Get values of all rows in a particular column in openpyxl - Python

Last Updated : 26 Apr, 2025

In this article, we will explore how to get the values of all rows in a particular column in a spreadsheet using openpyxl in Python. We will start by discussing the basics of openpyxl and how to install and import it. Then, we will walk through for example, how to extract the values of a particular column from a spreadsheet and store them in a list.

To install openpyxl using pip, open a terminal window or command prompt and enter the following command:

pip install openpyxl

Raw Spreadsheet Data

For example, suppose you have a spreadsheet with the following data:

Name	Age	Gender
John	30	Male
Jane	25	Female
Bob	35	Male
Alice	28	Female

Extracting the Values of a Particular Column

Now that you know how to read a spreadsheet and access the rows and cells in a sheet, you can extract the values of a particular column from the sheet. To do this, you can simply iterate over the rows in the sheet and check the value of the cell in the column you are interested in. You can then store the values in a list or other data structure for further processing.

Example 1

To extract the values of the "Name" column, you could use the following code:

Python3

# Import openpyxl
import openpyxl

# Open the spreadsheet
workbook = openpyxl.load_workbook("data.xlsx")

# Get the first sheet
sheet = workbook.worksheets[0]

# Create a list to store the values
names = []

# Iterate over the rows in the sheet
for row in sheet:
    # Get the value of the first cell
    # in the row (the "Name" cell)
    name = row[0].value
    # Add the value to the list
    names.append(name)

# Print the list of names
print(names)

Output:

['Name', 'John', 'Jane', 'Bob', 'Alice']

Example 2

Note that the first row in the sheet contains the column names, so it is included in the list. If you want to exclude the column names from the list, you can add a check to skip the first row:

Python3

# Import openpyxl
import openpyxl

# Open the spreadsheet
workbook = openpyxl.load_workbook("data.xlsx")

# Get the first sheet
sheet = workbook.worksheets[0]

# Create a list to store the values
names = []

# Iterate through rows
for i, row in enumerate(sheet):
    # Skip the first row (the row with the column names)
    if i == 0:
        continue
    # Get the value of the first cell in the row
    name = row[0].value
    # Add the value to the list
    names.append(name)

# Print the list of names
print(names)

Output:

['John', 'Jane', 'Bob', 'Alice']

Extracting the Values of a Particular Column Name

In the previous example, we extracted the values of a particular column by specifying the index of the column. However, in some cases, it may be more convenient to extract the values of a column by its name, rather than its index. To do this, you can use the iter_cols() method of the Sheet object to iterate over the columns in the sheet, and check the value of the first cell in each column to determine the column name.

Example 1

To extract the values of the "Name" column by its name, you could use the following code:

Python3

# Import openpyxl
import openpyxl

# Open the spreadsheet
workbook = openpyxl.load_workbook("data.xlsx")

# Get the first sheet
sheet = workbook.worksheets[0]

# Create a list to store the values
names = []

# Iterate through columns
for column in sheet.iter_cols():
    # Get the value of the first cell in the
    # column (the cell with the column name)
    column_name = column[0].value
    # Check if the column is the "Name" column
    if column_name == "Age":
        # Iterate over the cells in the column
        for cell in column:
            # Add the value of the cell to the list
            names.append(cell.value)

# Print the list of names
print(names)

Output:

['Age', 30.0, 25.0, 35.0, 28.0]

Example 2

To exclude the column name from the list, you can add a check to skip the first cell:

Python3

# Import openpyxl
import openpyxl

# Open the spreadsheet
workbook = openpyxl.load_workbook("data.xlsx")

# Get the first sheet
sheet = workbook.sheets[0]

# Create a list to store the values
names = []

# Iterate over the columns in the sheet
for column in sheet.iter_cols():
    # Get the value of the first cell in the column 
    # (the cell with the column name)
    column_name = column[0].value
    # Check if the column is the "Name" column
    if column_name == "Age":
        # Iterate over the cells in the column
        for i, cell in enumerate(column):
            # Skip the first cell (the cell with the column name)
            if i == 0:
                continue
            # Add the value of the cell to the list
            names.append(cell.value)

# Print the list of names
print(names)