Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I know textbooks say the American male avg. is near 5'10", and women near 5'5"; however, is that adequate? I am 5'8" and I am a male, am I short or avg.? I believe numbers and actual views made by our eyes change that term of average.
According to the text books, you are 2" shorter than average. If the text books are right, than you join the nearly 50% of folks who are shorter than average. I am 2" above average, but that does not bother me too much, in fact I spend very little of my day looking at people saying "that guy/gal is tall/short/black/white/fat/skinny... Now, if your a total jerk or are very nice, then that catches my attention. Remember one thing. Santa is short and fat, lives with really short people with funny voices, has a fat wife and no kids, but all he cares about is the naughty and nice list. Learn from the santa-man!
Location: Sometimes Maryland, sometimes NoVA. Depends on the day of the week
1,501 posts, read 11,723,383 times
Reputation: 1135
And I packed my antropometry books into storage last week. Doh!
According to the 1994 NHANES tables, 50th percetile male (20 years and older) is 69.1 inches. Stature generally follows a normal distribution, with the bulk of the people falling between 25th (67.2 in) and 75th (71.0 in) percetile.
To relate that to something tangible, most guys between 5' 7" and 5' 11" are "about average." Its when you get to those under 5'7" or over 5' 11" are noticable shorter or taller.
Also, just a small correction - 50th percetile female is closer to 5' 4" (63.7 in).
(and now you know what a human factors engineer does )
as long as I look average In my school my class is almost all the same height as I am, but I wanted to check with the General population to see if that were valid. thanks
It's in the eye of the beholder. If you start dating a woman who is 5'7", you may seem short. If you date a woman who is 5'3", you'll seem average. If you date a shortie like me, you'll seem rather tall. But it doesn't matter; you are who you are.
I know textbooks say the American male avg. is near 5'10", and women near 5'5"; however, is that adequate? I am 5'8" and I am a male, am I short or avg.? I believe numbers and actual views made by our eyes change that term of average.
See below for a more diversified view of the USA population
USA 175.5 cm 162.6 cm 5 ft 9 in 5 ft 3.3 in
USA 176.2 cm 162.5 cm 5 ft 9.4 in 5 ft 4 in 20-74
USA 178.2 cm 164.1 cm 5 ft 10.2 in 5 ft 4.6 in 20-39 non-Hispanic whites
USA 177.8 cm 164.0 cm 5 ft 10 in 5 ft 4.6 in 20-39 non-Hispanic blacks
USA 169.7 cm 158.1 cm 5 ft 8 in 5 ft 3.1 in 20-39 Hispanic Americans
USA 163.5 cm 152.1 cm 5 ft 4.9 in 5 ft 0.7 in 20-39 Mexican Americans
Wow! I'm 5'9", and I think I've hit my peak now at age 20!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.