Average Male Height for Men in the US and the World

If you want to know the average male height in America and in the world—in feet, inches, and centimeters—then this article is for you.

Using cutting-edge anthropometric data as our source, we performed a detailed analysis of the current height statistics so that we could accurately determine the true average height for men in the US.

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Table of Contents show

What is the average male height for a man in the US?

An American men's height chart showing the US male average height in feet, inches, and centimeters

What is the average male height in America? According to a National Center for Health Statistics report, which measured the stature of 5,092 men, the average height of a man in the US is 175.3 cm, which is equal to 69 inches or 5 feet 9 inches tall. ^[1]

This measurement data is based on the height of all men aged 20 and over. So to get more precise results, let’s examine the average male height by age group.

The average height for a man aged 20-29 is 175.8 cm, which is equal to 69 inches or 5 feet 9 inches.

The average height for a man in the US aged 30-39 and 40-49 is 176.3 cm, which is the same as 69.4 inches or 5 ft 9.4 inches tall.

Moving into middle age, the average height of an American man between the ages of 50 and 59 is 175.4 cm, which again works out at approximately 69 inches or 5 foot 9 inches tall.

The normal height for men who’re between the age of 60 and 69 is 174.4 cm. This is equal to 68.6 inches or 5 ft 8.6 inches tall.

As we can see from the data, men of previous generations tend to be shorter than the men of today. Specifically, the US average height for elderly men aged 70-79 is 173 cm exactly, which works out at 68.1 inches or 5 ft 8.1 inches.

Finally, the average height for men in America aged 80+ is 170.4 cm, which is equal to 67 inches or 5 ft 7 inches tall.

See How Your Height Compares:

What is the average male height in the world?

Some men demonstrating the average male height worldwide using a map of the world

What is the average height for men in the world? Based on extensive data from an NCD Risk Factor Collaboration report, the average male height in the world today is 173.1 cm, which is equal to 68.1 inches or 5 feet 8.1 inches tall. ^[2]

This value—which takes into account the average human height of men in every country in the world—is 2.2 cm shorter than the average American male height.

This worldwide height difference is likely why some American men report being noticeably taller than average when they travel abroad to non-European countries.

Another interesting observation is that, in the vast majority of countries, the world average height for men is increasing, perhaps indicating that much of the world is gaining access to better quality nutrition.

What is the average height for boys in the United States?

A US male height chart showing the average height for boys in America

What is the average height for a boy in the United States? According to anthropometric reference data from the CDC, the average height for boys ranges from 91.4 cm (3 feet) at age 2, to 135.9 cm (4ft 5in) at age 9, and, finally, to 175 cm (5ft 9in) at age 19.

For a full breakdown and analysis of the average heights by age for American boys, see our in-depth series of articles below. Or, to quickly get the facts for you or your child’s stature—to see how you or they compare—refer to the average height chart above.

What is the average height for teenage males in America?

A boy's height chart showing the average height for teenage males in the USA

What is the average height for teenage males living in the US? Based on the data, the average height of an American teenage male is 162.5 cm (5ft 4in) at age 13, 173.5 cm (5ft 8in) at age 16, and, finally, 175 cm (5ft 9in) at age 19.

Again, for a complete breakdown of the average male teenager height by age (13-19), you can see our age-specific articles below for more detailed information and guidance.

If you just want the main facts without any explanation, then the above height comparison chart, which includes measurement data in centimeters as well as in feet and inches, will serve you well.

What is the male height percentile for American men?

A height percentile chart for men showing the male height distribution in the USA

The following height percentiles for men are taken from the previously cited Vital and Health Statistics report, which, as a reminder, measured the heights of over 5,000 US males, making it the most extensive data currently available.

Additionally, these male height percentiles take into account all races and ethnic groups. If you’d like to see the percentile values for the 4 individual groups outlined in the report, scroll down to the next section of this guide.

Height percentiles essentially allow you to see how you compare to other men. And while comparing yourself to others—especially regularly—isn’t recommended, in the case of height, understanding percentiles can help you to work out how tall, short, or average you really are.

So if you’re in the 50th percentile, then 50% of the men in this study are shorter than you. ^[3]

Men in the 5th and 10th height percentiles were 162.8 cm (5ft 4in) and 165.8 cm (5ft 5.3in), respectively.

A height of 167.6 cm (5ft 6in) would put you in the 15th percentile, while a height of 170.1 cm (5ft 7in) would put you in the 25th percentile.

If you’re around 175.4 cm tall (5ft 9in), then you’re in the 50th American male height percentile.

A strong height of 180.2 cm (almost 5ft 11in) would put you in the 75th percentile, while a height of 182.9 cm (basically 6 foot) would place you in the 85th percentile.

A tall 184.7 cm stature (just over 6 feet) would put you in the 90th male height distribution percentile.

Finally, a measurement of 187.4 cm (almost 6 foot 2) would put you in the 95th male height percentile.

