How to Cast Data Types in BigQuery
Last updated July 26, 2026 · By the SaturnSQL team
CAST(value AS type) converts between types and errors on invalid input. SAFE_CAST does the same conversion but returns NULL instead of failing the query.
SELECT CAST(order_count AS STRING) AS order_count_text,
CAST('42' AS INT64) AS order_count_number
FROM orders;SAFE_CAST for messy input
When a column mixes valid and invalid values, SAFE_CAST lets the query keep running and turns bad rows into NULL instead of aborting the whole job.
SELECT raw_value, SAFE_CAST(raw_value AS INT64) AS parsed_value
FROM staging_import;String to date
SELECT SAFE_CAST(signup_date_text AS DATE) AS signup_date
FROM staging_import;Run this in SaturnSQL
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