What Size Garage Do You Actually Need?
Most people choose a garage size from memory of what a garage “usually is,” then discover the tailgate won't clear the door. Here's the arithmetic, with real vehicle lengths — and the one dimension nearly everyone underestimates.
The short answer: A 24×24 holds two mid-size vehicles and not much else. A 24×30 holds the same two vehicles plus a workbench, the mower and the bikes — which is why it's the size most people actually needed. A 24×36 gives you three bays. If you park a crew-cab pickup, know this before you choose: a full-size truck can be over 20 feet long, which leaves under four feet of a 24-foot-deep garage. Depth is the dimension people regret.
Start with the vehicles, not the building
Most people pick a garage size from memory of what a garage "usually is." Then a truck arrives and the tailgate won't clear the door. Start with the actual numbers instead.
These are approximate published overall lengths — they shift with model year, trim and bed or wheelbase options, so check your own vehicle — but they're close enough to design around:
| Vehicle type | Example | Approx. length |
|---|---|---|
| Compact SUV | Toyota RAV4 / Honda CR-V | ~15 ft |
| Mid-size sedan | Honda Accord / Toyota Camry | ~16 ft |
| Mid-size SUV | Ford Explorer / Jeep Grand Cherokee | ~16–17 ft |
| Full-size SUV | Chevrolet Suburban | ~18.5–19 ft |
| Crew-cab pickup (short bed) | Ford F-150 SuperCrew 5.5' bed | ~19.5–20 ft |
| Crew-cab pickup (longer bed) | F-150 / Silverado crew, 6.5' bed | ~20.5–21 ft |
Approximate manufacturer overall lengths for recent model years, rounded. Confirm your specific vehicle before finalizing dimensions.
The three measurements that decide everything
Depth — the one people get wrong
Here's the arithmetic that changes minds. A 24-foot-deep garage gives you 24 feet of interior depth, minus a few inches of framing. Park a crew-cab F-150 at roughly 20 feet and you have about 3 to 4 feet left — for the garage door to close behind it, for you to walk around the front, and for anything you wanted to store.
That's not a workshop. That's barely a walkway, and it's why so many two-car garages end up holding one car and a pile of everything else.
At 30 feet deep, the same truck leaves about 10 feet across the back of the building. That's a real workbench with room to stand at it, or the mower and snowblower parked out of the traffic path, or a wall of shelving you can actually reach.
Width — leave room to open the doors
Vehicles are roughly 6 to 6.5 feet wide at the body, and a full-size truck with mirrors extended is closer to 8. But width isn't really about the vehicle — it's about the door swing. You need somewhere around 30 inches of clear space to open a car door far enough to get out comfortably, more if you're loading a child or a passenger with limited mobility.
In a 24-foot-wide garage with two mid-size vehicles parked, you've got roughly three to four feet split between the middle and the two sides. Workable — but it's the reason people end up parking with one mirror nearly touching the wall so the passenger can get out.
Height — the one you can't add later
Standard overhead doors are 7 feet tall; 8-foot doors are the common upgrade for trucks, roof racks, and anything with a rooftop cargo box. Wall height matters separately: 9-foot walls are our standard, which comfortably accommodates 8-foot doors and overhead storage.
If a vehicle lift is anywhere in your future, height is the decision that has to be made now — you'll want meaningfully more clear height, plus a slab engineered for the anchor loads. Retrofitting that into a finished 9-foot garage isn't a change order; it's a rebuild. Our 30×36 is built around exactly this.
Size by size, honestly
24 × 24 — two cars, 576 sq ft
The classic two-car footprint. Two full bays, room for wall-mounted storage above the hood line, and a shape that fits comfortably on lots where something deeper would start crowding setbacks.
Choose it when parking two ordinary vehicles is genuinely the whole mission, or when your lot or budget makes the smaller footprint the right call. Think twice if you own a full-size truck, want a workbench, or currently store lawn equipment somewhere you'd like to empty out. See the 24×24 →
24 × 30 — two cars plus a life, 720 sq ft
Same width, six more feet of depth. That's the upgrade that turns a parking box into a building you use. The front 24 feet park the vehicles; the back six become a continuous storage and work zone across the full width.
It's also the honest answer for modern vehicles. A crew-cab truck or three-row SUV fits with room to open the tailgate and walk around — something a 24-foot bay simply cannot offer.
