Educational reference
AWG reference
Computed nominal AWG solid-wire diameter, cross-sectional area, and circular-mil values from the standard mathematical relationship.
Geometry only. These values do not establish ampacity, insulation outside diameter, or metric conductor equivalence.
| AWG | Diameter (mm) | Area (mm²) | Circular mils |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4/0 | 11.6840 | 107.2193 | 211,600 |
| 3/0 | 10.4049 | 85.0288 | 167,806 |
| 2/0 | 9.2658 | 67.4309 | 133,077 |
| 1/0 | 8.2515 | 53.4751 | 105,535 |
| 1 | 7.3481 | 42.4077 | 83,693 |
| 2 | 6.5437 | 33.6308 | 66,371 |
| 4 | 5.1894 | 21.1506 | 41,741 |
| 6 | 4.1154 | 13.3018 | 26,251 |
| 8 | 3.2636 | 8.3656 | 16,510 |
| 10 | 2.5882 | 5.2612 | 10,383 |
| 12 | 2.0525 | 3.3088 | 6,530 |
| 14 | 1.6277 | 2.0809 | 4,107 |
| 16 | 1.2908 | 1.3087 | 2,583 |
| 18 | 1.0237 | 0.8230 | 1,624 |
| 20 | 0.8118 | 0.5176 | 1,022 |
| 22 | 0.6438 | 0.3255 | 642 |
| 24 | 0.5106 | 0.2047 | 404 |
Calculation method
Diameter in inches equals 0.005 × 92 raised to (36 − n)/39. Area is then calculated from πd²/4. For 1/0 through 4/0, the gauge index continues through 0, −1, −2, and −3.
Convert AWG and metric conductor area, calculate resistance for an AWG conductor, or estimate voltage drop by conductor size.