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Average height in United States

Men in United States average 177.1 cm (5 ft 10 in), women 163.5 cm (5 ft 4 in). That puts United States 37th of 186 countries in our data.

Key numbers

Men
177.1 cm
5 ft 10 in
Women
163.5 cm
5 ft 4 in
SD, men / women
7.5 / 7.0
cm
vs global mean
+6.1 cm
women +4.5 cm
Rank, men
37 of 186
women 40 of 186
Men minus women
13.6 cm
global 12.0 cm

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United States among its neighbours

Ranking neighbours (three above and below) plus every Americas country in our data
#CountryMen (cm)Women (cm)Region
27Canada178.1163.9Americas
34Greece177.3164.9Europe
35Hungary177.3163.7Europe
36Poland177.3164.6Europe
37United States177.1163.5Americas
38Grenada177.0164.5Americas
39Israel176.9161.8Asia
40Tonga176.8165.5Oceania
43Barbados175.9165.3Americas
48Argentina174.6159.2Americas
49Jamaica174.5163.1Americas
58Trinidad and Tobago173.7160.6Americas
59Brazil173.6160.9Americas
64Uruguay173.4162.1Americas
69Paraguay172.8159.9Americas
70Saint Vincent and the Grenadines172.8160.7Americas
71Bahamas172.7160.7Americas
72Dominican Republic172.7159.0Americas
73Suriname172.7160.7Americas
74Haiti172.6158.7Americas
77Puerto Rico172.1159.2Americas
80Cuba172.0158.0Americas
83Saint Lucia171.9162.3Americas
84Chile171.8159.4Americas
87Venezuela171.6157.4Americas
101Guyana170.2157.9Americas
103El Salvador169.8154.5Americas
106Colombia169.5156.9Americas
113Mexico169.0156.8Americas
114Costa Rica168.9156.4Americas
116Belize168.7156.9Americas
119Panama168.5155.5Americas
138Ecuador167.1154.2Americas
141Bolivia166.8153.9Americas
145Nicaragua166.7154.4Americas
153Honduras166.4153.8Americas
163Peru165.2152.9Americas
176Guatemala163.4149.4Americas

What counts as tall in United States

Share of adults shorter than each height, estimated from mean and SD
Heightft inShorter menShorter women
160 cm5 ft 3 in1%31%
165 cm5 ft 5 in5%58%
170 cm5 ft 7 in17%82%
175 cm5 ft 9 in39%95%
180 cm5 ft 11 in65%99%
185 cm6 ft 1 in85%>99%
190 cm6 ft 3 in96%>99%
195 cm6 ft 5 in99%>99%
200 cm6 ft 7 in>99%>99%

Read it as: a man of 185 cm in United States is taller than 85% of men. Values under 1% or over 99% are shown as <1 and >99.

In plain language

The standard deviation for men in United States is 7.5 cm. In practice that means about two thirds of men stand between 169.6 and 184.6 cm, and roughly 95% between 162.1 and 192.1 cm. A man of 185 cm is taller than about 84% of men here; one of 192 cm is taller than about 98%.

Men in United States are on average 13.6 cm taller than women. Compared with the global mean, men here are 6.1 cm taller and women 4.5 cm taller. These are means for people born in 1996, measured at 18. Older generations in most countries are shorter, by several centimetres where heights rose fast.

Questions

Is 180 cm tall in United States?
A man of 180 cm (5 ft 11 in) is taller than about 65% of men in United States. Taller than most, but ordinary. For a woman, 180 cm is taller than 99% of women in United States.
What is the average height of women in United States?
Women in United States average 163.5 cm (5 ft 4 in), with a standard deviation of 7.0 cm. About two thirds of women are between 156.5 and 170.5 cm. That ranks 40th of 186 countries for women.
How does United States compare to Poland?
Men in Poland average 177.3 cm, 0.2 cm more than men in United States. Women average 164.6 cm against 163.5 cm. Poland ranks 36th, United States 37th.
How does United States compare to the world average?
The global mean is 171.0 cm for men and 159.0 cm for women. Men in United States are 6.1 cm taller than that, women 4.5 cm taller.

Source: NCD Risk Factor Collaboration, eLife 2016, mean height at 18 of adults born in 1996. Percentiles on this page are our estimate from a normal distribution with the stated mean and SD.

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Also by country: Average BMI by country and Life expectancy by country.