LaTeX Tables

Tables are essential for presenting structured data in academic papers, reports, and presentations. LaTeX provides a powerful set of tools for creating everything from simple data grids to complex, publication-quality tables with merged cells, colour, and multi-page support. This guide covers every technique you need.

Basic Table Structure

The foundation of every LaTeX table is the tabular environment. It takes a column specification that defines how many columns the table has and how each column is aligned. Cells in the same row are separated by &, and rows are terminated by \\. Horizontal lines are drawn with \hline.

\documentclass{article}
\begin{document}

\begin{tabular}{l c r}
  \hline
  Left & Centre & Right \\
  \hline
  A1   & B1     & C1    \\
  A2   & B2     & C2    \\
  A3   & B3     & C3    \\
  \hline
\end{tabular}

\end{document}

The column specifier {l c r} defines three columns: left-aligned, centred, and right-aligned respectively. Each & advances to the next column, and each \\\\ ends the current row.

The table Environment

The tabular environment creates the table content itself, but it does not make the table "float" or give it a caption. To add those features, wrap the tabular inside a table environment. The table environment is a floating container that LaTeX can position automatically for optimal page layout.

\begin{table}[htbp]
  \centering
  \caption{Experimental results for three samples.}
  \label{tab:results}
  \begin{tabular}{l c c}
    \hline
    Sample & Temperature (\textdegree C) & Yield (\%) \\
    \hline
    A      & 100                          & 85         \\
    B      & 150                          & 92         \\
    C      & 200                          & 78         \\
    \hline
  \end{tabular}
\end{table}

Key elements of the table environment:

• \centering – Centres the table horizontally on the page.
• \caption{...} – Adds a numbered caption. Place it above or below the tabular.
• \label{tab:results} – Creates a reference label so you can use \ref{tab:results} elsewhere.
• [htbp] – Placement specifiers: here,top, bottom, page of floats. LaTeX tries each in order.

Column Alignment

The column specifier string controls alignment and structure. LaTeX provides several column types out of the box:

% Paragraph columns are useful for wrapping long text
\begin{tabular}{l p{5cm} r}
  \hline
  Name  & Description                              & Score \\
  \hline
  Alpha & A long description that wraps within the
          specified 5cm column width.               & 95    \\
  Beta  & Another description, also wrapped.        & 88    \\
  \hline
\end{tabular}

You can also add vertical lines between columns by placing | in the column specifier, although modern typographic practice discourages heavy use of vertical rules:

% Vertical lines (old style — prefer booktabs instead)
\begin{tabular}{|l|c|r|}
  \hline
  Left & Centre & Right \\
  \hline
  A    & B      & C     \\
  \hline
\end{tabular}

Adding Lines and Rules

LaTeX provides several ways to add horizontal and partial lines to tables. The built-in commands work but produce results that are typographically inferior to thebooktabs package.

Basic Lines

% \hline draws a full-width horizontal line
\begin{tabular}{l c r}
  \hline
  Header 1 & Header 2 & Header 3 \\
  \hline
  A        & B        & C        \\
  D        & E        & F        \\
  \hline
\end{tabular}

% \cline{i-j} draws a partial line from column i to column j
\begin{tabular}{l c r}
  \hline
  Header 1 & Header 2 & Header 3 \\
  \cline{1-2}
  A        & B        & C        \\
  \cline{2-3}
  D        & E        & F        \\
  \hline
\end{tabular}

The booktabs Package

The booktabs package provides three commands that produce cleaner, more professional rules with proper spacing:

• \toprule – A thick line at the top of the table
• \midrule – A thinner line separating the header from the body
• \bottomrule – A thick line at the bottom of the table

\usepackage{booktabs}

\begin{tabular}{l c r}
  \toprule
  Header 1 & Header 2 & Header 3 \\
  \midrule
  A        & B        & C        \\
  D        & E        & F        \\
  G        & H        & I        \\
  \bottomrule
\end{tabular}

Professional Tables with booktabs

The booktabs package is the gold standard for typesetting tables in LaTeX. It follows a key principle: never use vertical rules andnever use double rules. Compare the two approaches:

