Is My Height Normal for My Age?

Height is not judged against one ideal number. A stature-for-age percentile compares your measured height with people of the same age and sex in a reference population. The complete tables below show five useful CDC cut points for every age from 8 through 20. Find your age, use the boys or girls reference, and locate your height between the nearest two values. Every value appears in centimeters and feet/inches.

CDC height percentiles for boys ages 8–20

CDC height percentiles for girls ages 8–20

Source: the CDC National Center for Health Statistics Growth Charts Data Files and its official stature-for-age CSV. The CSV supplies selected smoothed percentiles by sex and age in months. Ages 8–19 use the row ending in 0.5 months immediately after each birthday, which CDC defines as representing that whole month; age 20 uses the terminal 240-month row. Metric values are rounded to 0.1cm and converted at exactly 2.54cm per inch.

How to read your result

The 50th percentile is the median: half of the reference group is shorter and half is taller. The 25th percentile does not mean “25% normal.” It means the height equals or exceeds about one quarter of the reference group. The 3rd and 97th percentiles are the outer curves shown here, not pass/fail lines.

If your height sits between two cells, your percentile sits somewhere between those headings. Do not assign an exact percentile by eye. A clinician or calculator can use the CDC LMS parameters, exact age in months and the unrounded measurement. This yearly lookup table is designed to answer a range question accurately, not to manufacture precision it does not contain.

For a concrete example, 5'7" is 170.2cm. At age 16 in the boys table, that falls between the 25th value of 168.5cm and the median of 173.6cm. So 5'7" is below the median for a 16-year-old boy, but still inside the broad middle of the reference distribution. It is neither an extreme nor a diagnosis.

At 14, 5'4" is about 162.6cm. That is between the 25th and 50th percentiles in the boys table, and between the 50th and 75th in the girls table. A question without sex has no single percentile answer because the two CDC curves separate during adolescence.

What a percentile can and cannot tell you

A percentile describes position today. It does not directly predict adult height, reveal how much puberty is left, or grade a person's health. Someone can remain at a low or high percentile and grow consistently. Another person can start near the median and cross several curves because of measurement error, puberty timing, illness or a real change in growth velocity.

That is why 6'3" at 15 should be described as uncommon, not “good.” At 190.5cm it is above the 97th-percentile value in either table. Being tall can be completely healthy, and being near the median is not a target everyone should pursue. Height rank is not a score of attractiveness, athletic ability or wellbeing.

Family height strongly affects where a person tracks. Puberty shifts the timing: an early maturer may be tall relative to classmates and stop sooner, while a late maturer may be shorter for a period and continue later. Nutrition, chronic health conditions, hormones and some medicines can also affect growth. None of those causes can be separated by one row of numbers.

Limits and when the pattern matters

CDC states that growth charts are not intended to be used as a sole diagnostic instrument. This table is a statistical reference, not a physical measurement, has not been clinically validated for you, and cannot replace a pediatrician. The chart is based on U.S. reference data and may not match another country's chart or a specialist chart used for a particular medical condition.

Measure standing height without shoes, on a firm floor, with the head positioned correctly. A wall mark, hair, posture or rounding to the nearest inch can shift the apparent percentile. More importantly, look at change over time. A clinician may investigate when growth unexpectedly slows, several major percentile curves are crossed, puberty timing is concerning, or growth differs sharply from the family pattern—especially when there are other symptoms.

Frequently asked questions

Use the table that matches your question

General educational information only. This page does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. If you are concerned about your growth, speak to a pediatrician or family doctor.