2021-04-06 03:15:43
Peter Kanters
The new XLOOKUP() function also does not bother anymore about the order of the search column. It can search in column B and return data from column A or another non-adjacent column. No need for CHOOSE() anymore.
2021-04-03 13:06:09
Tom Kadlec
You can use VLOOKUP using the following formula:
=VLOOKUP(MIN(B:B), CHOOSE({1,2},B:B,A:A),2,FALSE)
=VLOOKUP(MAX(B:B), CHOOSE({1,2},B:B,A:A),2,FALSE)
Where CHOOSE({1,2},B:B,A:A) produces an array that effectively reverses the order of the columns A and B.
VLOOKUP searches for a match in the first column of the CHOOSE array (B:B - expenditure) and returns the value from the second column of the CHOOSE array (A:A - date).
This formula can be used to search non-adjacent columns or columns from different sheets.
Got a version of Excel that uses the ribbon interface (Excel 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the menu interface.
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2025 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. If you are using an earlier version (Excel 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Excel, click here:
Comments