Before: Traditional Style

% Old-fashioned table with vertical and double lines
\begin{tabular}{|l|c|r|}
  \hline\hline
  Name  & Grade & Score \\
  \hline\hline
  Alice & A     & 95    \\
  \hline
  Bob   & B+    & 88    \\
  \hline
  Carol & A-    & 91    \\
  \hline\hline
\end{tabular}

After: booktabs Style

% Clean, professional table with booktabs
\usepackage{booktabs}

\begin{tabular}{lcr}
  \toprule
  Name  & Grade & Score \\
  \midrule
  Alice & A     & 95    \\
  Bob   & B+    & 88    \\
  Carol & A-    & 91    \\
  \bottomrule
\end{tabular}

The booktabs version is cleaner, more readable, and matches the style used in most published journals. The booktabs package also provides\cmidrule{i-j} for partial horizontal rules with proper trimming:

\begin{tabular}{lcc}
  \toprule
              & \multicolumn{2}{c}{Scores} \\
  \cmidrule(lr){2-3}
  Student     & Midterm & Final \\
  \midrule
  Alice       & 92      & 95   \\
  Bob         & 85      & 88   \\
  Carol       & 90      & 91   \\
  \bottomrule
\end{tabular}

The (lr) after \cmidrule trims the rule slightly on the left and right, creating visual separation between column groups. You can use(l), (r), or (lr) as needed.

Multi-Column Cells

The \multicolumn command allows a single cell to span multiple columns. This is commonly used for group headers or merged cells:

\multicolumn{number_of_columns}{alignment}{text}

\usepackage{booktabs}

\begin{tabular}{lccc}
  \toprule
  \multicolumn{1}{l}{Name} & \multicolumn{3}{c}{Scores} \\
  \cmidrule(lr){2-4}
                            & Math & Science & English \\
  \midrule
  Alice                     & 95   & 92      & 88     \\
  Bob                       & 82   & 90      & 95     \\
  Carol                     & 91   & 88      & 84     \\
  \bottomrule
\end{tabular}

The first argument is the number of columns to span, the second is the alignment specifier for the merged cell (e.g., c, l, r), and the third is the cell content. You can also use \multicolumn{1}to override the alignment of a single cell.

Multi-Row Cells

The multirow package provides the \multirow command for cells that span multiple rows:

\multirow{number_of_rows}{width}{text}

\usepackage{booktabs}
\usepackage{multirow}

\begin{tabular}{llc}
  \toprule
  Category     & Item     & Price \\
  \midrule
  \multirow{2}{*}{Fruit}
               & Apple    & \$1.20 \\
               & Banana   & \$0.80 \\
  \midrule
  \multirow{3}{*}{Vegetable}
               & Carrot   & \$0.90 \\
               & Potato   & \$1.10 \\
               & Onion    & \$0.70 \\
  \bottomrule
\end{tabular}

The * for the width argument tells LaTeX to use the natural width of the text. You can also specify an explicit width like 2cm if needed.

Table Width Control

By default, LaTeX tables are only as wide as their content requires. To make a table span the full text width (or any specific width), use the tabularx package.

Using tabularx

\usepackage{tabularx}

% Syntax: \begin{tabularx}{width}{column spec}
% The X column type stretches to fill available space

\begin{tabularx}{\textwidth}{l X r}
  \toprule
  Name  & Description                                & Score \\
  \midrule
  Alpha & This column stretches to fill the remaining
          width of the table.                         & 95   \\
  Beta  & The X column type distributes space evenly. & 88   \\
  \bottomrule
\end{tabularx}

You can use multiple X columns, and the available space is divided equally among them:

\begin{tabularx}{\textwidth}{l X X}
  \toprule
  ID & Title          & Description       \\
  \midrule
  1  & First item     & Detailed info     \\
  2  & Second item    & More details here \\
  \bottomrule
\end{tabularx}

Full-Width Tables in Two-Column Documents

If your document uses a two-column layout, use the table* environment to create a table that spans both columns:

