SAS where in – Subset Data by Multiple Values in Data Step

When filtering a SAS dataset, you can filter by multiple values with the in operator in a where statement.

data want;
   set have;
   where variable_a in (1, 2, 3);
run;

When working in SAS, the ability to easily be able to create complex filters and get the subsets we desire is valuable.

One such filter which we can create in SAS is filtering a dataset by multiple values.

By using the SAS in operator combined with a where statement, you can subset data based on multiple values.

Let’s say we have following data set which we create with the following data step:

data have;
    input animal_type $ gender $ weight age state $ trained $;
    datalines;
    cat  male     10    1    CA     no
    dog  male     20    4    FL     no
    dog  male     30    5    NY     no
    cat  female   40    3    FL     yes
    cat  female   10    2    NY     yes
    dog  female   20    4    TX     yes
    cat  female   50    6    TX     yes
    dog  male     60    1    CA     no
    dog  male     70    5    NY     no
    cat  female   80    4    FL     yes
    cat  female   90    3    TX     yes
    cat  male     100   2    TX     no
    dog  female   80    4    FL     no
    ;
run;

Let’s say that we only want to keep records where the state is Texas (“TX”) or Florida (“FL”).

Below is a example of how to use in in a where statement in SAS.

data want;
	set have;
        where state in ("TX", "FL");
run;

The resulting dataset is below.

Using Not In to Filter a Dataset in SAS

If you want to create a subset of data based on a variable which has values not in a list of values, we can use the SAS not in operator.

Let’s say we have the same data as above.

Let’s say that we only want to keep records where the state is not Texas (“TX”) or Florida (“FL”).

Below is a example of how to use in in a where statement in SAS.

data want;
	set have;
        where state not in ("TX", "FL");
run;

The resulting dataset is below.

Hopefully this article has been useful for you to learn how to use the in operator in a where statement in SAS.