If you’re accustomed to sleeping on a full or queen mattress, a king-sized bed can seem pretty big, at 76 inches wide and 80 inches long. Many people assume that a California king is bigger still, but this actually isn’t true. Contrary to popular belief, a California king isn’t larger than a standard king, but it does have different dimensions. A California king is longer yet narrower, measuring 72 inches wide and 84 inches long (6 feet by 7 feet). The California king’s length makes it especially popular with tall individuals and those with narrow master bedrooms.
Yet for some people, a standard or California king just isn’t big enough. Enter the Alaskan king, which measures a whopping 108 inches wide and 108 inches long (9 feet by 9 feet). These mammoth mattresses have long been seen as niche products aimed at the very tall and the very wealthy, such as professional athletes. For those who have the space and the cash to spare, they’re ideal for co-sleeping with children or pets, movie nights, or breakfast in bed.
Alaskan kings aren’t the only giant mattresses on the market. The Wyoming or Montana king measures 84 by 84 inches (7 feet by 7 feet), while a Texas king is 80 inches by 98 inches. There’s also the Alberta or Vermont king, which, despite its sometimes diminutive name, is 96 by 96 inches.
The trend towards larger mattresses certainly isn’t new. In the United States, full or double beds were commonly seen in master bedrooms until the middle of the 20th century. After World War II, as many people purchased homes in the suburbs, bedrooms became larger – providing a lucrative opportunity for furniture and furnishings companies to sell millions of new beds (and sheets, blankets, duvets, comforters, etc.). Queens, kings, and California kings quickly became the norm, and are now the beds slept on by most U.S. adults. According to a 2022 survey conducted by the International Sleep Products Association, 46% of respondents sleep on a queen-sized mattress, while 31% sleep on a king or California king.
Anecdotally, bedding and mattress companies report that more people are requesting Alaskan, Montana, or Texas king-sized beds and accessories, perhaps encouraged by their growing popularity on social media, which allows us to glimpse inside the lives (and bedrooms) of celebrities and trendsetters. Still, such behemoth beds probably aren’t practical for most of us – you’d need a master bedroom with equally vast dimensions and be willing to spend $5,000 on the mattress, not to mention the custom-made linens. Moving and flipping the mattress would certainly be a team effort, with most Alaskan kings weighing between 250 and 375 pounds.
How well do you know your beds?
- Traditional king beds are also known as “Eastern kings,” while California king-sized beds, which were invented in Los Angeles, are sometimes called “Western kings.”
- A California king has less surface area than a standard king, at 6,048 square inches compared to the standard king’s 6,080 square inches.
- If you’re in the market for a king-sized bed, make sure your bedroom has at least 12 feet by 10 feet of space (or, ideally, 13 feet by 13 feet). A California king needs a room of 12 feet by 12 feet, though 12 feet by 14 feet works even better.
- For the record, a queen-sized mattress measures 60 inches wide by 80 inches long, the same length as a standard king but significantly narrower. A full-size (or double bed) is 54 inches wide and 75 inches long. Twin and Twin XL beds are 38 inches wide and 75 inches and 80 inches long, respectively.
- A queen-sized mattress in the United States is larger than a king-sized mattress in the United Kingdom.
