White oak and red oak are the two trade groups that almost every oak board in North America is sold under. Each group is several species: the Wood Handbook lists white oak, bur oak, chestnut oak and others under white oak, and northern red, black, pin and others under red oak. In a lumberyard they look alike and cost about the same, which is why the question comes up. The differences that matter are not hardness or strength, which are close, but what happens when water gets in.
White Oak vs Red Oak: the numbers
| Property | White oak | Northern red oak |
|---|---|---|
| Janka side hardness, 12% MC | 1,360 lbf | 1,290 lbf |
| Density at 12% MC | 47.5 lb/ft³ | 44.1 lb/ft³ |
| Weight per board foot | 3.96 lb | 3.67 lb |
| Bending strength (MOR), 12% MC | 15,200 psi | 14,300 psi |
| Stiffness (MOE), 12% MC | 1.78 million psi | 1.82 million psi |
| Crushing strength parallel to grain | 7,440 psi | 6,760 psi |
| Shrinkage green to ovendry, tangential | 10.5% | 8.6% |
| Shrinkage, radial | 5.6% | 4.0% |
| Shrinkage, volumetric | 16.3% | 13.7% |
| Tangential / radial ratio (cupping tendency) | 1.88 | 2.15 |
| Width change per 1% MC, flatsawn (Table 13-5) | 0.365% | 0.369% |
| Heartwood decay resistance (Table 14-1) | resistant | slightly or nonresistant |
What the numbers mean
- Hardness: White oak is 5% harder than Northern red oak (1,360 against 1,290 lbf), so it resists dents from furniture feet, dropped tools and wear correspondingly better.
- Weight: White oak is 8% heavier. A 1 x 6 board 8 feet long (4 board feet nominal) weighs about 15.8 lb in white oak and 14.7 lb in northern red oak at 12% moisture content.
- Strength and stiffness: White oak is 6% stronger in bending, but Northern red oak is 2% stiffer, and stiffness is what decides how much a shelf of the same size sags under the same load.
- Movement: a flatsawn board 10 in wide that goes from 6% to 12% moisture content (a dry winter to a humid summer indoors) swells about 0.219 in (7/32 in) in white oak and 0.221 in (7/32 in) in northern red oak, from Handbook Eq. 13-2 and the Table 13-5 coefficients. Allow for this in table tops, panels and floors.
- Decay resistance of the heartwood: White oak: resistant; Northern red oak: slightly or nonresistant. Sapwood of every species has low decay resistance.
Appearance, working and what to watch for
The single biggest difference is inside the pores. The Handbook explains that the pores of white oak heartwood are usually plugged with tyloses, balloon-like growths that make the wood almost impenetrable to liquids. That is why white oak is the wood for tight barrels (whiskey and wine), boat building and outdoor furniture. Red oak lacks tyloses: its pores are open tubes, and you can blow air through a short length of red oak end grain. Open pores also mean red oak soaks up finish and stain readily, which many people like on floors and cabinets.
By eye, red oak heartwood usually has a pink or reddish cast and white oak is more olive or tan brown. Quartersawn white oak shows longer, bolder ray fleck, the figure behind Arts and Crafts furniture; quartersawn red oak has shorter rays. The quickest test is a drop of water or a look at the end grain with a hand lens: clogged pores mean white oak. Both oaks are high in tannin and turn blue-black where they touch wet iron or steel, so use stainless or coated fasteners outdoors.
Which to choose: verdict by use
| Use | Better choice | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor furniture, boats, planters | White oak | Resistant heartwood and tyloses-sealed pores; red oak is rated slightly or nonresistant and wicks water. |
| Hardwood flooring | Either | Hardness is within about 5% of each other. Red oak is the classic choice; white oak shows less contrast and takes grey and natural finishes well. |
| Kitchen cabinets and painted or stained furniture | Red oak | Usually the cheaper of the two, stains evenly because of its open pores, and is widely available in plywood. |
| Arts and Crafts, mission and quartersawn work | White oak | The ray fleck is larger and more dramatic. |
| Barrels, tubs, anything that must hold liquid | White oak | Only white oak is watertight; red oak leaks through its pores. |
| Steam-bent boat frames | White oak | Both oaks steam-bend well, but white oak also resists decay, which is why it is the traditional frame wood. |
Frequently asked questions
Is white oak harder than red oak?
Slightly. The Wood Handbook gives white oak 1,360 lbf and northern red oak 1,290 lbf of Janka side hardness at 12% moisture content. On a floor you will not feel the difference.
Can red oak be used outside?
Not without protection. Its heartwood is rated slightly or nonresistant in decay resistance and its open pores let water in. For anything left outdoors, use white oak or a naturally durable wood such as cedar, or treated lumber.
How can I tell white oak from red oak?
Look at clean end grain under a magnifier. White oak pores in the heartwood are plugged with tyloses; red oak pores are open. Red oak also usually has a pinkish tint and shorter rays on quartersawn faces.
Sources and method
All property values are read from our parsed copy of the USDA Forest Products Laboratory Wood Handbook: Wood as an Engineering Material (FPL-GTR-190, 2010), a US Government publication in the public domain, the same data as the wood species database. The percentages and the board examples above are our arithmetic on those values. The values describe small, clear, straight-grained specimens: real boards with knots or sloping grain differ, and structural lumber is sized from graded design values in your local building code, not from this table.
- USDA Forest Products Laboratory. Wood Handbook: Wood as an Engineering Material. General Technical Report FPL-GTR-190, 2010. Chapter 2 (species descriptions), Chapter 4 (Tables 4-3, 4-4 shrinkage; Eq. 4-7, 4-9, 4-12 density), Chapter 5 (Tables 5-3b, 5-5b strength and hardness), Chapter 13 (Table 13-5 dimensional change coefficients), Chapter 14 (Table 14-1 decay resistance)
- USDA Forest Products Laboratory. Wood Handbook, 2021 edition (FPL-GTR-282)
Last reviewed: 24 October 2026. How we build and check our data: methodology and corrections. Spotted an error? Please let us know.