Between its neighbours
24 AWG has 59 % more copper than 26 AWG and 37 % less than 22 AWG. Its DC resistance is 31.22 Ω per 1000 ft at 75 °C, and 1000 ft of it carries 1.22 lb of copper.
24 AWG wire: amps, diameter & uses
24 AWG wire is 0.0201" across, 0.511 mm, about 50 turns per inch wound tight. Ten turns measure 5.11 mm, the reliable way to check it; the nearest British size is SWG 25 (0.508 mm). Its copper resistance is 25.7 Ω per 1000 ft at 20 °C. Used for Ethernet (Cat 5e and Cat 6) conductors and telephone wire.
01 · 1:1 wire gauge · coil wrap
24 AWG · bare solid copper
THIS IS:
24 AWG COPPER · NOT BUILDING WIRE · 0.51 MM COPPER
Gauge
24 AWG
bare solid copper
Breaker
n/a
not building wire
Measured
0.510 mm
0.0201"
10 turns over 5.10 mm is 0.510 mm per turn: 24 AWG (0.511 mm), SWG 25.
- Drawn at true sizecalibrated screen
24 AWG
- Solid diameter
- 0.0201"0.511 mm · ASTM B258 formula
- Area
- 404 cmil0.205 mm² · nearest IEC 0.5 mm²
- DC resistance, 75 °C
- 31.22 Ω/1000 ftcopper, from resistivity
- Copper weight
- 1.22 lb/1000 ft
Ampacity
- Table 310.16
- not listedsmaller than building wire: see the chassis and craft notes
Other gauges
- Nearest SWG
- SWG 250.02" · 0.508 mm
- IEC 60228
- 0.5 mm²between — and 0.5 mm²
24 AWG at a glance
Size
- Solid diameter
- 0.0201" · 0.511 mm
- Area
- 404 cmil · 0.205 mm²
- Metric
- — – 0.5 mm²
- SWG nearest
- 25 (0.508 mm)
Electrical
- Resistance 20 °C
- 25.67 Ω/1000 ft
- Resistance 75 °C
- 31.22 Ω/1000 ft
- As cord
- not rated
- Copper weight
- 1.22 lb/1000 ft
Measure & run
- 10 turns measure
- 5.11 mm
- Turns per inch
- 49.7
- 12 V at 1 A
- 5 ft at 3 %
24 AWG reference 20 rows
Sort any column, print a shop sheet, download CSV. Click a row to load it in the calculator.
| Actions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 57 | 115 | ||
| 2 | 28 | 57 | ||
| 1 | 11 | 23 | ||
| 0 | 5 | 11 | ||
| 0 | 3 | 7 | ||
| 0 | 2 | 5 | ||
| 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 0 | 0 | 0 |
05 / Field guide
24 AWG
measured by the coil.
24 AWG wire is 0.0201" across, 0.511 mm, about 50 turns per inch wound tight. Ten turns measure 5.11 mm, the reliable way to check it; the nearest British size is SWG 25 (0.508 mm). Its copper resistance is 25.7 Ω per 1000 ft at 20 °C. Used for Ethernet (Cat 5e and Cat 6) conductors and telephone wire.
Electronics and craft
24 AWG is used for Ethernet (Cat 5e and Cat 6) conductors and telephone wire. At 50 turns to the inch it is fine enough that a single pixel on most screens is 39 % of its width.
On the 1:1 gauge
The caliper above opens at 0.511 mm. This is finer than a screen pixel can resolve reliably, so the stage opens on the coil ruler: wind 10 turns and close the jaw on the coil.
Questions
Answered plainly.
01How many amps can 24 AWG wire carry?
+−
Table 310.16 does not rate it: 24 AWG is electronics, signal and craft wire. In practice it carries well under 1 A in bundles; check the maker’s rating.
02What is the diameter of 24 AWG wire?
+−
0.0201 inch (0.511 mm) solid.
03What is 24 AWG in mm²?
+−
0.205 mm² (404 circular mils). The IEC sizes either side are none and 0.5 mm²; replace it with 0.5 mm², not the smaller one.
04How do I measure 24 AWG wire?
+−
Wind 10 tight turns side by side and measure the coil: 5.11 mm for 24 AWG. A ruler or a screen cannot resolve a single strand this fine.
05What is 24 AWG in SWG?
+−
The nearest British Standard Wire Gauge is SWG 25 at 0.508 mm, against 0.511 mm for 24 AWG.