How to Count Entries per Day in a Date Range Using SQL Server

When working with date and time data in SQL Server, you might want to find how many entries exist for each day within a specific timeframe. To do this, you need to:

1. Extract the date part from a datetime column using CAST(date_column AS DATE). This removes the time portion and groups entries by day.
2. Filter your data using a dynamic date range. For example, to select entries from 3 days ago up to 7 days in the future, use DATEADD with GETDATE().
3. Use GROUP BY to count entries per day.

Here is an example query:

SELECT 
    CAST(date_column AS DATE) AS entry_date,
    COUNT(*) AS entry_count
FROM your_table
WHERE date_column BETWEEN CAST(DATEADD(DAY, -3, GETDATE()) AS DATE)
                      AND CAST(DATEADD(DAY, 7, GETDATE()) AS DATE)
GROUP BY CAST(date_column AS DATE)
ORDER BY entry_date;

This query lists each day in the timeframe along with the number of entries for that day. It’s useful for reports, activity summaries, or monitoring trends over time.