<?php
$rows = [
(object)['group' => 'a', 'other_col' => 'a'],
(object)['group' => 'b', 'other_col' => 'a'],
(object)['group' => 'a', 'other_col' => 'a'],
(object)['group' => 'a', 'other_col' => 'a'],
(object)['group' => 'c', 'other_col' => 'a'],
];
$groups = array_count_values(array_column($rows, 'group'));
print_r($groups);
preferences:
25.26 ms | 406 KiB | 5 Q