Electronegativity Chart

Pauling electronegativity for every element, and what the difference between two values tells you.

Electronegativity measures how hard an atom pulls on the electrons it is sharing. It is the most predictive single number in bonding: the difference between two atoms' values tells you whether their bond will be covalent, polar or ionic, and which end will carry the partial negative charge.

Using the difference

Under ~0.4 — non-polar covalent. Electrons shared roughly evenly, as in C–H bonds.
~0.4 to ~1.7 — polar covalent. Shared but lopsided, as in the O–H bonds that make water a solvent.
Above ~1.7 — ionic. The pull is strong enough to take the electron outright, as in Na–Cl.

The extremes

The five most electronegative elements are Fluorine (3.98), Oxygen (3.44), Chlorine (3.16), Nitrogen (3.04), Krypton (3) — all crowded into the top right. The least are Francium (0.7), Cesium (0.79), Potassium (0.82), all at the bottom left. That diagonal is the single strongest trend in the table.

Pauling electronegativity of every element
#	Element	Electronegativity	Group	Period
1	HHydrogen	2.2	1	1
2	HeHelium	not measured	18	1
3	LiLithium	0.98	1	2
4	BeBeryllium	1.57	2	2
5	BBoron	2.04	13	2
6	CCarbon	2.55	14	2
7	NNitrogen	3.04	15	2
8	OOxygen	3.44	16	2
9	FFluorine	3.98	17	2
10	NeNeon	not measured	18	2
11	NaSodium	0.93	1	3
12	MgMagnesium	1.31	2	3
13	AlAluminum	1.61	13	3
14	SiSilicon	1.9	14	3
15	PPhosphorus	2.19	15	3
16	SSulfur	2.58	16	3
17	ClChlorine	3.16	17	3
18	ArArgon	not measured	18	3
19	KPotassium	0.82	1	4
20	CaCalcium	1	2	4
21	ScScandium	1.36	3	4
22	TiTitanium	1.54	4	4
23	VVanadium	1.63	5	4
24	CrChromium	1.66	6	4
25	MnManganese	1.55	7	4
26	FeIron	1.83	8	4
27	CoCobalt	1.88	9	4
28	NiNickel	1.91	10	4
29	CuCopper	1.9	11	4
30	ZnZinc	1.65	12	4
31	GaGallium	1.81	13	4
32	GeGermanium	2.01	14	4
33	AsArsenic	2.18	15	4
34	SeSelenium	2.55	16	4
35	BrBromine	2.96	17	4
36	KrKrypton	3	18	4
37	RbRubidium	0.82	1	5
38	SrStrontium	0.95	2	5
39	YYttrium	1.22	3	5
40	ZrZirconium	1.33	4	5
41	NbNiobium	1.6	5	5
42	MoMolybdenum	2.16	6	5
43	TcTechnetium	1.9	7	5
44	RuRuthenium	2.2	8	5
45	RhRhodium	2.28	9	5
46	PdPalladium	2.2	10	5
47	AgSilver	1.93	11	5
48	CdCadmium	1.69	12	5
49	InIndium	1.78	13	5
50	SnTin	1.96	14	5
51	SbAntimony	2.05	15	5
52	TeTellurium	2.1	16	5
53	IIodine	2.66	17	5
54	XeXenon	2.6	18	5
55	CsCesium	0.79	1	6
56	BaBarium	0.89	2	6
57	LaLanthanum	1.1	f	6
58	CeCerium	1.12	f	6
59	PrPraseodymium	1.13	f	6
60	NdNeodymium	1.14	f	6
61	PmPromethium	not measured	f	6
62	SmSamarium	1.17	f	6
63	EuEuropium	not measured	f	6
64	GdGadolinium	1.2	f	6
65	TbTerbium	not measured	f	6
66	DyDysprosium	1.22	f	6
67	HoHolmium	1.23	f	6
68	ErErbium	1.24	f	6
69	TmThulium	1.25	f	6
70	YbYtterbium	not measured	f	6
71	LuLutetium	1.27	f	6
72	HfHafnium	1.3	4	6
73	TaTantalum	1.5	5	6
74	WTungsten	2.36	6	6
75	ReRhenium	1.9	7	6
76	OsOsmium	2.2	8	6
77	IrIridium	2.2	9	6
78	PtPlatinum	2.28	10	6
79	AuGold	2.54	11	6
80	HgMercury	2	12	6
81	TlThallium	1.62	13	6
82	PbLead	2.33	14	6
83	BiBismuth	2.02	15	6
84	PoPolonium	2	16	6
85	AtAstatine	2.2	17	6
86	RnRadon	not measured	18	6
87	FrFrancium	0.7	1	7
88	RaRadium	0.9	2	7
89	AcActinium	1.1	f	7
90	ThThorium	1.3	f	7
91	PaProtactinium	1.5	f	7
92	UUranium	1.38	f	7
93	NpNeptunium	1.36	f	7
94	PuPlutonium	1.28	f	7
95	AmAmericium	1.3	f	7
96	CmCurium	1.3	f	7
97	BkBerkelium	1.3	f	7
98	CfCalifornium	1.3	f	7
99	EsEinsteinium	1.3	f	7
100	FmFermium	1.3	f	7
101	MdMendelevium	1.3	f	7
102	NoNobelium	1.3	f	7
103	LrLawrencium	1.3	f	7
104	RfRutherfordium	not measured	4	7
105	DbDubnium	not measured	5	7
106	SgSeaborgium	not measured	6	7
107	BhBohrium	not measured	7	7
108	HsHassium	not measured	8	7
109	MtMeitnerium	not measured	9	7
110	DsDarmstadtium	not measured	10	7
111	RgRoentgenium	not measured	11	7
112	CnCopernicium	not measured	12	7
113	NhNihonium	not measured	13	7
114	FlFlerovium	not measured	14	7
115	McMoscovium	not measured	15	7
116	LvLivermorium	not measured	16	7
117	TsTennessine	not measured	17	7
118	OgOganesson	not measured	18	7

