How to Use Select in LINQ - C#

May 1, 2021 (updated Mar 22, 2026) 3 min read C SharpLINQBack-end

Written by Sean Lloyd

This is a quick guide on how to use the Select LINQ operator, using both method and query syntax.

The Select command allows us to map each element of a sequence into a new form.

Let’s take a look at an example with a simple object collection:

class UsingLinq 
{
    public static void Main (string[] args) 
    {
        var people = new List<Person>() 
        { 
            new Person() { PersonId = 1, Name = "Belinda", Age = 70 },
            new Person() { PersonId = 2, Name = "Betty",  Age = 81 },
            new Person() { PersonId = 3, Name = "Will",  Age = 18 },
            new Person() { PersonId = 4, Name = "Andy", Age = 70 },
            new Person() { PersonId = 5, Name = "Rob", Age = 15 }
        };
	}
}

class Person
{
    public int PersonId { get; set; }
    public string Name { get; set; }
    public int Age { get; set; }

    public Person() {}

    public void Introduce() 
    {
        Console.WriteLine($"My name is {Name}, and I am {Age} years old.");
    }
}

Using Method Syntax

Using the method syntax, let’s use Select to return only the name property of the Person object:

public static void Main (string[] args) 
{
	var people = new List<Person>() 
	{ 
		new Person() { PersonId = 1, Name = "Belinda", Age = 70 },
		new Person() { PersonId = 2, Name = "Betty",  Age = 81 },
		new Person() { PersonId = 3, Name = "Will",  Age = 18 },
		new Person() { PersonId = 4, Name = "Andy", Age = 70 },
		new Person() { PersonId = 5, Name = "Rob", Age = 15 }
	};

	var names = people.Select(p => p.Name);
 
	foreach(String name in names)
	{
		Console.WriteLine(name);
	}
}

This will give us the following output:

Belinda
Betty
Will
Andy
Rob

Using Query Syntax

We can also use the query syntax, to achieve the same outcome:

public static void Main (string[] args) 
{
	var people = new List<Person>() 
	{ 
		new Person() { PersonId = 1, Name = "Belinda", Age = 70 },
		new Person() { PersonId = 2, Name = "Betty",  Age = 81 },
		new Person() { PersonId = 3, Name = "Will",  Age = 18 },
		new Person() { PersonId = 4, Name = "Andy", Age = 70 },
		new Person() { PersonId = 5, Name = "Rob", Age = 15 }
	};

	var names = from p in people
				select p.Name;
 
	foreach(String name in names)
	{
		Console.WriteLine(name);
	}
}

This will give us the same output:

Belinda
Betty
Will
Andy
Rob

Selecting Multiple Properties

You can use Select to project multiple properties into an anonymous type:

var result = people.Select(p => new { p.Name, p.Age });

foreach(var person in result)
{
	Console.WriteLine($"{person.Name} is {person.Age} years old.");
}

This will give us the following output:

Belinda is 70 years old.
Betty is 81 years old.
Will is 18 years old.
Andy is 70 years old.
Rob is 15 years old.

Select vs Where

Select and Where serve different purposes in LINQ. Where filters a sequence by returning only elements that match a condition, while Select transforms each element into a new form without changing the number of items. You’ll often use them together — first filtering with Where, then projecting with Select. For more on filtering, check out How to Use Where in LINQ. If you need to flatten nested collections while selecting, take a look at How to Use SelectMany in LINQ.

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