WireSizing
Wire gauge reference & calculator

AWG Wire Gauge Chart

Complete American Wire Gauge reference. Click any gauge for full specifications including ampacity at all temperature ratings, resistance for copper and aluminum, weight, insulation types, and common applications.

Wire Gauge Size Comparison

AWG Wire Gauge Cross-Section Comparison Circles drawn to scale showing the relative cross-section sizes of common AWG wire gauges from 14 AWG (smallest) to 1/0 AWG (largest), with diameter labels. 1/0 8.25 mm 2 6.54 mm 4 5.19 mm 6 4.11 mm 8 3.26 mm 10 2.59 mm 12 2.05 mm 14 1.63 mm Circles drawn to scale by diameter. Lower AWG number = thicker wire. Diameters shown are for bare copper conductor.
AWG Diameter (mm) Diameter (in) Area (mm²) Ampacity (Cu 75°C) Resistance (Ω/km) Weight (kg/km)
4/0 11.684 0.46 107.2193 230A 0.1608 960.685
3/0 10.4049 0.409642 85.0288 200A 0.2028 761.858
2/0 9.2658 0.364797 67.4309 175A 0.2557 604.181
1/0 8.2515 0.324861 53.4751 150A 0.3224 479.137
1 7.3481 0.289297 42.4077 130A 0.4065 379.973
2 6.5437 0.257626 33.6308 115A 0.5126 301.332
3 5.8273 0.229423 26.6705 100A 0.6464 238.967
4 5.1894 0.204307 21.1506 85A 0.8151 189.51
5 4.6213 0.181941 16.7732 — 1.0278 150.288
6 4.1154 0.162023 13.3018 65A 1.2961 119.184
7 3.6649 0.144285 10.5488 — 1.6343 94.517
8 3.2636 0.12849 8.3656 50A 2.0608 74.955
9 2.9064 0.114424 6.6342 — 2.5987 59.442
10 2.5882 0.101897 5.2612 35A* 3.2768 47.14
11 2.3048 0.090742 4.1723 — 4.132 37.384
12 2.0525 0.080808 3.3088 25A* 5.2104 29.647
13 1.8278 0.071962 2.624 — 6.5702 23.511
14 1.6277 0.064084 2.0809 20A* 8.2848 18.645
15 1.4495 0.057068 1.6502 — 10.447 14.786
16 1.2908 0.050821 1.3087 —† 13.1734 11.726
17 1.1495 0.045257 1.0378 — 16.6114 9.299
18 1.0237 0.040303 0.823 —† 20.9466 7.374
19 0.9116 0.035891 0.6527 — 26.4131 5.848
20 0.8118 0.031961 0.5176 — 33.3063 4.638
21 0.7229 0.028462 0.4105 — 41.9985 3.678
22 0.6438 0.025347 0.3255 — 52.9591 2.917
23 0.5733 0.022572 0.2582 — 66.7803 2.313
24 0.5106 0.020101 0.2047 — 84.2083 1.834
25 0.4547 0.0179 0.1624 — 106.1848 1.455
26 0.4049 0.015941 0.1288 — 133.8965 1.154
27 0.3606 0.014196 0.1021 — 168.8404 0.915
28 0.3211 0.012641 0.081 — 212.9038 0.726
29 0.2859 0.011258 0.0642 — 268.4667 0.575
30 0.2546 0.010025 0.0509 — 338.5303 0.456
31 0.2268 0.008928 0.0404 — 426.8788 0.362
32 0.2019 0.00795 0.032 — 538.2842 0.287
33 0.1798 0.00708 0.0254 — 678.7639 0.228
34 0.1601 0.006305 0.0201 — 855.9055 0.18
35 0.1426 0.005615 0.016 — 1079.2769 0.143
36 0.127 0.005 0.0127 — 1360.943 0.114
37 0.1131 0.004453 0.01 — 1716.1174 0.09
38 0.1007 0.003965 0.008 — 2163.9841 0.071
39 0.0897 0.003531 0.0063 — 2728.7336 0.057
40 0.0799 0.003145 0.005 — 3440.8696 0.045

About the AWG System

American Wire Gauge (AWG) is the standard wire sizing system used in North America. Defined by ASTM B258, the gauge number is inversely proportional to wire diameter — smaller numbers mean thicker wire. Every 3 gauges roughly doubles (or halves) the cross-sectional area and resistance, and every 6 gauges roughly doubles the diameter.

The diameter of any AWG size is calculated from the formula: d = 0.005 × 92(36-n)/39 inches, where n is the gauge number.

Ampacity values shown are from NEC Table 310.16 for copper conductors with 75°C insulation, not more than 3 current-carrying conductors in raceway, at 30°C ambient temperature.

* NEC 240.4(D) limits overcurrent protection to 15A for 14 AWG, 20A for 12 AWG and 30A for 10 AWG copper, regardless of the table ampacity. † 16 and 18 AWG appear in Table 310.16 only in the 90°C column (18A and 14A) and are not permitted for general branch circuits.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the most common AWG wire size for household wiring?

The most common sizes in residential wiring are 14 AWG (15A lighting circuits), 12 AWG (20A outlet circuits), and 10 AWG (30A circuits for dryers and water heaters). Larger 8 AWG and 6 AWG are used for ranges and EV chargers.

What AWG is equivalent to 2.5 mm²?

2.5 mm² (IEC 60228) falls between 14 AWG (2.08 mm²) and 12 AWG (3.31 mm²); 13 AWG (2.62 mm²) is closest but is not a standard building-wire size. When substituting for current-carrying capacity, round up to 12 AWG. 2.5 mm² is the standard socket-circuit size in the UK, Europe and Australia.

Does a higher AWG number mean bigger or smaller wire?

Higher AWG numbers mean SMALLER wire. 14 AWG is thinner than 10 AWG. The AWG system works backwards from how most people expect: 4/0 (0000) AWG is the largest common size, while 40 AWG is extremely thin wire used in electronics.

Related

Conduit fill charts → Wire types and insulation ratings → Circuit breaker size chart → NEC Table 310.16 — conductor ampacity →