12x20 inground pool

12x20 inground pool: size, cost and what it looks like

A 12x20 inground pool is 240 square feet of water with 64 feet of edge, and holds about 8,100 gallons at a 4.5 foot average depth. It tops the 10x16 to 12x20 range one builder's guide gives for plunge and cocktail pools. The pool alone runs $22,000 to $60,000 at national planning rates.

See a size in your yard All pool sizes

Last updated October 11, 2026

AI concept image of a pool, the closest size we have pictured to a 12x20 and not an exact match: a small rectangular pool in a narrow city backyard with a wood deck all round, two loungers at the near end and a fire bowl by the back porch

AI concept image, not a photo of a built pool.

Water surface: 240 sq ft
Edge: 64 ft
Gallons at 4.5 ft: 8,100
Fence panels long: 2.5
The pool alone, planning: $22,000 to $60,000

The free visualizer has no one-tap preset for a 12x20. Open it and set the length and width to this size.

A 12x20 next to its neighbours, at the same scale

The shaded outline is the 12x20. The others are the sizes either side of it, drawn from the same corner, so you can see what one step adds.

Outlines, smallest to largest: 10x20, 12x20, 12x24. Every outline starts at the same corner and is drawn to scale. The ticks on the top and left edges are 8 ft fence panels.

A 12x20 is 240 square feet, a 12x24 with four feet cut from the length

A 12x20 is as wide as a 12x24 and four feet shorter. That takes 48 square feet out of the water, and a 12x24 holds about 20 percent more. At twenty feet it is two and a half fence panels long and one and a half wide.

The picture is an AI concept image of a 12x24 in a narrow city yard, the closest size we have pictured, so a real 12x20 is a little shorter than the one shown. Scale is the usual worry with a small pool, whether it will look right in the yard, and the scale plan on this page draws the true outline next to its neighbours.

A 12x20 suits sitting, cooling off and a few strokes, with a patio left over

One California pool builder's size guide places 12x20 at the top of a range of 10x16 to 12x20 feet for plunge and cocktail pools, and says pools that size suit smaller yards and tighter budgets. It describes them as good for cooling off and socializing without using up most of the outdoor space, and says a 12x20 still leaves room for in-pool seating and a usable patio.

Ask your builder whether twelve feet of width leaves room for a seat or a shelf along one side with open water beside it. Length is the limit: one pool maker's guide puts lap-focused small pools at 20 to 28 feet, so a 12x20 is at the short end, and says soaking needs about three feet of depth where laps need four to five. Decide which of the two you want before you choose depth, and a cocktail pool is the version built for sitting.

By the quarter-of-the-yard rule a 12x20 suits a yard of about 950 square feet. With the 6 feet of clear space all round that a California builder's guide recommends, the footprint is 768 square feet. The pool maker also advises building no larger than a 12x24 on a lawn of 1,200 square feet or less, so a 12x20, 48 square feet smaller than a 12x24, sits inside that limit.

A 12x20 costs less to build than a 12x24, and a quote shows by how much

Cost follows water area and edge, so the 12x20 sits below the 12x24 on every line in the table: a smaller pool, less coping, a smaller deck border and a shorter fence run. The table prices each line at published rates. It leaves out permits, engineering, a heater and a cover, and your town and soil move all of it.

Ask each builder to price a 12x20 and a 12x24 on the same lines, and compare the gap with the water you would give up. The 12x24 page shows the published prices that disagree for that size, and the cost page lists every line a quote should carry. We re-read the two size guides this page leans on on October 11, 2026.

Planning cost lines for a 12x20 inground pool at national rates
Line	Planning range
The pool240 sq ft of water at $90 to $250 a square foot (shell, excavation, plumbing, equipment, plaster).	$22,000 to $60,000
Coping64 linear ft of water edge at $6 to $55 a foot, from plain concrete to travertine.	$500 to $3,500
A 4 ft deck border all round320 sq ft at $3 to $80 a square foot installed, from pavers to composite decking.	$1,000 to $26,000
Aluminum pool fence around that deck96 linear ft at $15 to $35 a foot installed.	$1,500 to $3,500
All of the above, if your quote includes it	$25,000 to $95,000

A planning range from published sources, not a quote. National rates; a state, a lot and the build type can move them a lot more than a few percent. Totals are rounded down and up to the nearest $5,000, so they will not match the sum of the lines. We price a 4 ft deck border; the builder size guide we cite suggests at least 6 ft clear around the pool, which adds deck and fence cost. The per-foot band is quoted for a standard pool and used here for every size. Left out: permits and engineering, land clearing, landscaping, electrical beyond the pool equipment, a heater, a cover, financing and overruns. Rates from: HomeAdvisor, in-ground pool cost, Fixr, gunite and concrete pool, Pool Research, plunge pool cost, Pool Research, pool coping cost, HomeAdvisor, travertine pavers, HomeAdvisor, pool deck cost, Fixr, pool fence.

More on size: the full inground pool size chart, what size pool do I need. Smaller still? Small inground pools compares the four smallest sizes.

A design in the nearest size we have drawn: Family pool with an outdoor kitchen in an Irvine subdivision.

Pricing the whole job? Inground pool cost, line by line covers every line a 12x20 quote should carry.

Building in Florida, Texas, Arizona or California? Each has a Florida, Texas, Arizona, or California cost page with the state's price range, pool safety law and builder licensing.

See a 12x20 in your yard with the free visualizer.

Will a 12 x 20 fit your yard?

Draw your yard and the house, drop a 12 x 20 in, and see the distance to every fence. It is drawn to scale and free.

Try a 12 x 20 in my yard

Questions people ask

How many gallons is a 12x20 pool?

About 8,100 gallons at a 4.5 foot average depth, or 7,200 to 9,000 at 4 to 5 feet. A plunge or cocktail pool is often shallower, which lowers the figure.

Is a 12x20 inground pool big enough for a family?

For sitting, cooling off and playing, yes: one California builder's guide says a 12x20 leaves room for in-pool seating and a usable patio. It is short for laps at 2.5 fence panels long. If your yard has the room, compare it with a 12x24.

How much does a 12x20 inground pool cost?

The pool alone comes to $22,000 to $60,000 at national planning rates, and with coping, a four foot deck border and a fence the range reaches $25,000 to $95,000. Ask local builders for itemised written quotes. See inground pool cost, line by line.

Sources and date checked

Links checked October 11, 2026. If one has moved or no longer says this, tell us (see our editorial policy) and we will fix it.

Every picture on these pages is an AI concept image, not a built pool, and its proportions are not measured. Where a size has no picture of its own we show the closest one and say so in the text. Cost ranges are planning numbers from published guides at national rates, not quotes. See how we write and check pages in our editorial policy.

This page is about inground pools. A 12x24 or a 15x30 is also a common above-ground oval, which is a different product at a different price.

Pool builder? Send a homeowner their own design as a film.

Not sure a size fits your yard?

Add a photo of your yard to the free visualizer, pick a size and look at the picture before you talk to a builder.

See a size in your yard Browse pool ideas