Using PHP's array_column() to Extract a Single Column from a Multidimensional Array

The array_column() function returns the values from a single column of the input array. If the optional index_key is provided, the values from that column become the keys of the returned array.

Parameters

input : The multidimensional array (or result set) from which to pull a column.

column_key : The column to return; can be an integer index, a string key, or NULL to return the whole sub‑array.

index_key (optional): The column whose values will be used as keys in the returned array; can be an integer index or a string key.

Return value

An array containing the values from the specified column of the input array.

Example usage

<?php
// Array representing a possible record set returned from a database
$records = array(
    array(
        'id' => 2135,
        'first_name' => 'John',
        'last_name' => 'Doe',
    ),
    array(
        'id' => 3245,
        'first_name' => 'Sally',
        'last_name' => 'Smith',
    ),
    array(
        'id' => 5342,
        'first_name' => 'Jane',
        'last_name' => 'Jones',
    ),
    array(
        'id' => 5623,
        'first_name' => 'Peter',
        'last_name' => 'Doe',
    )
);

$first_names = array_column($records, 'first_name');
print_r($first_names);
?>

Output

Array
(
    [0] => John
    [1] => Sally
    [2] => Jane
    [3] => Peter
)