You can use the following basic syntax to convert an index of a pandas DataFrame to a column:
#convert index to column df.reset_index(inplace=True)
If you have a MultiIndex pandas DataFrame, you can use the following syntax to convert a specific level of the index to a column:
#convert specific level of MultiIndex to column df.reset_index(inplace=True, level = ['Level1'])
The following examples show how to use this syntax in practice.
Example 1: Convert Index to Column
The following code shows how to convert an index of a pandas DataFrame to a column:
import pandas as pd #create DataFrame df = pd.DataFrame({'points': [25, 12, 15, 14, 19], 'assists': [5, 7, 7, 9, 12], 'rebounds': [11, 8, 10, 6, 6]}) #view DataFrame df points assists rebounds 0 25 5 11 1 12 7 8 2 15 7 10 3 14 9 6 4 19 12 6 #convert index to column df.reset_index(inplace=True) #view updated DataFrame df index points assists rebounds 0 0 25 5 11 1 1 12 7 8 2 2 15 7 10 3 3 14 9 6 4 4 19 12 6
Example 2: Convert MultiIndex to Columns
Suppose we have the following MultiIndex pandas DataFrame:
import pandas as pd #create DataFrame index_names = pd.MultiIndex.from_tuples([('Level1','Lev1', 'L1'), ('Level2','Lev2', 'L2'), ('Level3','Lev3', 'L3'), ('Level4','Lev4', 'L4')], names=['Full','Partial', 'ID']) data = {'Store': ['A','B','C','D'], 'Sales': [17, 22, 29, 35]} df = pd.DataFrame(data, columns = ['Store','Sales'], index=index_names) #view DataFrame df Store Sales Full Partial ID Level1 Lev1 L1 A 17 Level2 Lev2 L2 B 22 Level3 Lev3 L3 C 29 Level4 Lev4 L4 D 35
The following code shows how to convert every level of the MultiIndex to columns in a pandas DataFrame:
#convert all levels of index to columns df.reset_index(inplace=True) #view updated DataFrame df Full Partial ID Store Sales 0 Level1 Lev1 L1 A 17 1 Level2 Lev2 L2 B 22 2 Level3 Lev3 L3 C 29 3 Level4 Lev4 L4 D 35
We could also use the following code to only convert a specific level of the MultiIndex to a column:
#convert just 'ID' index to column in DataFrame
df.reset_index(inplace=True, level = ['ID'])
#view updated DataFrame
df
ID Store Sales
Full Partial
Level1 Lev1 L1 A 17
Level2 Lev2 L2 B 22
Level3 Lev3 L3 C 29
Level4 Lev4 L4 D 35
Notice that just the ‘ID’ level was converted to a column in the DataFrame.
Additional Resources
The following tutorials explain how to perform other common functions in pandas:
How to Set Column as Index in Pandas
How to Drop Columns by Index in Pandas
How to Sort DataFrame by Both Index and Column in Pandas