The Average Height of US Men: Why We’ve Stopped Growing

You’ve probably stood in a crowded subway or a busy grocery store and wondered if everyone is getting shorter. Or maybe you feel like a giant. It’s a weirdly personal metric. We tie height to confidence, dating success, and even leadership potential. But when you look at the actual data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the reality of the average height of us men is surprisingly static. It hasn't really budged in decades.

For most guys in the United States, that number sits right around 5 feet 9 inches.

That’s the "norm." But "normal" is a tricky word when you're talking about 160 million people. If you’re 5'7", you’re not "short" in a clinical sense; you’re just on the left side of the bell curve. If you’re 6'1", you’re tall, but not "NBA tall." The nuance here matters because, for the first time in over a century, Americans are no longer the tallest people on the planet. We’ve been overtaken. While the Dutch and Scandinavians kept soaring, we kind of hit a ceiling.

The Hard Numbers: What the CDC Actually Says

Let’s get specific. According to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) conducted by the CDC, the average height of us men aged 20 and over is 175.4 centimeters. In American units, that’s approximately 69.1 inches.

Just over 5'9".

If you go back to the early 1900s, American men were actually the tallest in the world. We had better nutrition and more space. But if you look at the data from the last few cycles of NHANES reports—specifically comparing the 1999-2000 data to the 2015-2018 sets—the needle hasn't moved. We are plateauing.

Why? It’s not just genetics.

Environment plays a massive role. Scientists like Richard Steckel, an economist who specializes in "anthropometric history," have noted that height is basically a "bio-history" of a population's health. It’s a snapshot of how well we eat and how much stress our bodies are under during puberty. In the U.S., our plateau might be linked to rising inequality in nutrition and a healthcare system that doesn’t always reach everyone during those critical growing years. While a kid in the Netherlands is likely getting consistent, high-quality dairy and produce through a robust social safety net, many American kids are growing up in food deserts.

Does Ethnicity Change the Math?

Honestly, yes. Averages are aggregate. When you break down the average height of us men by demographic, the numbers shift. Non-Hispanic white men average about 5'10". Non-Hispanic Black men are right there too, maybe a fraction of an inch different. However, Hispanic men in the U.S. average about 5'7".

This isn't just about "genes." It’s often about migration patterns and early-childhood nutrition in the country of origin. If someone moves to the U.S. as an adult, their height is already "set." But their children, born and raised with American caloric intake, often grow significantly taller than their parents. It’s a phenomenon called the "secular trend."

Why the Netherlands Left Us in the Dust

It’s kind of embarrassing, right? We used to be the giants. Now, the average Dutch man is nearly 6 feet tall (182.5 cm).

What are they doing that we aren't?

For one, they eat a staggering amount of dairy. IGF-1 (Insulin-like Growth Factor 1) is a protein that promotes bone and tissue growth, and it's found in high levels in milk. But it’s more than just cheese. It's about the "net" of society. When a population has universal healthcare and low wealth disparity, the "shortest" members of the group are still relatively well-nourished. In the U.S., the gap between the tallest and shortest is often a gap between the "haves" and "have-nots."

Then there's the "sexual selection" theory. Some researchers, like Gert Stulp from the University of Groningen, have suggested that in certain European cultures, tall men are consistently having more children, which might be driving an evolutionary shift faster than in the U.S. Here, the correlation between height and number of offspring isn't as clear-cut.

The Morning Height Myth

Here’s a fun fact you can use at a bar: you are taller right now than you will be at 8:00 PM tonight.

Gravity is a jerk. Throughout the day, the discs in your spine compress. By the time you go to bed, you can be up to a half-inch shorter than when you woke up. This is why when people claim they are "5'10" on a good day," they aren't technically lying. They're just catching themselves before gravity wins.

The Psychology of the Inch

Why do we care so much about the average height of us men? Because society rewards it. It's called "heightism."

Studies have shown that taller men are often perceived as more authoritative. There’s that famous (and slightly depressing) stat that about 58% of Fortune 500 CEOs are over 6 feet tall, even though only about 14.5% of the U.S. male population is that height.

We see it in dating apps too. "Must be 6 feet" is a common bio requirement. It’s a weird biological shorthand for "strong" or "capable," even though it has zero bearing on someone's actual ability to lead, love, or provide. Interestingly, as the average height of us men has stabilized, the social pressure to be above that average has seemingly increased.

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Measuring Yourself Correctly

If you're trying to see where you stack up against the 5'9" average, don't use the "lean against the wall and mark it with a pencil" method. You’ll mess it up.

• Use a stadiometer if you're at a gym or doctor's office.
• Stand on a hard floor, not carpet.
• Keep your heels together.
• Look straight ahead (the "Frankfort plane").
• Have someone else place a flat object (like a hardback book) on your head at a 90-degree angle to the wall.

Can You Actually Increase Your Height?

If you’re past the age of 20, the short answer is: no.

Your epiphyseal plates (growth plates) have fused. No amount of stretching, hanging upside down, or taking sketchy supplements from an Instagram ad will make your bones longer. The only real way for an adult to get taller is a radical surgery called limb lengthening, which involves breaking the femurs or tibias and using external fixators to slowly pull them apart. It's incredibly painful, expensive, and takes months of recovery. Most doctors won't perform it unless there’s a clinical deformity.

However, most men are "shorter" than they need to be because of poor posture.

In a world of "tech neck," we’re all hunched over screens. Strengthening your posterior chain—your glutes, hamstrings, and erector spinae—can help you actually "claim" your full height. You aren't growing, but you're no longer shrinking into yourself.

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The Future of American Stature

Are we going to get shorter? Probably not. Are we going to get taller? It’s unlikely unless we see a massive shift in dietary habits and public health.

The current average height of us men is a reflection of our lifestyle. We eat a lot of calories, but they aren't always the "right" calories for bone density and growth. We also have high stress levels compared to European counterparts, and chronic stress during childhood can actually stunt growth by affecting the endocrine system.

Taking Action: Beyond the Tape Measure

If you are concerned about height—either your own or your child’s—focus on the variables you can control.

1. Prioritize Sleep: Growth hormone is primarily released during deep sleep. If a teenager isn't getting 8-10 hours, they are literally cutting their growth potential short.
2. Focus on Micronutrients: It’s not just about protein. Vitamin D, Calcium, and Vitamin K2 are the "holy trinity" of bone health.
3. Correct Your Posture: If you work at a desk, get a monitor riser. Stop looking down at your phone at a 45-degree angle. This alone can make you look an inch taller and significantly more confident.
4. Accept the Data: If you’re 5'9", you are the literal definition of the American man. There's power in that. You fit into standard cars, off-the-rack clothing, and airplane seats better than the "outliers" do.

The average height of us men is just a benchmark. It’s a data point in a much larger story about how we live, eat, and move in the 21st century. While we might not be the tallest nation anymore, the focus is shifting from how "long" we are to how "well" we function. Stand tall, literally and figuratively, because the number on the wall is the least interesting thing about you.