American Wire — Gauge Sizes

| AWG Size | Diameter (mils) | Diameter (mm) | Cross-Sectional Area (cmil) | Cross-Sectional Area (mm²) | Ampacity (A) | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 0000 (4/0) | 460 | 11.68 | 211,600 | 107.16 | 230 | | 000 (3/0) | 410 | 10.41 | 168,100 | 85.04 | 200 | | 00 (2/0) | 365 | 9.27 | 133,100 | 67.43 | 175 | | 0 (1/0) | 325 | 8.25 | 105,600 | 53.49 | 150 | | 1 | 289 | 7.35 | 83,690 | 42.41 | 130 | | 2 | 257 | 6.54 | 66,360 | 33.63 | 115 | | 3 | 229 | 5.82 | 52,630 | 26.67 | 100 | | 4 | 204 | 5.18 | 41,740 | 21.15 | 85 | | 5 | 181 | 4.60 | 33,100 | 16.77 | 75 | | 6 | 162 | 4.11 | 26,240 | 13.30 | 65 | | 7 | 144 | 3.66 | 20,810 | 10.55 | 55 | | 8 | 128 | 3.25 | 16,510 | 8.37 | 45 | | 9 | 114 | 2.90 | 13,090 | 6.63 | 40 | | 10 | 102 | 2.59 | 10,380 | 5.26 | 35 | | 11 | 91 | 2.31 | 8,234 | 4.17 | 30 | | 12 | 81 | 2.05 | 6,529 | 3.31 | 25 | | 13 | 72 | 1.83 | 5,178 | 2.62 | 20 | | 14 | 64 | 1.63 | 4,107 | 2.08 | 15 | | 15 | 57 | 1.45 | 3,257 | 1.65 | 10 | | 16 | 51 | 1.29 | 2,582 | 1.31 | 10 | | 17 | 45 | 1.15 | 2,048 | 1.04 | 5 | | 18 | 40 | 1.02 | 1,624 | 0.82 | 5 | | 19 | 36 | 0.91 | 1,288 | 0.65 | 5 | | 20 | 32 | 0.81 | 1,022 | 0.52 | 5 |

If you’ve ever stood in the electrical aisle of a hardware store, you’ve seen the numbers: , 14/3 , 10 AWG . They look like a secret code. american wire gauge sizes

Different applications require specific wire thicknesses to handle electrical loads without overheating. | AWG Size | Diameter (mils) | Diameter

If you are running wire 200 feet to a shed or a well pump, the resistance in a long, thin wire will cause . Your motor will run hot and slow. If you are running wire 200 feet to

| Appliance | Typical Breaker | Recommended Gauge | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | LED Ceiling Lights | 15 Amp | | | Kitchen Outlet (Blender) | 20 Amp | 12 AWG | | Window AC Unit (Large) | 30 Amp | 10 AWG | | Electric Clothes Dryer | 30 Amp | 10 AWG | | Induction Cooktop | 40-50 Amp | 8 or 6 AWG | | EV Home Charger (48A) | 60 Amp | 6 AWG |

The most counterintuitive aspect of the AWG system is that as the gauge number increases, the wire diameter decreases. For example, a 10-gauge wire is significantly thicker than a 22-gauge wire. This stems from the historical manufacturing process: the gauge number originally represented the number of times a wire had to be drawn through a die to reach its final diameter. A 24-gauge wire required 24 passes, making it much thinner than a wire that only went through 4 times. Common Wire Sizes and Their Uses