Highlighting the Largest Values in a Column

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated November 29, 2025)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and Excel in Microsoft 365

Barry has a column of data that contains numeric values. He would like to use a conditional formatting rule to highlight the three largest values in the column. He wonders if there is a special trick to applying conditional formatting to a column, as he cannot seem to get the values to highlight properly.

There is a very easy way to do this using conditional formatting. Just follow these steps:

  1. Select the cells to which you want the conditional formatting rule applied. (I'm going to assume that the values are in the range A1:A200.)
  2. Display the Home tab of the ribbon.
  3. Click on the Conditional Formatting tool. Excel displays a group of options.
  4. Choose the New Rule option. Excel displays the New Formatting Rule dialog box.
  5. In the Select a Rule Type area, choose Format Only Top or Bottom Ranked Values. Excel updates the dialog box to reflect your choice.
  6. Change the "Format Values that Rank In the" setting from "Top 10" to "Top 3." (See Figure 1.)

    7. Figure 1. The New Formatting Rule dialog box.

  7. Use the formatting controls in the dialog box to indicate how you want the top 3 values to be formatted.
  8. Click on OK. Excel saves and immediately applies the conditional formatting rule.

You need to realize that it is possible for more than three values to quality as the "top 3." For instance, if the top value is 324 and six cells contain that value, then all six will be formatted. In other words, ties in the ranking affects how the rule applies.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (10142) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and Excel in Microsoft 365.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Changing Text Orientation

Word allows you to change the orientation of text contained within certain objects, such as AutoShapes, text boxes, and ...

Discover More

Displaying a Hidden First Column

Hiding columns is easy, even hiding column A. How, then, do you get that left-most column displayed again? Here are a few ...

Discover More

Adding Individual Styles to the Template

One of the things you can store within templates are styles. When you use styles, it is critical that you understand how ...

Discover More

Professional Development Guidance! Four world-class developers offer start-to-finish guidance for building powerful, robust, and secure applications with Excel. The authors show how to consistently make the right design decisions and make the most of Excel's powerful features. Check out Professional Excel Development today!

More ExcelTips (ribbon)

Returning a Value Based on Text Color

Conditional formatting rules can be used to adjust the way in which information is displayed in Excel, such as the text ...

Discover More

Shading Based on Odds and Evens

You can use conditional formatting to add shading to various cells in your worksheet. This tip shows how you can shade ...

Discover More

Defining a Single Conditional Formatting Condition

Conditional formatting is a powerful tool you can use to dynamically adjust the formatting of your worksheet. This tip ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is nine less than 9?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)

This Site

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.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.

Links and Sharing
OUR COMPANY
OUR PRODUCTS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2026 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.