Can we compare numbers in a MySQL varchar field?

Yes, we can do this by first using CAST(). Let us first create a table −

mysql> create table DemoTable
   -> (
   -> StudentId int NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY,
   -> StudentScore varchar(100)
   -> );
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.66 sec)

Insert some records in the table using insert command −

mysql> insert into DemoTable(StudentScore) values('90');
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.21 sec)

mysql> insert into DemoTable(StudentScore) values('100');
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.13 sec)

mysql> insert into DemoTable(StudentScore) values('56');
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.10 sec)

mysql> insert into DemoTable(StudentScore) values('98');
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.13 sec)

Display all records from the table using select statement −

mysql> select *from DemoTable;

Output

This will produce the following output −

+-----------+--------------+
| StudentId | StudentScore |
+-----------+--------------+
|         1 | 90           |
|         2 | 100          |
|         3 | 56           |
|         4 | 98           |
+-----------+--------------+
4 rows in set (0.00 sec)

Here is the query to compare in varchar fields −

mysql> select *from DemoTable where  CAST(StudentScore AS SIGNED) > 91;

Output

This will produce the following output −

+-----------+--------------+
| StudentId | StudentScore |
+-----------+--------------+
|         2 | 100          |
|         4 | 98           |
+-----------+--------------+
2 rows in set (0.00 sec)