Choose it when you want two cars and the workbench, the mower, the bikes, or the truck. This is the size we recommend most often, and the one people thank us for later. See the 24×30 →
24 × 36 — three bays, 864 sq ft
A third bay changes what the building is for. Three vehicles, or — more commonly — two vehicles and a dedicated workshop bay with its own door, so projects and sawdust never share space with the cars.
Worth knowing: on a 24×36 the doors face the long 36-foot side, so the driveway approaches the wide face of the building. It reads like a carriage house from the street and it needs a wider, flatter building pad than a two-car footprint. See the 24×36 →
30 × 36 — the enthusiast's building, 1,080 sq ft
Extra width and depth, and wall height engineered for a two- or four-post lift. Built for people whose garage is a place they spend time, not just park. See the 30×36 →
Don't forget the doors
Two 9-foot doors or one 16-foot door is a real decision. Two separate doors give you a center post, which costs you a little maneuvering room but gives you a wall to hang things on and a cleaner look from the street. A single wide opening is easier to aim at, especially for trailers, but commits the whole front of the building to one door.
Door width matters more than people expect. A 9-foot door is comfortable for a full-size truck with mirrors; an 8-foot door is noticeably tighter and is where mirrors meet door tracks.
Build for the version you'll want in ten years
The cheapest square footage you will ever buy is the square footage you include at the start. Adding depth during design costs a fraction of what it costs to build a second structure later, and some things — lift height, attic storage trusses, a room above — either happen when the roof is framed or don't happen at all.
The most common regret we hear is not "we built too much garage."
Then check what your lot allows
Size ambition meets zoning reality: setbacks, lot coverage and accessory-structure height limits decide what actually fits on your property, and they're different in every town. Our permitting guide covers what to verify — and it's worth confirming before you fall in love with a footprint.
Deeper and wider buildings also need a larger level pad, which is a site-work and foundation consideration as much as an architectural one.
Still deciding? Compare all four configurations side by side with structure and turnkey pricing in the Thomas Garage Collection, or configure one and tell us how you'll use it — we'll tell you honestly if you're over- or under-building.
Frequently asked
24 feet by 24 feet is the most common two-car footprint, giving 576 square feet and two full bays. It fits two ordinary vehicles with modest room around them. A 24x30 is the same width with six more feet of depth, which is what most people find they actually needed once storage and a workbench enter the picture.
It fits, but barely. A crew-cab F-150 or Silverado runs roughly 19.5 to 21 feet depending on bed length, which leaves about three to four feet of a 24-foot-deep garage once the door closes behind it. That is enough to walk around the front and very little else. For trucks we generally recommend at least 30 feet of depth.
Plan on roughly 30 inches of clear space to open a car door far enough to get out comfortably. In a 24-foot-wide garage with two mid-size vehicles, you have about three to four feet total to distribute between the center and the two side walls, which is workable but tight if both vehicles are wide.
It is genuinely enough if the mission is parking two ordinary vehicles and storing things on the walls. It becomes tight if you own a full-size truck, want a workbench with standing room, or plan to move lawn and snow equipment in. In those cases the six extra feet of a 24x30 does more for daily use than almost any other upgrade at that price.
If the workshop shares space with two parked cars, a 24x30 gives you a usable full-width zone across the back. If the workshop is the point and needs its own footprint, a 24x36 lets an entire bay become the shop with its own door, so projects never have to be cleared away to park.
More than a standard garage provides. Most four-post storage lifts need roughly 10 to 12 feet of clear height to stack two ordinary vehicles, and more for trucks and SUVs; two-post service lifts need comparable clearance. The slab also has to be engineered for concentrated anchor loads. Both are design decisions made before construction, not retrofits.
Two 9-foot doors give you a center post to hang storage on and a more traditional look, at the cost of a little maneuvering room. One 16-foot door is easier to aim at, especially with trailers, but commits the entire front of the building to a single opening. Door width matters too: 9-foot openings are comfortable for a full-size truck with mirrors, 8-foot openings are noticeably tighter.
Substantially cheaper now. Adding depth during design costs a fraction of building a second structure or extending an existing one, because you are already mobilizing equipment, excavating, pouring and roofing. Some things cannot be added later at all at reasonable cost — lift height, attic storage trusses and a room above all have to be planned before the roof is framed.
Not sure whether you're over- or under-building?
Tell us what you park, what you store and what you'd like to do out there. We'll give you an honest read on the right footprint — including when a smaller one is the right call.