Guides / Layout · Updated
Kitchen clearance chart
From the NKBA Kitchen Planning Guidelines. These are guidelines, not code, except where the chart says code. Your town may have its own rules.
Short answer
Leave 42 in between counters where one person cooks and 48 in where two do. Any walkway needs 36 in. Behind stools, give 36 in if people squeeze past and 44 in if they walk past.
The plan
The range wall
Walkways and aisles
| What | Clearance | How to measure | NKBA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Walkway | 36 in | Any path people walk through that isn't a work aisle. | G7 |
| Work aisle, one cook | 42 in | Counter front to counter front, island or appliance. | G6 |
| Work aisle, two or more cooks | 48 in | Same measure, for a kitchen where people cook at the same time. | G6 |
| Doorway into the kitchen | 32 in clear | Takes at least a 2 ft 10 in door. No door should hit an appliance (G2). | G1 |
Island and counter seating
| What | Clearance | How to measure | NKBA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Behind a seat, no traffic | 32 in | Counter or table edge to the wall behind the stool. | G8 |
| Behind a seat, people edge past | 36 in | Someone squeezes by sideways. | G8 |
| Behind a seat, people walk past | 44 in | A real path behind the stools. | G8 |
| Each seat at a 30 in table | 24 in wide × 18 in knee room | Knee room is how far the top overhangs or sits open below. | G9 |
| Each seat at a 36 in counter | 24 in wide × 15 in knee room | Counter-height stools. | G9 |
| Each seat at a 42 in bar | 24 in wide × 12 in knee room | Bar-height stools. | G9 |
Landing areas
| What | Clearance | How to measure | NKBA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sink | 24 in one side, 18 in the other | Counter at least 16 in deep, 28 to 45 in off the floor. | G11 |
| Prep area next to the sink | 36 in wide × 24 in deep | One stretch of clear counter for chopping. | G12 |
| Cooktop or range | 12 in one side, 15 in the other | On an island at the same height, 9 in of counter behind it too. | G17 |
| Refrigerator | 15 in | On the handle side, or either side of a side-by-side, or across the aisle no more than 48 in away. | G16 |
| Microwave | 15 in | Above, below or on the handle side. | G22 |
| Wall oven | 15 in | Next to or above it, or across the aisle no more than 48 in if the door doesn't open into a walkway. | G23 |
| Two landing areas that share counter | longer one + 12 in | A fridge that needs 15 in next to a sink that needs 24 in can share 36 in, not 39 in. | G24 |
Appliances
| What | Clearance | How to measure | NKBA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dishwasher to the sink | within 36 in | Nearest dishwasher edge to the nearest sink edge. | G13 |
| Standing room by the dishwasher | 21 in | Dishwasher edge to a counter, cabinet or appliance that turns the corner. | G13 |
| Cooktop to a protected surface above | 24 in | Noncombustible or protected, like an approved hood. | G18 |
| Cooktop to wood cabinets above | 30 in | Code, not a guideline. Over-the-range microwaves follow the maker's install sheet. | G18 (IRC M1901.1) |
| Bottom of the microwave | no higher than 54 in | Ideally 3 in below the main cook's shoulder. Under the counter, at least 15 in off the floor. | G21 |
| Work triangle | 26 ft total, legs 4 to 9 ft | Sink, cooktop and fridge, center front to center front. | G3 |
Door swing
NKBA doesn't give a number for appliance doors. Its rule is that no entry door should hit an appliance, and no appliance door should hit another one. So here's what the makers and builders say.
A fridge next to a wall needs room for the door to swing past the case. Samsung asks for 3¾ in on the hinge side so the door opens far enough for the drawers to come out. An open dishwasher door takes about 26 in of aisle, per Fine Homebuilding. NKBA wants 21 in of standing room between the dishwasher and any counter that turns the corner, so you can load it from the side.
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Where the numbers come from
Every number in the tables is from the NKBA Kitchen Planning Guidelines with Access Standards, with the guideline number next to it. We checked each one against that document in October 2026. The same numbers run the island fit and island seating calculators.