Graph of the Week
By: James L. Nuzzo
Published: Aug 19, 2025
This week’s chart, courtesy of a report published by the National Center for Health Statistics, illustrates the average and percentile distributions of body heights of adult men and women in the United States (U.S.) who are 20 years of age or older.
Men’s Body Height
• Men in the U.S. have an average body height of 5’9’’ (69.0 in.) and a median (50th percentile) body height of 69.1 in.
• A male body height of 6’0’’ is at the 85th percentile, meaning that 85% of men in the U.S. are shorter than 6’0’’ and 15% of men in the U.S. are 6’0’’ or taller.
• Asian and Hispanic men have the shortest average body heights (67.1 in. / 170.4 cm) followed by black men (69.3 in. / 176.0 cm) and white men (69.5 in. / 176.7 cm).
Source: 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 and Health Statistics 3(46). 2021.
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Women’s Body Height
• Women in the U.S. have an average and median (50th percentile) body height of 5’3½’’ (63.5 in / 161.3 cm).
• A female body height of 66.3 in. is at the 85th percentile, meaning that 85% of women in the U.S. are shorter than 66.3 in. and 15% of women in the U.S. are 66.3 in. or taller.
Source: 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 and Health Statistics 3(46). 2021.
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Bonus Commentary
Body height plays a role in human mate selection. On average, women prefer men who are taller than they are and who are taller than most men are. In one study of Dutch and German participants, women preferred their male partners to be 13.45 cm (5.3 in.) taller than they are, and they reported a minimally acceptable height differential of 3.72 cm (1.5 in.). The men in the study reported a minimally acceptable height differential of 0 cm, while their preferred height differential over their female partner was 12.11 cm (4.8 in.).
Knowledge about average male height has implications for dating apps and women’s expectations in mate searching. Women who use dating apps often state in their profiles that they will only date a man who is taller than they are. Some women stating specifically that they will only date a man who is taller than 6’0’’, with some women include the following snarky remark in their profiles:
“What do you call a man who is under 6’0’’?...A friend.”
These women are allowed to have whatever mate preferences they like. However, some of these women might be disillusioned about how tall most men are. In the U.S., only 15% of men are 6’0’’ or taller, and the average man in the U.S. is 5’9’’. Thus, women who will only date men who are 6’0’’ or taller will partake in intense competition for a limited number of potential mates.
One issue with dating apps is that they allow users to filter profiles of potential mates based on body height but not on body weight (or body composition). This discrepancy favours women because women are more concerned than men are about body heights of potential mates, whereas men are more likely to be interested in knowing the body weights of potential mates. Dating apps can resolve this discrepancy by (a) requiring that users list both their body heights and body weights in their profiles, or (b) giving users the option to voluntarily add both their body heights and body weights to their profiles. Dating apps can also encourage or incentive users to upload fairly recent photographs that show their whole bodies.
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Bonus Graph
Same graphs as above but placed side-by-side for easier comparison.














