#525252 Color

#525252 is rgb(82, 82, 82) in RGB, hsl(0, 0%, 32%) in HSL, and about cmyk(0%, 0%, 0%, 68%) in CMYK. It has no registered color name of its own — the closest is Davy's Gray (#555555), below the threshold most people can see at ΔE 1.27. White text is the more readable choice on this background.

#525252

HEX#525252

RGBrgb(82, 82, 82)

HSLhsl(0, 0%, 32%)

HSVhsv(0, 0%, 32%)

CMYKcmyk(0%, 0%, 0%, 68%)

OKLCHoklch(43.9% 0 0)

LABlab(34.88% -0.00 0.00)

LCHlch(34.88% 0.00 0.00)

What #525252 Is Called

Most hex codes have no name: there are 16.7 million of them and a few thousand registered names. These are the named colors nearest to #525252, ordered by CIE76 distance in CIELAB. Anything under about ΔE 2 is a difference most people cannot see.

Davy's Gray#555555ΔE 1.27 Traffic Gray B#4E5451ΔE 3.12 Dark Liver#534B4FΔE 4.7 Iron Gray#555D61ΔE 5.86 Outer Space#414A4CΔE 5.94 Quartz#51484FΔE 6.53

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

#525252 Channel Values

How #525252 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 82 · G 82 · B 82	8-bit channels as sent to the display
HSL	H 0° · S 0% · L 32%	Easiest model for building lighter and darker variants
HSV	H 0° · S 0% · V 32%	Matches the picker in most design tools
CMYK	C 0% · M 0% · Y 0% · K 68%	Approximate ink mix; confirm with an ICC profile before printing
Luminance	7.81:1 vs white · 2.69:1 vs black	WCAG 2.2 relative-luminance contrast ratios

Text Contrast & Accessibility

WCAG 2.2 contrast ratios for text on a #525252 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 text7.81:1AA normal AA large AAA normal

Fails AABlack text2.69:1AA normal AA large AAA normal

Need a specific ratio against another background? Open #525252 in the contrast checker.

Colors That Go With #525252

Pairings derived from color-wheel relationships. The complementary color sits opposite #525252; 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 #525252

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 #525252.

How #525252 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#525252

Protanopia#525252

Protanomaly#525252

Deuteranopia#525252

Deuteranomaly#525252

Tritanopia#525252

Tritanomaly#525252

Achromatopsia#525252

Test a full palette in the color blindness simulator.

Using #525252 in Code

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

CSS custom property--color-525252: #525252;

CSS backgroundbackground-color: #525252;

Tailwind configcolors: { 'color-525252': '#525252' }

SwiftUIColor(red: 0.322, green: 0.322, blue: 0.322)

Android XML<color name="color_525252">#525252</color>

SVG fillfill="#525252"

More Gray Colors

#525252 sits in the gray family. These are its neighbours across that family's full range, each with its own breakdown.

52525c 51484f 534b4f 4f4f4f 555555 4e5451 555d50 4d5d53 555d61 4d4d4d 57534d 4a4a4a 5e5e5e 6e6e6e 79716b 848482 8f8f8f a3a3a3 afb1ae bfbfbf d3d3d3 27272a 383838 44403b

#525252 Frequently Asked Questions

What color is #525252?

#525252 is a dark gray — rgb(82, 82, 82) in RGB and hsl(0, 0%, 32%) in HSL. It carries no registered color name of its own; the closest named color is Davy's Gray (#555555), which is below the threshold most people can see at a CIE76 distance of 1.27.

What is the RGB value of #525252?

#525252 is rgb(82, 82, 82) — red 82, green 82, and blue 82 on the 0-255 scale.

What is the CMYK value of #525252?

#525252 converts to approximately cmyk(0%, 0%, 0%, 68%). CMYK output is a mathematical approximation for planning; confirm production print colors with your printer and ICC profile.

Should text on #525252 be black or white?

White text is the more readable choice. #525252 scores 7.81:1 against white and 2.69:1 against black, and WCAG 2.2 asks for at least 4.5:1 for normal body text.

Can I write #525252 as a CSS color keyword?

No. #525252 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 dimgray (#696969) at a CIE76 distance of 9.54, which is clearly related but distinguishable side by side.

Open #525252 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 gray in the color library, the guide to shades of gray, or the full color library.