Pick how many cars, the biggest of them, and what else lives in the garage. You get the inside size to build, width by depth, with room to open every car door and walk past the hoods, plus the door and ceiling it needs.
Garage size, inside
A 23 × 24 ft garage552 sq ft · an 18 × 7 ft door · an 8 ft ceiling
Quick answer: a two-car garage for two SUVs needs about 23 × 22 ft inside, and 23 × 24 ft with a workbench at the back; a one-car garage about 13 × 22 ft; a three-car garage about 33 × 22 ft. That leaves 3 ft beside every car to open its doors (Amarr) and 3 ft to walk past the hoods. A common city minimum is 10 × 20 ft a car.
How to use the garage size calculator
- Pick 1, 2 or 3 cars, and the biggest of them: compact, sedan, SUV or van, or a full-size pickup.
- Type its length if you know it (the owner’s manual or the maker’s site has it); the calculator starts from the top of its class.
- Add what else lives there: a workbench or cabinets across the back, shelves on one side wall or both.
- Read the inside size, how it adds up, the door(s) for it and the ceiling. Copy link keeps the result.
The rules behind the numbers
Room to open the doors
Garage door maker Amarr: leave at least 36″ between cars “so that you can open their doors without hitting another car door”. The calculator gives every car 36″ on both sides, the wall included, and 36″ in front of the hoods to walk past. Amarr’s own check fits: 24 ft of depth “allow[s] cabinets or storage shelves to easily fit in front of parked cars”, and a 19 ft SUV plus 3 ft to walk plus 2 ft of cabinets is 24 ft.
How big the cars are
Amarr’s ranges, and the calculator takes the top of each: compact cars 14–16 ft long and 5–6 ft wide, large cars 16–18 × 6–6½ ft, vans and SUVs 16–19 × 6–7 ft. A full-size pickup is Ford’s own F-150 SuperCrew with the 5½ ft box: 231.7″ long (19′ 4″), 79.9″ wide without its mirrors. Type your own vehicle’s length for a closer answer.
Storage, rounding and the city’s minimum
Cabinets and workbenches are 24″ deep, wall shelves 12 or 18″ (the calculator uses 18). The total is rounded up to whole feet. There is no national minimum size: a city that requires a garage sets one in its code, often 10 × 20 ft a car (Amarr, from California cities; West Valley City, Utah, asks at least 20 × 20 ft inside for two cars). When your cars need less, the calculator raises the size to it.
The door and the ceiling
The garage door size calculator’s rules (Clopay): a single door 8 or 9 ft wide, a double 16 up to 18 ft, each with 3¾″ of wall beside it; 7 ft tall, 8 ft for trucks. The ceiling needs the door’s height plus 12″ for torsion springs: 8 ft, or 9 ft over an 8 ft door.
Garage sizes for 1, 2 and 3 cars
| Cars | Compact cars | Sedans | SUVs and vans | Full-size pickups |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 car | 12 × 20 ft | 13 × 21 ft | 13 × 22 ft | 13 × 23 ft |
| 2 cars | 21 × 20 ft | 22 × 21 ft | 23 × 22 ft | 23 × 23 ft |
| 3 cars | 30 × 20 ft | 32 × 21 ft | 33 × 22 ft | 32 × 23 ft |
Width × depth inside, with 3 ft beside every car and in front of the hoods. Add 2 ft of depth for a workbench or cabinets at the back, and 1½ ft of width for each side wall of shelves.
Three worked examples
Two SUVs, a workbench and shelves on one wall. A 25 × 24 ft garage, 600 sq ft: 24′ 6″ of width for the cars, their doors and the shelves, and 24′ of depth for a 19 ft SUV, the walkway and the bench. An 18 × 7 ft door, or two 9 × 7 ft doors.
One sedan and a workbench. A 13 × 23 ft garage, 299 sq ft, with a 9 × 7 ft door.
Three cars, the biggest a pickup, shelves on both walls and a bench. A 35 × 25 ft garage, 875 sq ft: an 18 ft and a 9 ft door, 8 ft tall for the truck, under a 9 ft ceiling.
Common garage sizing mistakes
- Measuring the car, not the car with its doors open. Two 7 ft SUVs in a 20 ft garage leave 2 ft between them and the walls, too little to get out.
- Planning for today’s car. Size for the biggest vehicle you might own; a full-size pickup is over 19 ft long.
- Forgetting the storage. Shelves and a workbench take the room the doors and the walkway need unless you add them.
- Skipping the city’s code. Where a garage is required, the code sets its smallest size: ask the building department.
Next, size the door: the free garage door size calculator checks the front wall, the headroom and the depth its tracks need. The square footage calculator measures the floor you already have, and the free 2D room planner draws the garage to scale.
Size the garage doorRead next
Garage size questions
What are standard 2 car garage dimensions?
About 22–24 ft wide by 22–24 ft deep inside: 23 × 22 ft fits two SUVs with 3 ft beside each to open the doors, and 23 × 24 ft adds a workbench. 20 × 20 ft is a common legal minimum, too tight to open every door.
What are 1 car garage dimensions?
About 12–13 ft wide by 20–23 ft deep: 13 × 21 ft fits a sedan with room to open its doors and walk past the hood. A common city minimum is 10 × 20 ft.
What are 3 car garage dimensions?
About 30–33 ft wide by 20–23 ft deep: 33 × 22 ft for three SUVs. Two doors are usual, a 16 or 18 ft double and a 9 ft single.
What is a standard garage size?
There is no national standard: plans are sold in many sizes and cities set their own minimums, often 10 × 20 ft a car. Size it from your cars, with 3 ft beside each one (Amarr).
How much space do you need between cars in a garage?
At least 36″, so both cars’ doors open without touching (Amarr). The calculator leaves the same 36″ between each car and the wall.
How tall should a garage ceiling be?
At least 8 ft for a 7 ft door, 9 ft for an 8 ft door: the door’s height plus 12″ for torsion springs (Clopay).