Comparing 3 Digit Numbers Worksheets: Hundreds, Then Tens, Then Ones

Press Make a new sheet for twenty new pairs to compare with <, > or =, then Print.

20 problems. Compare two 3-digit numbers with <, > or =. Sheet 486ZON, with its answer key.

Compare two 3-digit numbers with <, > or =

Name Date Score / 20

Write <, > or = in each circle.

  1. 1.637 334
  2. 2.190 653
  3. 3.255 770
  4. 4.685 883
  5. 5.640 801
  6. 6.931 685
  7. 7.474 661
  8. 8.963 733
  9. 9.830 735
  10. 10.267 660
  11. 11.701 368
  12. 12.210 842
  13. 13.773 773
  14. 14.994 405
  15. 15.742 480
  16. 16.400 400
  17. 17.815 879
  18. 18.318 658
  19. 19.654 783
  20. 20.551 587

Sheet 486ZON · Made at homeroomtools.com

Answer key. Compare two 3-digit numbers with <, > or =

  1. 1.637 > 334
  2. 2.190 < 653
  3. 3.255 < 770
  4. 4.685 < 883
  5. 5.640 < 801
  6. 6.931 > 685
  7. 7.474 < 661
  8. 8.963 > 733
  9. 9.830 > 735
  10. 10.267 < 660
  11. 11.701 > 368
  12. 12.210 < 842
  13. 13.773 = 773
  14. 14.994 > 405
  15. 15.742 > 480
  16. 16.400 = 400
  17. 17.815 < 879
  18. 18.318 < 658
  19. 19.654 < 783
  20. 20.551 < 587

Sheet 486ZON · Made at homeroomtools.com

Next step More grade 2 place value sheetsSet your own number ranges

How it works

These comparing 3 digit numbers worksheets print pairs with a circle between them for <, > or =. Separate sheets hold pairs that differ only in the tens or only in the ones, so every place gets checked.

Read the full guide

Compare from the left

Start at the hundreds. If they differ, the comparison is done: 562 < 714. If they match, the tens decide: 562 > 526. If those match too, the ones decide: 704 < 708. Common Core sets this for grade 2 (2.NBT.4), and Texas has second graders compare and order numbers up to 1,200.

One place at a time

Same hundreds: the tens decide and Same hundreds and tens: the ones decide each drill one step of that rule. Look-alike 3-digit pairs, none equal: 347 and 374 mixes the steps, with pairs built from the same digits.

  • A pupil who picks 189 over 211 because 8 and 9 are big is comparing digits, not hundreds.
  • Have pupils underline the first place where the two numbers differ before they write a sign.

Questions and answers

How do you compare 3-digit numbers?

Read both numbers from the left. The first place where the digits differ decides: the number with the larger digit there is greater. 562 > 526 because the hundreds match and 6 tens is more than 2 tens.

What grade compares 3-digit numbers?

Grade 2. Common Core asks second graders to compare two three-digit numbers by the meanings of the hundreds, tens and ones digits, using >, = and <. First grade compares 2-digit numbers, and Texas third graders go on to 100,000.

Which is greater, 347 or 374?

374. Both numbers have 3 hundreds, so look at the tens: 4 tens is less than 7 tens, and 347 < 374. Once the tens differ, the ones do not matter.

Is there an answer key?

Yes. The key prints as the last page with the sign written in every circle. The Answer key box starts ticked; untick it before you press Print to get the sheet alone.

All 10 sheet types

Which place decides 5

  • Compare two 3-digit numbers with <, > or = The sheet the page opens on: twenty pairs of numbers from 100 to 999 with a circle between them, such as 562 < 714 and 830 > 387. Most pairs differ in the hundreds, so the first digit settles them. Two pairs in twenty are equal.
  • Equal or not? Half the 3-digit pairs match Ten of the twenty pairs are equal, such as 468 = 468, and the other ten differ by a swap or a single digit, such as 468 < 486. Pupils check hundreds, tens and ones before they write = in a circle.
  • Look-alike 3-digit pairs, none equal: 347 and 374 Pairs made to be mixed up: two digits swapped, as in 347 < 374 and 721 > 712, or one digit changed, as in 175 < 195. Twenty pairs. The place that decides changes from pair to pair, so the whole rule is in use.
  • Same hundreds and tens: the ones decide The two numbers agree until the last digit: 704 < 708 and 379 > 377. Twenty pairs, none equal. Pupils have to read all the way across before they can choose a sign.
  • Same hundreds: the tens decide Both numbers of a pair start with the same hundreds digit and differ in the tens: 704 < 758 and 379 > 349. Twenty pairs, none equal. The ones digit is there to distract; once the tens differ it does not matter.
Show all 10 sheet types (5 more)

A number against its parts 2

  • A 3-digit number against hundreds, tens and ones One side of each pair is written in words for its places: 7 hundreds, 1 ten and 2 ones is 712, and 721 > 712. Twelve lines. The key shows the number each written side makes.
  • Equal or not? 3-digit numbers and expanded forms A numeral beside an expanded form, and half the pairs are equal: 400 + 30 + 2 = 432, while 400 + 20 + 3 = 423 and 423 < 432. Twelve lines. A form with a missing place, such as 400 + 2, tests the zero.

Three, four or five numbers in order 3

  • Order five 3-digit numbers, greatest to least Five numbers built from the same few digits, greatest first: 363, 336, 633, 366, 636 becomes 636 > 633 > 366 > 363 > 336. Eight sets, written with > between the blanks.
  • Order four 3-digit numbers, both ways Four look-alike numbers a line, and the signs printed between the blanks say which way to go: 478, 748, 747, 487 is 478 < 487 < 747 < 748 with <, and 748 > 747 > 487 > 478 with >. Ten sets, half each way.
  • Order three 3-digit numbers, least to greatest Three look-alike numbers to write in order: 587, 508, 578 becomes 508 < 578 < 587. Ten sets, never handed over already in order. Each line takes two comparisons.

How this list was compiled: Our own list of sheet types, written on 2026-10-01. Every pair of numbers is made by the tool when the sheet is made, and the sign on the answer key comes from comparing the two whole numbers exactly. Sheets of every type were made and each sign was checked again by a separate program; the worked examples in this list were checked twice. Where the skill sits in school was read on 2026-10-01 in the full text of the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (California Department of Education copy, https://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/documents/ccssmathstandardaug2013.pdf): 2.NBT.4 (compare two three-digit numbers based on meanings of the hundreds, tens, and ones digits, using >, =, and < symbols to record the results of comparisons); and in the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for mathematics (https://tea.texas.gov/sites/default/files/ch111a.pdf): grade 2, 2(D), use place value to compare and order whole numbers up to 1,200 using comparative language, numbers, and symbols (>, <, or =). Neither standards body has reviewed these sheets. Licence: own work

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