\documentclass[twocolumn]{article}
\usepackage{booktabs}

\begin{document}

% This table spans both columns
\begin{table*}[t]
  \centering
  \caption{Results across all experiments.}
  \begin{tabular}{lcccccc}
    \toprule
    Method & Exp 1 & Exp 2 & Exp 3 & Exp 4 & Exp 5 & Average \\
    \midrule
    Ours   & 95.2  & 93.1  & 94.8  & 96.0  & 92.7  & 94.4   \\
    Base   & 90.1  & 88.5  & 89.3  & 91.2  & 87.6  & 89.3   \\
    \bottomrule
  \end{tabular}
\end{table*}

\end{document}

Long Tables

Standard LaTeX tables cannot break across pages. If your table is longer than a single page, use the longtable package. It automatically breaks the table across pages and can repeat headers and footers on each page.

\usepackage{longtable}
\usepackage{booktabs}

\begin{longtable}{lcc}
  % First header (appears on the first page)
  \caption{Complete list of experimental results.}
  \label{tab:longresults} \\
  \toprule
  Experiment & Temperature (\textdegree C) & Yield (\%) \\
  \midrule
  \endfirsthead

  % Continuation header (appears on subsequent pages)
  \multicolumn{3}{c}{\textit{Continued from previous page}} \\
  \toprule
  Experiment & Temperature (\textdegree C) & Yield (\%) \\
  \midrule
  \endhead

  % Footer on every page except the last
  \midrule
  \multicolumn{3}{r}{\textit{Continued on next page}} \\
  \endfoot

  % Footer on the last page
  \bottomrule
  \endlastfoot

  % Table body
  Trial 1  & 100 & 85 \\
  Trial 2  & 110 & 87 \\
  Trial 3  & 120 & 90 \\
  Trial 4  & 130 & 88 \\
  Trial 5  & 140 & 91 \\
  Trial 6  & 150 & 93 \\
  Trial 7  & 160 & 89 \\
  Trial 8  & 170 & 86 \\
  Trial 9  & 180 & 82 \\
  Trial 10 & 190 & 79 \\
  % ... more rows as needed
\end{longtable}

The four sectioning commands control what appears where:

• \endfirsthead – Marks the end of the header for the first page
• \endhead – Marks the end of the header for continuation pages
• \endfoot – Marks the end of the footer for all pages except the last
• \endlastfoot – Marks the end of the footer for the final page

Colored Tables

The xcolor package (with the table option) and thecolortbl package let you add background colours to rows, columns, and individual cells.

\usepackage[table]{xcolor}
% or: \usepackage{colortbl}

% Define custom colours
\definecolor{headerblue}{RGB}{0, 102, 204}
\definecolor{lightgray}{gray}{0.9}
\definecolor{lightblue}{RGB}{220, 235, 255}

Row Colours

\usepackage[table]{xcolor}
\usepackage{booktabs}

\begin{tabular}{lcc}
  \toprule
  \rowcolor{headerblue}
  \textcolor{white}{Name} &
  \textcolor{white}{Grade} &
  \textcolor{white}{Score} \\
  \midrule
  \rowcolor{lightgray}
  Alice & A  & 95 \\
  Bob   & B+ & 88 \\
  \rowcolor{lightgray}
  Carol & A- & 91 \\
  Dave  & B  & 84 \\
  \bottomrule
\end{tabular}

Alternating Row Colours

\usepackage[table]{xcolor}

% Automatically alternate row colours
\rowcolors{2}{lightgray}{white}

\begin{tabular}{lcc}
  \toprule
  Name  & Grade & Score \\
  \midrule
  Alice & A     & 95    \\
  Bob   & B+    & 88    \\
  Carol & A-    & 91    \\
  Dave  & B     & 84    \\
  Eve   & A+    & 98    \\
  \bottomrule
\end{tabular}

Cell Colours

\usepackage[table]{xcolor}

\begin{tabular}{lcc}
  \toprule
  Name  & Status                          & Score \\
  \midrule
  Alice & \cellcolor{green!25}Pass        & 95    \\
  Bob   & \cellcolor{red!25}Fail          & 42    \\
  Carol & \cellcolor{green!25}Pass        & 91    \\
  Dave  & \cellcolor{yellow!25}Borderline & 60    \\
  \bottomrule
\end{tabular}

Column Colours

\usepackage[table]{xcolor}
\usepackage{array}

% Apply colour to an entire column using the > directive
\begin{tabular}{l >{columncolor{lightblue}}c c}
  \toprule
  Name  & Highlighted & Normal \\
  \midrule
  Alice & 95          & A      \\
  Bob   & 88          & B+     \\
  Carol & 91          & A-     \\
  \bottomrule
\end{tabular}

Merging Rows and Columns Together

For complex table layouts, you can combine \multicolumn and\multirow in the same table. This is common in academic papers where you need hierarchical headers or grouped data.

