Add padding to columns and rows in a table in LaTeX

In this tutorial, I will show you how to add padding to rows and columns in a table in LaTeX with multiple methods.

Add padding to rows in a table

In order to add extra vertical space in rows you can use \renewcommand{\arraystretch}{<factor>} or \def\arraystretch{<factor>} command before tabular. In both cases, the output will be similar. Take a look.

\documentclass{article}

\begin{document}
\section{Table with no extra vertical space}
\begin{table}[h]
  \centering
  \begin{tabular}{|c||c|c|c|c|c|}
    \hline
    x    & 1 & 2             & 3             & 4             & 5             \\
    \hline
    f(x) & 1 & $\frac{1}{2}$ & $\frac{1}{3}$ & $\frac{1}{4}$ & $\frac{1}{5}$ \\
    \hline
  \end{tabular}
  \caption{Table with extra vertical space}
\end{table}

\section{Table with extra vertical space}
\begin{table}[h]
  \renewcommand{\arraystretch}{1.5}
  \centering
  \begin{tabular}{|c||c|c|c|c|c|}
    \hline
    x    & 1 & 2             & 3             & 4             & 5             \\
    \hline
    f(x) & 1 & $\frac{1}{2}$ & $\frac{1}{3}$ & $\frac{1}{4}$ & $\frac{1}{5}$ \\
    \hline
  \end{tabular}
  \caption{Table with extra vertical space}
\end{table}

\section{Table with extra vertical space}
\begin{table}[h]
  \def\arraystretch{1.5}
  \centering
  \begin{tabular}{|c||c|c|c|c|c|}
    \hline
    x    & 1 & 2             & 3             & 4             & 5             \\
    \hline
    f(x) & 1 & $\frac{1}{2}$ & $\frac{1}{3}$ & $\frac{1}{4}$ & $\frac{1}{5}$ \\
    \hline
  \end{tabular}
  \caption{Add extra vertical space with \textbackslash def\textbackslash arraystretch}
\end{table}

\end{document}

Output:

Also, you can use \setlength{\extrarowheight}{<length>} and \\[<length>] provided by array package to add padding on rows. here,

• \setlength{\extrarowheight}{<length>} : To add top padding.
• \\[<length>] : To add bottom padding.

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{array}
\begin{document}
\section{Table with extra padding on top}
\begin{table}[h]
  \centering
  \setlength{\extrarowheight}{6pt}
  \begin{tabular}{|c||c|c|c|c|c|}
    \hline
    x    & 1 & 2             & 3             & 4             & 5             \\
    \hline
    f(x) & 1 & $\frac{1}{2}$ & $\frac{1}{3}$ & $\frac{1}{4}$ & $\frac{1}{5}$ \\
    \hline
  \end{tabular}
  \caption{Table with extra padding on top}
\end{table}

\section{Table with extra padding on bottom on the last row}
\begin{table}[h]
  
  \centering
  \begin{tabular}{|c||c|c|c|c|c|}
    \hline
    x    & 1 & 2             & 3             & 4             & 5             \\ % You can also add here [<len>]
    \hline
    f(x) & 1 & $\frac{1}{2}$ & $\frac{1}{3}$ & $\frac{1}{4}$ & $\frac{1}{5}$ \\[6pt]
    \hline
  \end{tabular}
  \caption{Table with extra padding on bottom}
\end{table}

\section{Table with extra padding both top and bottom}
\begin{table}[h]
  \setlength{\extrarowheight}{6pt}
  \centering
  \begin{tabular}{|c||c|c|c|c|c|}
    \hline
    x    & 1 & 2             & 3             & 4             & 5             \\ % You can also add here [<len>]
    \hline
    f(x) & 1 & $\frac{1}{2}$ & $\frac{1}{3}$ & $\frac{1}{4}$ & $\frac{1}{5}$ \\[6pt]
    \hline
  \end{tabular}
  \caption{Add extra padding both top and bottom}
\end{table}

\end{document}

Output:

Add space between columns

In order to add horizontal space (padding) in the table or space between columns you can use the \setlength{\tabcolsep}{<value>} command to set the space. You have to add this command before tabular.

\documentclass{article}
\begin{document}

\section{Table with no extra padding}
\begin{table}[h]
  \centering
  \begin{tabular}{|c|c|c|}
    \hline
    Column 1 & Column 2 & Column 3 \\
    \hline
    A        & B        & C        \\
    \hline
    D        & E        & F        \\
    \hline
  \end{tabular}
  \caption{Table with no extra padding}
\end{table}

\section{Table with extra padding on columns}
\begin{table}[h]
  \setlength{\tabcolsep}{15pt}
  \centering
  \begin{tabular}{|c|c|c|}
    \hline
    Column 1 & Column 2 & Column 3 \\
    \hline
    A        & B        & C        \\
    \hline
    D        & E        & F        \\
    \hline
  \end{tabular}
  \caption{Table with extra padding on columns}
\end{table}

\end{document}

Output:

Add padding on a specific column

Situations arise while creating tables where we put different data in different columns. Now you can use the p{<length>} column specifier to increase the horizontal space of the specific column that contains the paragraph.

\documentclass{article}
\begin{document}
\section{Table with no extra padding}
\begin{table}[h]
  \centering
  \begin{tabular}{|c|c|c|}
    \hline
    Column 1 & Column 2 & Column 3                                                       \\
    \hline
    A        & B        & This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. \\
    \hline
    D        & E        & This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. \\
    \hline
  \end{tabular}
  \caption{Table with no extra padding}
\end{table}

\section{Table with extra padding on the last column}
\begin{table}[h]
  \centering
  \begin{tabular}{|c|c|p{3cm}|}
    \hline
    Column 1 & Column 2 & Column 3                                                       \\
    \hline
    A        & B        & This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. \\
    \hline
    D        & E        & This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. \\
    \hline
  \end{tabular}
  \caption{Table with extra padding on the last column}
\end{table}

\end{document}

Output: