Average Height for Men and Women (US and Worldwide)

In the United States the average height for an adult man is about 5 feet 9 inches (175 cm), and for an adult woman it is about 5 feet 4 inches (162 cm). Those two numbers are what most people come here for, so we put them first. But the full picture is more interesting than a single figure. Average height changes with age, varies a lot from country to country, and the gap between men and women is more consistent than you might expect. This guide covers all of it for both men and women on one page, with every measurement shown in both feet and inches and centimeters so you never have to do mental math.

The figures here draw on national health surveys, including the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the large international dataset compiled by the NCD Risk Factor Collaboration. Heights are reported for adults aged 20 and over unless noted otherwise, and they are rounded sensibly: real averages carry a few extra decimal places, but a quarter-inch of precision does not change anything useful about how you compare.

Average height in the United States

Among adults in the US, the most reliable figures come from the CDC National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, which physically measures a representative sample rather than asking people to report their own height. By that measurement, the average American man stands about 5 feet 9 inches and the average American woman about 5 feet 4 inches. The table below puts both side by side.

One detail worth noting: the average height of younger American adults has stopped rising and, by some measures, slightly dipped compared with people born in the mid-twentieth century. The United States grew taller for most of the 1900s, then plateaued. Many other countries kept climbing, which is why the US no longer ranks near the top globally even though Americans are taller than the world average.

Average height worldwide

Globally, the average is shorter than in the US. Across all countries the typical adult man is roughly 5 feet 7.5 inches and the typical adult woman about 5 feet 3 inches, though the spread between nations is wide. The table below compares the US average with the global average and with the tallest and shortest national averages on record.

The range is striking. The gap between the tallest national average for men (the Netherlands at roughly 184 cm) and one of the shortest (around 161 cm) is nearly 9 inches. The Netherlands consistently tops the list, while several countries in Central America, South Asia, and parts of Southeast Asia sit at the lower end. Most of that variation traces back to differences in childhood nutrition, healthcare, and living conditions rather than to any single genetic factor.

Average height by age

Height is not a fixed number across a lifetime. Children grow rapidly, teenagers hit a sharp growth spurt during puberty, adults stay roughly stable for decades, and older adults gradually lose a small amount of height as the spine compresses. The chart below shows approximate average heights by age for both sexes, useful for checking a teenager against typical figures and for understanding the by-age angle that a single adult average hides.

Two patterns stand out. First, around ages 11 to 13, girls are briefly taller than boys on average, because girls start their pubertal growth spurt earlier. Boys then catch up and overtake them by the mid-teens. Second, the small decline after age 60 is real but modest: most people lose about half an inch to a full inch by their seventies as spinal discs lose water and posture changes. That loss is part of normal aging.

Why men are taller than women

Across nearly every population studied, adult men are taller than adult women by an average of about 5 to 6 inches (13 to 14 cm). The reason is mostly puberty. Girls and boys grow at similar rates through childhood, but during adolescence the timing and hormones differ. Girls enter puberty earlier and their growth plates close sooner, ending their growth at a younger age. Boys enter puberty later, grow for a longer stretch, and a surge of testosterone drives a more intense growth spurt before their growth plates fuse. The result is a few extra years of growth and a taller adult height for men.

What determines how tall you are

Adult height is shaped by a mix of factors. Genetics is the largest single influence: scientists estimate that roughly 80 percent of the variation in height within a population is inherited, which is why tall parents tend to have tall children. But genes set a potential range, and environment decides where in that range a person lands.

Childhood nutrition is the most important environmental factor. Adequate protein, calories, and micronutrients during the growth years let a child reach their genetic potential, while chronic undernutrition or repeated illness can leave a person several inches shorter than they otherwise would have been. Healthcare, sleep, and overall living conditions matter too. This is exactly why national averages have risen so dramatically in countries that improved childhood nutrition over the past century, and why the gap between rich and poor regions remains so large.

How to read your own height

Use the converter above to translate your height between centimeters and feet, then compare it to the tables. If you are within an inch or two of the average for your sex, you are squarely in the typical range, and the majority of adults are. Being taller or shorter than average is not a health concern on its own. Height becomes medically relevant mainly for children whose growth falls well outside expected curves, which is something a pediatrician tracks over time rather than from a single measurement. For adults, the averages on this page are best treated as context and curiosity, not as a target.