Carolina Blue (#4B9CD3)

The hex code for Carolina Blue is #4B9CD3. It is rgb(75, 156, 211) in RGB, hsl(204, 61%, 56%) in HSL, and about cmyk(64%, 26%, 0%, 17%) in CMYK — a mid-tone blue. Black text is the more readable choice on this background.

#4B9CD3

HEX#4B9CD3

RGBrgb(75, 156, 211)

HSLhsl(204, 61%, 56%)

HSVhsv(204, 64%, 83%)

CMYKcmyk(64%, 26%, 0%, 17%)

OKLCHoklch(66.5% 0.114 241.1)

LABlab(61.09% -12.63 -36.16)

LCHlch(61.09% 38.30 250.74)

Colors Closest to Carolina Blue

Carolina Blue is a registered color name. These are the named colors nearest to it, measured as CIE76 distance in CIELAB — a perceptual scale, so the ordering matches what the eye sees rather than how close the raw RGB numbers happen to sit.

Blue-gray#6699CCΔE 7.18 Blue Jeans#5DADECΔE 7.56 Rich Electric Blue#0892D0ΔE 7.8 Little Boy Blue#6CA0DCΔE 8.11 Twitter Blue#26A7DEΔE 8.3 Picton Blue#45B1E8ΔE 9.02

Browse the full index of named colors A-Z or every blue in the library.

#4B9CD3 Channel Values

How Carolina Blue breaks down in each color model. Hue is measured in degrees around the color wheel; saturation, lightness, and the CMYK inks are percentages.

Model	Channels	Notes
RGB	R 75 · G 156 · B 211	8-bit channels as sent to the display
HSL	H 204° · S 61% · L 56%	Easiest model for building lighter and darker variants
HSV	H 204° · S 64% · V 83%	Matches the picker in most design tools
CMYK	C 64% · M 26% · Y 0% · K 17%	Approximate ink mix; confirm with an ICC profile before printing
Luminance	3:1 vs white · 7:1 vs black	WCAG 2.2 relative-luminance contrast ratios

Text Contrast & Accessibility

WCAG 2.2 contrast ratios for text on a Carolina Blue background. AA requires 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text; AAA requires 7:1. Contrast is one check, not a full accessibility review.

TextWhite text3:1AA normal ✗AA large ✓AAA normal ✗

TextBlack text7:1AA normal ✓AA large ✓AAA normal ✗

Need a specific ratio against another background? Open #4B9CD3 in the contrast checker.

Colors That Go With Carolina Blue

Pairings derived from color-wheel relationships. The complementary color sits opposite Carolina Blue; analogous colors sit beside it; triadic and split-complementary sets spread evenly around the wheel. Select any swatch for its own breakdown.

Base

Complementary

Analogous

Analogous

Triadic

Triadic

Split comp.

Split comp.

Tints & Shades of Carolina Blue

Lighter tints and darker shades built by moving the lightness channel while holding hue and saturation, which is what you want for hover states, backgrounds, and text variants.

Tints

Shades

Want a full 50-950 ramp with semantic roles? Generate design tokens from #4B9CD3.

How Carolina Blue Looks with Color Vision Deficiency

Simulated with the Viénot, Brettel & Mollon LMS projection model. Anomalous types are rendered as partial versions of the matching dichromacy, which is an approximation rather than a per-person clinical model.

Typical#4B9CD3

Protanopia#9292D3

Protanomaly#7C96D3

Deuteranopia#8888D4

Deuteranomaly#7490D4

Tritanopia#30A4A4

Tritanomaly#3DA1B9

Achromatopsia#959595

Test a full palette in the color blindness simulator.

Using #4B9CD3 in Code

Copy-ready declarations for the places this color usually ends up.

CSS custom property--carolina-blue: #4B9CD3;

CSS backgroundbackground-color: #4B9CD3;

Tailwind configcolors: { 'carolina-blue': '#4B9CD3' }

SwiftUIColor(red: 0.294, green: 0.612, blue: 0.827)

Android XML<color name="carolina_blue">#4B9CD3</color>

SVG fillfill="#4B9CD3"

More Blue Colors

Carolina Blue sits in the bluefamily. These are its neighbours across that family's full range, each with its own breakdown.

4c516d 4b61d1 4d4dff 4b4bd8 4e3cc3 4a5565 4e5180 483d8b 4f39f6 4747ff 4f69c6 4682b4 6161ff 77b5fe 94b1ff b6cdf6 d3cdf9 f1f5f9 0000db 0067a5 0b10a2 182d3e 2424ff 3366cc

#4B9CD3 Frequently Asked Questions

What is the hex code for Carolina Blue?

The hex code for Carolina Blue is #4B9CD3. That is rgb(75, 156, 211) in RGB, hsl(204, 61%, 56%) in HSL, and approximately cmyk(64%, 26%, 0%, 17%) in CMYK.

What is the RGB value of #4B9CD3?

#4B9CD3 is rgb(75, 156, 211) — red 75, green 156, and blue 211 on the 0-255 scale.

What is the CMYK value of #4B9CD3?

#4B9CD3 converts to approximately cmyk(64%, 26%, 0%, 17%). CMYK output is a mathematical approximation for planning; confirm production print colors with your printer and ICC profile.

Should text on #4B9CD3 be black or white?

Black text is the more readable choice. #4B9CD3 scores 3:1 against white and 7:1 against black, and WCAG 2.2 asks for at least 4.5:1 for normal body text.

Can I write #4B9CD3 as a CSS color keyword?

No. #4B9CD3 is not one of the CSS color keywords, so it has to be written as a hex, rgb() or hsl() value. The closest keyword is steelblue (#4682B4) at a CIE76 distance of 10.59, which is visibly different.

Open Carolina Blue in a Tool

Hex to RGB Hex to HSL Hex to CMYK Hex to OKLCH Hex to Pantone Build a palette Make a gradient

Keep exploring: every blue in the color library, the guide to shades of blue, or the full color library.