You can use PROC RANK in SAS to calculate the rank for one or more numeric variables.

Here are the four most common ways to use this procedure:

Method 1: Rank One Variable

proc rankdata=original_data out=ranked_data;
   var var1;
   ranks var1_rank;
run;

Method 2: Rank One Variable by Group

proc rankdata=original_data out=ranked_data;
   var var1;
   by var2;
   ranks var1_rank;
run;

Method 3: Rank One Variable into Percentiles

proc rankdata=original_data groups=4 out=ranked_data;
   var var1;
   ranks var1_rank;
run;

Method 4: Rank Multiple Variables

proc rankdata=original_data out=ranked_data;
   var var1 var2;
   ranks var1_rank var2_rank;
run;

The following examples show how to use each method with the following dataset in SAS:

/*create dataset*/
data original_data;
    input team $ points rebounds;
    datalines;
A 25 10
A 18 4
A 18 7
A 24 8
B 27 9
B 33 13
B 31 11
B 30 16
;
run;

/*view dataset*/
proc printdata=original_data;

Example 1: Rank One Variable

The following code shows how to create a new variable called points_rank that ranks the points scored by each team:

/*rank points scored by team*/
proc rankdata=original_data out=ranked_data;
   var points;
   ranks points_rank;
run;

/*view ranks*/proc printdata=ranked_data;

Any ties in points scored are assigned a mean rank. For example, the rows with the first and second lowest points scored both receive a rank of 1.5, since this is the average of 1 and 2.

Note that you can instead use the descending statement to assign the team with the most points the lowest rank:

/*rank points scored by team in descending order*/
proc rankdata=original_data descending out=ranked_data;
    var points;
    ranks points_rank;
run;

/*view ranks*/proc printdata=ranked_data;

Example 2: Rank One Variable by Group

The following code shows how to create a new variable called points_rank that ranks the points scored, grouped by team:

/*rank points scored, grouped by team*/
proc rankdata=original_data out=ranked_data;
    var points;
    by team;
    ranks points_rank;
run;

/*view ranks*/proc printdata=ranked_data;

Example 3: Rank One Variable into Percentiles

We can use the groups statement to rank variables into percentile groups. For example, we can rank each value of points into a quartile (four groups):

/*rank points into quartiles*/
proc rankdata=original_data groups=4 out=ranked_data;
   var points;
   ranks points_rank;
run;

/*view ranks*/proc printdata=ranked_data;

The rows with the points values in the lowest quartile are assigned a group of 0, the rows with the points in the next lowest quartile are assigned a group of 1, and so on.

Note: To assign values into deciles instead, simply use groups=10.

Example 4: Rank Multiple Variables

The following code shows how to create multiple new variables to rank both points and rebounds:

proc rankdata=original_data out=ranked_data;
   var points rebounds;
   ranks points_rank rebounds_rank;
run;

Additional Resources

The following tutorials explain how to perform other common tasks in SAS: