The average American woman stands 5 feet 3.5 inches tall (63.5 inches), based on the most recent CDC data covering 2021 to 2023. For men, the commonly cited national average is approximately 5 feet 9 inches (69.1 inches). These figures come from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), where trained health professionals physically measure participants rather than relying on self-reported numbers, which tend to be inflated by an inch or more.
Average Height by Sex
The gap between men and women in the U.S. is roughly 5.5 inches. Women average 63.5 inches, while men average close to 69 inches. If you’re wondering where you fall relative to the population, a man standing 5 feet 11 inches is taller than about 70% of American men. A woman at 5 feet 5 inches is similarly above the midpoint for women.
These numbers represent adults aged 20 and older. Teenagers who haven’t finished growing aren’t included, so the averages reflect full adult stature.
How Height Changes With Age
You don’t stay the same height your entire adult life. People lose height gradually as they age, mostly because the discs between vertebrae compress and posture shifts over the decades. CDC survey data shows a consistent pattern: the youngest adults are the tallest in each measurement period, and height drops by roughly half an inch per decade after that.
For men, the pattern looks like this: those in their late teens and early twenties average about 69.7 inches, while men 65 and older average around 67.3 inches. That’s a difference of nearly 2.5 inches between the youngest and oldest groups. Women follow a similar curve, starting at about 64.3 inches in the youngest group and declining to around 62.3 inches after 65, a gap of 2 inches.
Some of this difference reflects actual shrinking with age, but some of it is generational. Older adults today grew up with different nutrition and health conditions than younger adults, so each generation tends to be slightly taller than the one before it.
How These Numbers Are Collected
The national height statistics come from NHANES, a program run by the CDC that has been surveying Americans since the 1960s. Unlike most health surveys that ask people to fill out a questionnaire, NHANES brings participants into mobile examination centers where staff physically measure their height using a stadiometer (a wall-mounted measuring device). This matters because self-reported height is notoriously unreliable. Men tend to round up, and the gap between what people say and what the tape shows can be an inch or more.
The survey is designed to represent the entire civilian, non-institutionalized U.S. population, with deliberate oversampling of certain demographic groups to ensure accurate estimates across the country.
How the U.S. Compares Globally
Americans were the tallest people in the world during the 19th century, but that’s no longer the case. Over the course of the 20th century, European and Central Asian populations grew taller at a faster rate, overtaking the U.S. for both men and women. Today, the tallest populations are concentrated in Northern Europe. The Netherlands, for example, has an average male height around 6 feet.
Several factors explain why the U.S. fell behind. Researchers have pointed to higher rates of income inequality, less universal access to healthcare, and nutritional differences, particularly during childhood when height potential is largely determined. Countries with stronger social safety nets and more equitable access to nutrition during early development have seen larger gains in average height over the past century.
For women, the trend is even more pronounced. Average female height in North America has largely stagnated in recent decades, while women in Europe and Central Asia continued to gain height.
What Determines Your Height
Genetics account for roughly 60 to 80 percent of height variation between individuals. If both your parents are tall, you’re very likely to be tall. But genes set the ceiling, not the guarantee. The remaining 20 to 40 percent comes from environmental factors, primarily nutrition during childhood and adolescence, exposure to illness during growth years, and overall living conditions.
This is why average height serves as a rough proxy for population health. When a country’s average height increases over time, it generally signals improvements in childhood nutrition and disease prevention. The fact that American height gains have slowed relative to other wealthy nations is one data point in a broader conversation about health equity in the U.S.
Your adult height is essentially locked in by your late teens to early twenties, when growth plates in your long bones close. After that, no diet or exercise will add inches, though maintaining bone health and good posture can help you hold onto the height you have as you age.