\usepackage{booktabs}
\usepackage{multirow}

\begin{tabular}{llccc}
  \toprule
  \multirow{2}{*}{Department} &
  \multirow{2}{*}{Employee} &
  \multicolumn{3}{c}{Quarterly Sales (\$k)} \\
  \cmidrule(lr){3-5}
  & & Q1 & Q2 & Q3 \\
  \midrule
  \multirow{3}{*}{Engineering}
    & Alice   & 120 & 135 & 142 \\
    & Bob     & 98  & 110 & 105 \\
    & Carol   & 115 & 128 & 138 \\
  \midrule
  \multirow{2}{*}{Marketing}
    & Dave    & 200 & 220 & 245 \\
    & Eve     & 180 & 195 & 210 \\
  \bottomrule
\end{tabular}

When combining these commands, remember that:

• \multicolumn takes effect on a single row and merges cells horizontally.
• \multirow takes effect starting from the current row and merges cells vertically.
• In the rows spanned by \multirow, leave the corresponding cell empty (just use & to skip it).

Table Captions and Labels

Captions and labels are essential for numbered tables and cross-references. The\caption command generates a numbered caption (e.g., "Table 1: ..."), and \label creates a reference anchor.

Caption Placement

In most style guides, the caption for a table goes above the table (unlike figures, where captions typically go below). This is because readers scan a caption before reading the table data:

\begin{table}[htbp]
  \centering
  \caption{Summary of experimental results.}
  \label{tab:summary}
  \begin{tabular}{lcc}
    \toprule
    Method & Accuracy & F1 Score \\
    \midrule
    Ours   & 94.5     & 93.2     \\
    Base   & 89.1     & 87.8     \\
    \bottomrule
  \end{tabular}
\end{table}

Cross-Referencing Tables

Once you have labelled a table, you can refer to it anywhere in the document:

As shown in Table~\ref{tab:summary}, our method
outperforms the baseline by 5.4 percentage points.

% Use \pageref for the page number
The full results are in Table~\ref{tab:summary}
on page~\pageref{tab:summary}.

Always place \label after \caption, not before. If you place it before the caption, the reference number may be incorrect.

Useful Packages for Tables

Here is a summary of the most important packages for LaTeX tables and what each one provides:

A typical preamble for a document with professional tables looks like this:

\usepackage{booktabs}
\usepackage{multirow}
\usepackage{tabularx}
\usepackage{longtable}
\usepackage[table]{xcolor}
\usepackage{siunitx}
\usepackage{array}

Quick Reference

A handy reference table for column types and common commands:

Common table commands at a glance:

Next Steps

Now that you can create professional tables in LaTeX, explore more topics:

• LaTeX Lists – Create ordered, unordered, and description lists
• Page Size & Margins – Control page layout with the geometry package
• Learn LaTeX – Complete beginner tutorial covering all the basics
• Learn TikZ – Create diagrams and graphics programmatically
• Learn PGFPlots – Generate publication-quality plots and charts

Free LaTeX Tools

Building tables by hand can be tedious. Use our free tools to speed up your workflow:

• Table to LaTeX Converter – Paste data from Excel, Google Sheets, or CSV and instantly get LaTeX table code with booktabs formatting
• LaTeX Preview – Test your LaTeX code with live PDF preview
• Math to LaTeX – Convert handwritten equations to LaTeX
• Citation Generator – Generate BibTeX citations from DOIs
• AI LaTeX Generator – Generate LaTeX from text descriptions
• LaTeX Symbols Reference – Browse math operators and Greek letters