The average height by race

This section covers the average height by race for American men using the following categories of classification from the CDC report: Non-Hispanic Asian, Non-Hispanic black, Non-Hispanic white, Mexican-American, and Hispanic, which includes Mexican Americans.

So, how tall is the average man from each race/group? You can see the specifics below, but, in general, white men tend to be slightly taller than black men, who, in turn, are significantly taller than both Asian men and Hispanic men.

What is the average Asian male height?

A height chart for Asians showing the average Asian male height by age

What is the average Asian height for males? Based on the data, which measured the heights of 665 Asian men, the average Asian male height is 170.5 cm, which is equal to 67.1 inches or 5 feet 7 inches tall.

As with the average U.S. male height, the average height for Asian men also differs by age group, with younger Asian men tending to be significantly taller than the older generations.

Specifically, the average height of Asian men in the US is 172.9 cm at age 20-39, 169.9 cm at age 40-59, and 166.3 cm at age 60+.

This data suggests that Asian American men, while still shorter than white and black men on average, are clearly getting taller—and perhaps at a faster rate than other groups.

What is the average height for black males?

A chart showing the average height for black males in the US by age

What is the average height for black men? According to detailed anthropometric data, which measured the height of 1,107 black men, the average height for black males in America is 176 cm, which works out at 69.3 inches or roughly 5 feet 9 inches tall.

The average black male height is very consistent among non-elderly age groups, with black men aged 20-59 typically being within an inch of each other in stature—on average, of course.

Getting into the specifics, the average height of black men in the US is 176.4 cm (5ft 9.4 inches) for males aged 20-39, 176.9 cm (5ft 9.6 inches) for men aged 40-59, and 173.8 cm (5ft 8.4in) for males aged 60 and over.

What is the average Hispanic male height?

A men's height chart showing the average Hispanic male height by age

What is the average Hispanic male height? Based on the measurements of 1,292 Hispanic men, the average height for Hispanic men, including Mexican Americans, is 170.4 cm, which is equal to 67 inches or 5 feet 7 inches tall.

As with other racial groups, the average Hispanic height depends on the age of the man, with younger Hispanics tending to be a full inch taller than Hispanic men aged 60+.

Specifically, Hispanic men between the ages of 20 and 39 measured 171.2 cm (5 ft 7.4in), 170.2 cm (5ft 7in) between 40 and 59, and 168.1 cm (5ft 6.2in) aged 60 or more.

What is the average Mexican male height?

A height chart for men showing the average Mexican male height by age

What is the average height for Mexican men living in the United States? Based on the height measurements of 757 Mexican-American men, the average Mexican male height is 170.4 cm, which equals 67 inches or 5 feet 7 inches.

To be specific, the average height of a Mexican man aged 20-39 is 171.7 cm (5ft 7.6in)—half a centimeter taller than men from the general Hispanic group.

Finally, the average height for a Mexican man aged 40-59 is 169.6 cm (5ft 6.8in) and 167.4 cm (5ft 5.9 cm) for Mexican men aged 60 and over.

What is the average white male height?

A heights chart showing the average white male height for caucasian men by age

What is the average white male height? Based on the height measurements of 1,782 white men, the average caucasian male height is 176.7 cm, which works out at 69.6 inches or around 5 feet 9.5 inches tall.

There were considerably more caucasian males than men of other groups in this anthropometric data, which likely improved the accuracy of the results for white men.

As such, the average height for white men in this study is likely to be fairly representative of the true average caucasian height.

Here are the specifics: White men aged 20-39 measured 178 cm (5ft 10in), whereas white men aged 40-59 measured 177.3 cm (5ft 9.8in). Finally, caucasian males over the age of 60 had an average stature of 174.5 cm (5ft 8.7in).

Male height percentiles by race

The above male height chart shows the height percentiles and corresponding measurements (in centimeters as well as feet and inches) for men of each racial group used in the anthropometric reference data.

See Also:

Conclusion: Is it good to be of a normal height as a man?

A male from the United States getting measured to see if he has the average height for men in America

There are many men these days who are concerned about their height and how they measure up to other people. So hopefully, knowing the average height for men in the USA (about 5 foot 9 inches tall) puts your mind at rest.

Importantly, just because your height falls an inch or two below the average doesn’t mean that you’re short. Indeed, as you can see in the height percentile chart, there are countless men in America who are much shorter than 5ft 9in.

References

Fryar CD, Carroll MD, Gu Q, Afful J, Ogden CL. Anthropometric reference data for children and adults: United States, 2015–2018. National Center for Health Statistics. Vital Health Stat 3(46). 2021.
Evolution of height over time. (2022). NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (NCD-RisC). Retrieved from https://www.ncdrisc.org/height-mean-ranking.html
What Is a Percentile? (2019, January 29). ThoughtCo. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-a-percentile-3126238