Resolve ERROR 1111 (HY000): Invalid use of group function in MySQL? How to correctly use aggregate function with where clause?

To correctly use aggregate function with where clause in MySQL, the following is the syntax −

select *from yourTableName
where yourColumnName > (select AVG(yourColumnName) from yourTableName);

To understand the above concept, let us create a table. The query to create a table is as follows −

mysql> create table EmployeeInformation
   -> (
   -> EmployeeId int,
   -> EmployeeName varchar(20),
   -> EmployeeSalary int,
   -> EmployeeDateOfBirth datetime
   -> );
Query OK, 0 rows affected (1.08 sec)

Now you can insert some records in the table using insert command. The query is as follows −

mysql> insert into EmployeeInformation values(101,'John',5510,'1995-01-21');
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.13 sec)
mysql> insert into EmployeeInformation values(102,'Carol',5600,'1992-03-25');
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.56 sec)
mysql> insert into EmployeeInformation values(103,'Mike',5680,'1991-12-25');
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.14 sec)
mysql> insert into EmployeeInformation values(104,'David',6000,'1991-12-25');
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.23 sec)
mysql> insert into EmployeeInformation values(105,'Bob',7500,'1993-11-26');
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.16 sec)

Display all records from the table using select statement. The query is as follows −

mysql> select *from EmployeeInformation;

The following is the output −

+------------+--------------+----------------+---------------------+
| EmployeeId | EmployeeName | EmployeeSalary | EmployeeDateOfBirth |
+------------+--------------+----------------+---------------------+
|        101 | John         |           5510 | 1995-01-21 00:00:00 |
|        102 | Carol        |           5600 | 1992-03-25 00:00:00 |
|        103 | Mike         |           5680 | 1991-12-25 00:00:00 |
|        104 | David        |           6000 | 1991-12-25 00:00:00 |
|        105 | Bob          |           7500 | 1993-11-26 00:00:00 |
+------------+--------------+----------------+---------------------+
5 rows in set (0.00 sec)

Here is the correct way to use aggregate with where clause. The query is as follows −

mysql> select *from EmployeeInformation
   -> where EmployeeSalary > (select AVG(EmployeeSalary) from EmployeeInformation);

The following is the output −

+------------+--------------+----------------+---------------------+
| EmployeeId | EmployeeName | EmployeeSalary | EmployeeDateOfBirth |
+------------+--------------+----------------+---------------------+
|        105 | Bob          |           7500 | 1993-11-26 00:00:00 |
+------------+--------------+----------------+---------------------+
1 row in set (0.04 sec)