You’ve spotted a real limitation in ArcGIS for Excel today. Right now, when you add a feature layer and use “Group by,” the groups are ordered by row count (most features first), not alphabetically or numerically. There isn’t a toggle in the add-in to change that sort order.
Why it works this way
ArcGIS for Excel is following the same logic as the ArcGIS REST API statistics/groupBy operation, which by default sorts by count unless you explicitly order results. The Excel add-in doesn’t expose a UI for changing that.
What you can do today
After grouping, use Excel’s native sort to reorder the groups alphabetically or numerically.
If you’re comfortable with REST calls, you can build the query manually in ArcGIS Online/Enterprise and specify orderByFields=GroupField ASC, but that’s outside what the Excel add-in exposes.
What to ask Esri for
This is one of those “Ideas” items—many users have requested exactly what you described: a simple option to sort group values alphabetically or numerically inside ArcGIS for Excel. Here are two steps that help:
Upvote / add your voice on ArcGIS Ideas: ArcGIS for Excel Ideas
In your feedback, ask for a “Sort groups” option with choices: Alphabetical, Numerical, By Count.
Short answer: You can’t change the group sort inside ArcGIS for Excel today. The only workaround is to sort inside Excel after grouping. If this matters to your workflows, upvoting the Idea is the best way to push it onto the roadmap.
