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HTML <thead> Tag


Example

An HTML table with a <thead>, <tbody>, and a <tfoot> element:

<table>
  <thead>
    <tr>
      <th>Month</th>
      <th>Savings</th>
    </tr>
  </thead>
  <tbody>
    <tr>
      <td>January</td>
      <td>$100</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>February</td>
      <td>$80</td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
  <tfoot>
    <tr>
      <td>Sum</td>
      <td>$180</td>
    </tr>
  </tfoot>
</table>
Try it Yourself »

More "Try it Yourself" examples below.


Definition and Usage

The <thead> tag is used to group header content in an HTML table.

The <thead> element is used in conjunction with the <tbody> and <tfoot> elements to specify each part of a table (header, body, footer).

Browsers can use these elements to enable scrolling of the table body independently of the header and footer. Also, when printing a large table that spans multiple pages, these elements can enable the table header and footer to be printed at the top and bottom of each page.

Note: The <thead> element must have one or more <tr> tags inside.

The <thead> tag must be used in the following context: As a child of a <table> element, after any <caption> and <colgroup> elements, and before any <tbody>, <tfoot>, and <tr> elements.

Tip: The <thead>, <tbody>, and <tfoot> elements will not affect the layout of the table by default. However, you can use CSS to style these elements (see example below)!


Browser Support

Element
<thead> Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Global Attributes

The <thead> tag also supports the Global Attributes in HTML.


Event Attributes

The <thead> tag also supports the Event Attributes in HTML.



More Examples

Example

Style <thead>, <tbody>, and <tfoot> with CSS:

<html>
<head>
<style>
thead {color: green;}
tbody {color: blue;}
tfoot {color: red;}

table, th, td {
  border: 1px solid black;
}
</style>
</head>
<body>

<table>
  <thead>
    <tr>
      <th>Month</th>
      <th>Savings</th>
    </tr>
  </thead>
  <tbody>
    <tr>
      <td>January</td>
      <td>$100</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>February</td>
      <td>$80</td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
  <tfoot>
    <tr>
      <td>Sum</td>
      <td>$180</td>
    </tr>
  </tfoot>
</table>
Try it Yourself »

Example

How to align content inside <thead> (with CSS):

<table style="width:100%">
  <thead style="text-align:left">
    <tr>
      <th>Month</th>
      <th>Savings</th>
    </tr>
  </thead>
  <tbody>
    <tr>
      <td>January</td>
      <td>$100</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>February</td>
      <td>$80</td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>
Try it Yourself »

Example

How to vertical align content inside <thead> (with CSS):

<table style="width:50%;">
  <thead style="vertical-align:bottom">
    <tr style="height:100px">
      <th>Month</th>
      <th>Savings</th>
    </tr>
  </thead>
   <tbody>
    <tr>
      <td>January</td>
      <td>$100</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>February</td>
      <td>$80</td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>
Try it Yourself »

Default CSS Settings

Most browsers will display the <thead> element with the following default values:

thead {
  display: table-header-group;
  vertical-align: middle;
  border-color: inherit;
}