Below is a height percentile by age calculator for adult (age 18+) men and women in the United States. Select an age range and sex, and enter heights in meters or feet and inches. Compare the distribution of heights between different age groups and the two sexes.
Also, try the weight distribution by age calculator for men and women for the corresponding weight distributions by sex and age. To combine height and weight, see our BMI by age calculator.
Height Percentile Calculator by Age for Men and Women in the United States
Data from adults in the CDC 2015-16 NHANES survey. Heights measured at a mobile examination center (MEC).
Median Height by Age for Men and Women
Unlike with weight, heights don't tend to change much in adulthood. Men generally stop growing between age 17 and 21, while women usually stop a few years earlier.
Older folks tend to shrink in height for reasons we'll discuss in the conclusion.
Median Height for Women by Age in the United States
In 2016 in the US, adult women were on average 5’3.6".
By age, median height for women changes slightly by age (until later ages):
| Female Age | Median Height |
| 18-24 | 5'4.09" |
| 25-29 | 5'4.21" |
| 30-34 | 5'4.06" |
| 35-39 | 5'4.18" |
| 40-44 | 5'4.17" |
| 45-49 | 5'3.96" |
| 50-54 | 5'3.42" |
| 55-59 | 5'3.7" |
| 60-64 | 5'3.5" |
| 65-69 | 5'3.27" |
| 70-74 | 5'2.84" |
| 75-79 | 5'2.3" |
| 80+ | 5'0.91" |
Median Height for Men by Age in the United States
Men in the United States 18 or older in 2016 were on average 5'9.2".
For the age ranges in the calculator the medians were:
| Male Age | Median Height |
| 18-24 | 5'9.29" |
| 25-29 | 5'9.53" |
| 30-34 | 5'9.92" |
| 35-39 | 5'9.3" |
| 40-44 | 5'9.39" |
| 45-49 | 5'9.91" |
| 50-54 | 5'9.09" |
| 55-59 | 5'9.46" |
| 60-64 | 5'9.22" |
| 65-69 | 5'8.45" |
| 70-74 | 5'8.31" |
| 75-79 | 5'8.21" |
| 80+ | 5'6.78" |
Selected Weight Percentiles for Men and Women
The remarkable thing about height is it's roughly steady by age. People stop growing soon after puberty and usually measure a constant height (depending on time of day and if/how they've exercised). Over different ages, here are some selected height percentiles for men and women:
| Age Category | 1% | 10% | 25% | 50% | 75% | 90% | 99% |
| 18-24 Men | 5'1.01" | 5'5.71" | 5'6.89" | 5'9.29" | 5'11.15" | 6'0.2" | 6'2.94" |
| 18-24 Women | 4'9.77" | 5'0.51" | 5'2.32" | 5'4.09" | 5'5.74" | 5'6.97" | 5'10" |
| 25-29 Men | 5'1.04" | 5'5.93" | 5'7.76" | 5'9.53" | 5'11.41" | 6'1.13" | 6'3.81" |
| 25-29 Women | 4'9.83" | 5'0.62" | 5'2.31" | 5'4.21" | 5'6.08" | 5'7.26" | 5'10.1" |
| 30-34 Men | 5'2.52" | 5'5.99" | 5'7.76" | 5'9.92" | 5'11.81" | 6'1.33" | 6'3.49" |
| 30-34 Women | 4'8.56" | 5'0.37" | 5'1.93" | 5'4.06" | 5'5.75" | 5'7.07" | 5'9.66" |
| 35-39 Men | 5'1.08" | 5'4.61" | 5'6.77" | 5'9.3" | 5'10.79" | 6'1.24" | 6'2.77" |
| 35-39 Women | 4'9.57" | 5'0.79" | 5'2.29" | 5'4.18" | 5'6.36" | 5'7.82" | 5'10.17" |
| 40-44 Men | 5'1.85" | 5'5.52" | 5'7" | 5'9.39" | 5'10.87" | 6'0.27" | 6'7.28" |
| 40-44 Women | 4'9.06" | 4'11.61" | 5'1.37" | 5'4.17" | 5'5.47" | 5'7.03" | 5'9.74" |
| 45-49 Men | 5'0.19" | 5'5.32" | 5'7.66" | 5'9.91" | 5'11.46" | 6'0.45" | 6'3.99" |
| 45-49 Women | 4'8.8" | 5'0.52" | 5'2.13" | 5'3.96" | 5'5.85" | 5'7.75" | 5'9.34" |
| 50-54 Men | 5'1.68" | 5'5.45" | 5'7.09" | 5'9.09" | 5'11.34" | 6'0.68" | 6'2.14" |
| 50-54 Women | 4'9.18" | 5'0.47" | 5'1.94" | 5'3.42" | 5'5.67" | 5'6.78" | 5'9.69" |
| 55-59 Men | 5'1.02" | 5'4.84" | 5'7.15" | 5'9.46" | 5'11.02" | 6'1.7" | 6'4.54" |
| 55-59 Women | 4'9.92" | 5'0.67" | 5'2.56" | 5'3.7" | 5'5.8" | 5'6.93" | 5'11.64" |
| 60-64 Men | 5'2.91" | 5'5.89" | 5'6.83" | 5'9.22" | 5'11.32" | 6'0.51" | 6'2.6" |
| 60-64 Women | 4'10.01" | 4'11.82" | 5'1.54" | 5'3.5" | 5'5.72" | 5'6.62" | 5'9.25" |
| 65-69 Men | 5'2.14" | 5'4.69" | 5'6.53" | 5'8.45" | 5'9.75" | 5'11.2" | 6'4.52" |
| 65-69 Women | 4'8.34" | 4'11.92" | 5'1.33" | 5'3.27" | 5'5.2" | 5'6.61" | 5'8.35" |
| 70-74 Men | 5'0.7" | 5'4.84" | 5'6.34" | 5'8.31" | 5'10.24" | 6'0.64" | 6'2.52" |
| 70-74 Women | 4'8.15" | 4'11.48" | 5'1.18" | 5'2.84" | 5'4.35" | 5'6.26" | 5'8.78" |
| 75-79 Men | 5'2" | 5'5.16" | 5'6.68" | 5'8.21" | 5'9.76" | 5'10.79" | 6'1.06" |
| 75-79 Women | 4'4.33" | 4'10.87" | 5'0.91" | 5'2.3" | 5'4.13" | 5'5.27" | 5'6.24" |
| 80+ Men | 4'11.39" | 5'3.39" | 5'5.2" | 5'6.78" | 5'8.86" | 5'10.27" | 5'11.88" |
| 80+ Women | 4'6.09" | 4'9.94" | 4'11.69" | 5'0.91" | 5'2.54" | 5'4.53" | 5'6.94" |
American Weight Distributions by Age for Women and Men
After roughly age 30, sarcopenia, osteoporosis, and spinal compression cause most adults to shrink in height. Additionally, shorter folks tend to live longer than their tall friends and some of the data for older people reflects this survivorship bias.
Height is remarkably constant in adulthood, but it is affected in some surprising ways:
- The spine is slightly elastic: hanging, using a gravity table, or even unloading the spine during sleep increases height temporarily.
- Proper posture is (depending) worth a couple inches: don't round your back and straighten your legs for maximum height. Similar math applies for treating conditions like scoliosis.
- Exercises that load the spine such as deadlifts and squats compress it: you will be slightly shorter after. This is (almost certainly!) temporary.
Also see the BMI calculator, BMI distribution by age tool, and BMI distribution for women and men for more. You might also enjoy aggregate height distribution stats for all ages.
