Guide · Updated August 2026

Avery 5161 Template: The Wide Address Label, Explained

Q: Should I pick the 5161 or the 5160 for address labels?

Same label height, different width. The 5160 (2 5/8 inches wide, 30 per sheet) is the economical default. The 5161 (4 inches wide, 20 per sheet) earns its keep when addresses run long — hyphenated surnames, company or care-of lines, international formats — or when you want a larger, easier-to-read font.

The 5161 is the 5160's roomier sibling — the same one-inch height stretched to a full four inches wide, 20 to a sheet. Here's exactly how it's laid out, when the extra width is worth ten fewer labels, and a way to skip the template entirely.

What an Avery 5161 sheet is

A 5161 sheet is a letter-size page holding 20 labels in a 2 × 10 grid. Each label is 1 inch tall and 4 inches wide — half again the width of the standard 5160, which turns a cramped four-line address into a comfortable one.

On store shelves you'll also see 8161 — the same sheet sold as the inkjet pack (5161 is the laser pack). Either prints the other's layout perfectly, and store-brand "5161-compatible" sheets use the same grid.

Exact 5161 dimensions

Measurement	Value
Label size	4″ wide × 1″ tall
Labels per sheet	20 (2 across, 10 down)
Top margin	½″
Gap between rows	none — labels touch
Sheet size	US Letter, 8½″ × 11″
Inkjet equivalent	Avery 8161

The side margins and center gap differ by a few hundredths of an inch between published spec sheets — which is precisely why hand-built templates drift a column to the left or right. A generated PDF draws the grid from the sheet's geometry, so there's nothing to nudge.

Skip the template

Paste your addresses into our free label maker with the 5161 sheet preselected and download a print-ready PDF in about a minute. Nothing to install, no sign-up, and we don't keep your addresses.

Make a 5161 sheet free

Works with Avery 5161, 8161, and compatible sheets

When the wide label is the right call

Long addresses. Hyphenated surnames, "care of" lines, apartment and suite numbers, international formats — anything that forces a squeeze on a 2⅝-inch label sits naturally on four inches.
Bigger, more readable type. The extra width lets the font grow without truncating lines — a kindness on mail to older relatives, and a more confident look on anything formal.
A less crowded page. Twenty labels with breathing room reads calmer than thirty at full density. For invitations and announcements, that matters more than sheet economy.

The trade-off is simply count: 20 per sheet instead of 30. For a big everyday mailing where nothing runs long, the 5160 stays the economical default.

How to print so the labels line up

The 5161 follows the same rules as every Avery sheet — the full walkthrough is in our printing guide, but the short version: print at 100% scale (never "fit to page"), do a plain-paper test against the sheet in front of a light, and never re-run a sheet that's already been through the printer.

Common questions

Is Avery 5161 the same as Avery 8161?

Yes — identical layout: 20 labels per sheet, each 1 inch by 4 inches. The 5161 is the laser-printer pack and the 8161 the inkjet pack; anything formatted for one prints correctly on the other, and store-brand "5161-compatible" sheets use the same grid.

Should I pick the 5161 or the 5160 for address labels?

Same label height, different width. The 5160 (2⅝ inches wide, 30 per sheet) is the economical default. The 5161 (4 inches wide, 20 per sheet) earns its keep when addresses run long — hyphenated surnames, company or care-of lines, international formats — or when you want a larger, easier-to-read font.

Will a 5160 template print correctly on 5161 sheets?

No. The grids are different — 3 columns of 30 versus 2 columns of 20 — so a 5160 layout lands text across the 5161 die-cuts. The layout has to be rebuilt for the sheet you're loading, which is exactly what a label tool does when you pick the format.