Top Events Per City SQL | Dataford Interview Questions

A ticket marketplace wants to identify the most searched events in each city. Write a SQL query to find the top three events per city based on ticket searches recorded during the thirty-day period ending on September 15, 2026.

Output

Return one row per qualifying event with the columns city, event_id, event_name, search_count, and city_rank.
Include only searches from August 16, 2026 through September 15, 2026, inclusive. Ignore searches whose event cannot be identified.
Rank events independently within each city by descending search count. Break ties by ascending event_id, and return only the first three events per city.
Sort the final results by city, then city_rank, then event_id.

Schema

events

Column	Type	Description
event_idPK	INT	Unique event identifier
event_name	VARCHAR(150)	Name of the event
city	VARCHAR(80)	City where the event takes place

ticket_searches

Column	Type	Description
search_idPK	INT	Unique ticket search identifier
event_id	INT	Event searched for, when available
searched_at	TIMESTAMP	Timestamp when the search occurred

Your question is Top Events Per City SQL. Start with the requirements and the two tables in the Question tab.

Run and submit as often as you like. When you're ready, talk me through your approach or go straight to the code.

Problem