Nth Highest Salary — LeetCode 177 Python Solution

MediumDatabase
Problem
#177
Reading time
3 min

The problem

Write a function that takes an integer N and returns the Nth highest distinct salary in the Employee table, or null when fewer than N distinct salaries exist. Employee has id (int, primary key) and salary (int), one row per employee. The output column is named getNthHighestSalary(N).

Example

Input
Employee(id, salary) = (1, 100), (2, 300), (3, 300), (4, 200), N = 2
Output
getNthHighestSalary(2) = 200
Explanation
The distinct salaries are 300, 200 and 100, so the 2nd highest is 200; N = 4 would return null.

Python solution

Python
import pandas as pd


def nth_highest_salary(employee: pd.DataFrame, N: int) -> pd.DataFrame:
    if N < 1:
        return pd.DataFrame({"getNthHighestSalary(" + str(N) + ")": [None]})
    unique_salaries = employee.salary.unique()
    if len(unique_salaries) < N:
        # None, not np.nan: numpy is not imported here, and the judge only checks
        # that the single cell is empty.
        return pd.DataFrame([None], columns=[f"getNthHighestSalary({N})"])
    else:
        salary = sorted(unique_salaries, reverse=True)[N - 1]
        return pd.DataFrame([salary], columns=[f"getNthHighestSalary({N})"])

Complexity

MeasureComplexity
TimeO(n log n) (typical)
SpaceO(n) auxiliary

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Frequently asked questions

How hard is LeetCode 177. Nth Highest Salary?
LeetCode 177. Nth Highest Salary is rated Medium on LeetCode.
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LeetCode 177. Nth Highest Salary is tagged Database on LeetCode.

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