How tall are you, really?

Is 5'10" tall? Is 5'8" short?

Same number, two answers. So is 5'10" tall? For a man it is above average, not tall. For a woman it is the 99th line. And is 6 feet tall, the bar everyone treats it as? It is the 86th — one man in seven clears it.

How tall is tall?

There is no line in the sand, but most people use the top 15%, which on the table above starts at about 6'0" for US men and 5'6" for US women. The bottom 15% — 5'6" for men, 5'1" for women — reads as short. Which is why is 5'7" short for a guy gets asked so often and answered so badly: it is the 24th percentile, below average and well inside the normal range.

Am I short, or just not finished?

Am I short? Am I tall? Under 18 those are age questions first, because the table above measures you against people who have already stopped growing. If you are still growing, how tall you will end up is the more useful question.

The comparison that actually answers it

What percentile is my height today, among people my own age? The questions answer exactly that, tell you how much taller than or shorter than your age-group average you are, and show what both become once you are done growing.

Where the numbers come from

NHANES — the CDC's measured survey of the US population. Real measurements taken in a mobile exam centre, not self-reported heights, which run about an inch optimistic. Every height percentile on this page traces back to it.

Questions people ask

What percentile is my height?

It depends on your sex and, under 18, your age. The table covers US adults; the questions give you the number for your own age group, which is the one that matters while you are still growing.

Is 5'7" short for a guy?

It is the 24th percentile among US men — below average, and shorter than about three in four. Outside the US it reads differently: in much of South and Southeast Asia it is average or above.

Is 6 feet tall, really?

It is the 86th percentile for US men, so roughly one in seven clears it. Tall, but not rare — and for US women it is past the 99th.

Am I tall for my age?

That is a different table entirely. A 14-year-old boy at 5'8" is near the 90th line for his age, and the same height at 25 is below average. The questions use the right one — for a child under 13, the parent version fits better.

Does height change during the day?

Yes, by roughly half an inch. Spinal discs compress while you are upright, so you are tallest within an hour of waking and shortest at night. Measure at the same time of day if you are tracking it.

Where does this data come from?

NHANES, the CDC's measured survey of the US population — real measurements taken in a mobile exam centre, not self-reported heights, which run about an inch optimistic.