23 of the 118 elements have no published Pauling value — mostly noble gases and superheavy synthetics. They are shown as “not measured” rather than estimated.

More on the periodic table

Interactive periodic tableAll 118 elements Charges & oxidation statesWhat ion each element forms Electron configurationsFull and shorthand notation Atomic mass tableIUPAC standard atomic weights Valence electronsOuter-shell counts by group Groups & periodsAll 18 groups explained Printable periodic tablesFree PDFs to print Element quizTest yourself on symbols

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is electronegativity?

Electronegativity is how strongly an atom attracts the shared electrons in a chemical bond. It is a relative scale, not a measured energy: Linus Pauling anchored it by assigning fluorine 3.98 and derived everything else from bond energies. A high value means the atom pulls electron density towards itself.

Which element is the most electronegative?

Fluorine, at 3.98 on the Pauling scale — no element pulls harder on bonding electrons. Caesium and francium sit at the opposite end, around 0.7 to 0.8, and give electron density away readily. The trend runs up and to the right of the table, excluding the noble gases.

How does electronegativity predict bond type?

Subtract the two values. A difference below about 0.4 gives a non-polar covalent bond, where electrons are shared roughly evenly. Between about 0.4 and 1.7 gives a polar covalent bond, with the electrons pulled towards the more electronegative atom. Above about 1.7 the pull is strong enough to transfer an electron outright, giving an ionic bond. The thresholds are guidance, not sharp boundaries.

Why does electronegativity increase across a period?

Moving right, each element has one more proton but its outer electrons stay in the same shell, so the nucleus grips them — and any shared electrons — more tightly. Going down a group the outer shell sits further from the nucleus and is screened by more inner electrons, so the grip weakens and electronegativity falls.

Why do some elements have no electronegativity value?

Because they have never been measured forming enough bonds to define one. That covers most noble gases, which mostly refuse to bond at all, and the superheavy synthetic elements, which have never existed in usable quantities. This table shows those as blank rather than inventing a number.