3 kΩ resistor colour code
Four bands: Orange · Black · Red · Gold. The first two give the digits, the third multiplies, the fourth states how far off the real part may be.
Nominal
3 kΩ
3,000 ohms
Real range at ±5%
2.85 kΩ – 3.15 kΩ
A gold band allows this much drift.
Series
E24
E24 only — stocked less often.
Band by band
| Band | Colour | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Orange | 1st digit — 3 |
| 2 | Black | 2nd digit — 0 |
| 3 | Red | Multiplier — ×100 |
| 4 | Gold | Tolerance — ±5% |
How much it can take
Current and dissipation across the resistor, and the package you need. The suggested rating keeps a factor of two in hand, which is what anyone building a board actually does.
| Across it | Current | Dissipated | Package to pick |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3.3 V | 1.1 mA | 3.63 mW | 1/8 W |
| 5 V | 1.67 mA | 8.33 mW | 1/8 W |
| 12 V | 4 mA | 48 mW | 1/8 W |
| 24 V | 8 mA | 192 mW | 1/2 W |
What you can actually get
Parts made
207
28th most of 1,465 values
In stock
80,706
across 8 of them
Cheapest at 100
$0.0012
each
Tolerances sold
±0.01% to ±5%
8 grades in all
Packages: 0603, 0805, 1206, 0402, 1210, 2512, 0201, 2010. Ratings: 30mW to 35W.
What ten of them actually cost
The price everyone quotes is the reel price. If you want ten, you cannot buy the reel — and the real figure is usually several times higher per piece.
Ten pieces
$0.15
$0.015 each · Cut Tape (CT) · minimum order 1
The reel price
$0.00127
each, but only from 100,000 pieces up
Sitting in stock
4,515,131
across 28 part numbers
Per piece, ten costs 11.8× the reel price. That gap is why a handful of resistors never costs what the headline price suggests.
Stocked in ±0.05% and ±0.1% and ±0.5% and ±1% and ±5%, rated 1/20 W to 1/4 W.
Cheapest part you can buy ten of: CR0402-FX-3001GLF by Bourns Inc. — see it at Digi-Key.
Assembly stock from the JLCPCB library, read 2026-09-24. Retail prices and stock from Digi-Key, read 2026-09-24. Prices move — check the product page before ordering. That is what a board house will place for you — not everything a distributor sells.
The same value, marked differently
Five bands
OrangeBlackBlackRedBrown
Three significant digits and a ±1% band.
Values that can overlap this one
At ±5% the tolerance bands of neighbouring values run into each other. A part sold as one of these could measure the same as a 3 kΩ — which is why measuring beats reading when it matters.
- 2.87 kΩ2.8413 kΩ–2.8987 kΩ
- 2.94 kΩ2.9106 kΩ–2.9694 kΩ
- 3.01 kΩ2.9799 kΩ–3.0401 kΩ
- 3.09 kΩ3.0591 kΩ–3.1209 kΩ
- 3.16 kΩ3.1284 kΩ–3.1916 kΩ
- 3.3 kΩ3.135 kΩ–3.465 kΩ
If you do not have one
Standard values that land within 1% of 3 kΩ when combined.