Height Percentile Calculator & Growth Chart (Ages 2–20)
Is your child growing on track?
Get an exact height percentile for boys and girls ages 2 to 20, based on the CDC growth chart data used in U.S. pediatric care. Save each measurement to see your child’s own growth curve.
Enter an age and height to see where your child falls on the CDC chart.
Stature-for-age · Boys, 2–20 years
CDC percentile curves: 3rd–97thWhat the three numbers mean
How your child compares with 100 children of the same age and sex in the CDC reference group. The 70th percentile means taller than about 70 and shorter than about 30. It is a ranking, not a grade.
The same position expressed in standard deviations from the median. 0 is exactly average; −1.88 and +1.88 line up with the 3rd and 97th percentiles. Clinicians use z-scores because they stay precise at the extremes.
The 50th-percentile height for your child’s exact age and sex. It is a midpoint, not a target: children of shorter or taller parents often track below or above it for their whole childhood.
Typical height by age: 3rd, 50th, and 97th percentiles
Heights at the start of each year of age from the CDC stature-for-age data. Switch between boys and girls. The short-end and tall-end columns mark the edges of the usual reference range, the median is the middle, and the last column shows how much the median child grew over the past year.
| Age | Short end3rd percentile | Median50th percentile | Tall end97th percentile | Median growth in the past yearsince the previous birthday |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2yrs≈ +12.1 cm/yr* | 2′7.6″80.3 cm | 2′10.2″86.9 cm | 3′0.8″93.5 cm | ≈ +12.1 cm*+4.8″ |
| 3yrs+8.4 cm/yr | 2′10.8″88.4 cm | 3′1.5″95.3 cm | 3′4.5″102.9 cm | +8.4 cm+3.3″ |
| 4yrs+7.2 cm/yr | 3′1.2″94.6 cm | 3′4.4″102.5 cm | 3′7.5″110.5 cm | +7.2 cm+2.8″ |
| 5yrs+6.7 cm/yr | 3′3.5″100.3 cm | 3′7″109.2 cm | 3′10.4″117.8 cm | +6.7 cm+2.6″ |
| 6yrs+6.5 cm/yr | 3′5.8″106.1 cm | 3′9.5″115.7 cm | 4′1.3″125.1 cm | +6.5 cm+2.6″ |
| 7yrs+6.4 cm/yr | 3′8.1″111.9 cm | 4′0″122.0 cm | 4′4.1″132.3 cm | +6.4 cm+2.5″ |
| 8yrs+6.1 cm/yr | 3′10.3″117.5 cm | 4′2.4″128.1 cm | 4′6.8″139.3 cm | +6.1 cm+2.4″ |
| 9yrs+5.6 cm/yr | 4′0.2″122.4 cm | 4′4.7″133.7 cm | 4′9.3″145.7 cm | +5.6 cm+2.2″ |
| 10yrs+5.1 cm/yr | 4′1.9″126.7 cm | 4′6.7″138.8 cm | 4′11.7″151.5 cm | +5.1 cm+2.0″ |
| 11yrs+4.9 cm/yr | 4′3.5″130.8 cm | 4′8.6″143.7 cm | 5′1.9″157.3 cm | +4.9 cm+1.9″ |
| 12yrs+5.6 cm/yr | 4′5.4″135.7 cm | 4′10.8″149.3 cm | 5′4.5″163.7 cm | +5.6 cm+2.2″ |
| 13yrs+7.1 cm/yr | 4′7.8″141.7 cm | 5′1.6″156.4 cm | 5′7.5″171.3 cm | +7.1 cm+2.8″ |
| 14yrs+7.7 cm/yr | 4′10.5″148.5 cm | 5′4.6″164.1 cm | 5′10.4″178.8 cm | +7.7 cm+3.0″ Teen growth-spurt peak |
| 15yrs+6.0 cm/yr | 5′0.9″154.6 cm | 5′7″170.1 cm | 6′0.5″184.1 cm | +6.0 cm+2.4″ |
| 16yrs+3.5 cm/yr | 5′2.5″158.8 cm | 5′8.4″173.6 cm | 6′1.7″187.1 cm | +3.5 cm+1.4″ |
| 17yrs+1.7 cm/yr | 5′3.5″161.3 cm | 5′9″175.3 cm | 6′2.3″188.6 cm | +1.7 cm+0.7″ |
| 18yrs+0.8 cm/yr | 5′4″162.5 cm | 5′9.4″176.2 cm | 6′2.6″189.5 cm | +0.8 cm+0.3″ |
| 19yrs+0.4 cm/yr | 5′4.2″163.1 cm | 5′9.5″176.6 cm | 6′2.8″189.9 cm | +0.4 cm+0.2″ |
| 20yrs+0.2 cm/yr | 5′4.3″163.3 cm | 5′9.6″176.8 cm | 6′2.9″190.2 cm | +0.2 cm+0.1″ |
| Age | Short end3rd percentile | Median50th percentile | Tall end97th percentile | Median growth in the past yearsince the previous birthday |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2yrs≈ +12.4 cm/yr* | 2′7″78.8 cm | 2′9.6″85.4 cm | 3′0.2″91.9 cm | ≈ +12.4 cm*+4.9″ |
| 3yrs+8.8 cm/yr | 2′10.2″86.9 cm | 3′1.1″94.2 cm | 3′4.1″101.8 cm | +8.8 cm+3.5″ |
| 4yrs+6.8 cm/yr | 3′0.6″93.1 cm | 3′3.8″101.0 cm | 3′7.1″109.5 cm | +6.8 cm+2.7″ |
| 5yrs+6.9 cm/yr | 3′3.1″99.3 cm | 3′6.5″108.0 cm | 3′10.2″117.4 cm | +6.9 cm+2.7″ |
| 6yrs+7.0 cm/yr | 3′5.6″105.8 cm | 3′9.3″115.0 cm | 4′1.3″125.3 cm | +7.0 cm+2.8″ |
| 7yrs+6.8 cm/yr | 3′8″111.9 cm | 3′11.9″121.8 cm | 4′4.3″132.7 cm | +6.8 cm+2.7″ |
| 8yrs+6.1 cm/yr | 3′10.2″117.3 cm | 4′2.3″127.8 cm | 4′6.9″139.4 cm | +6.1 cm+2.4″ |
| 9yrs+5.3 cm/yr | 4′0″121.9 cm | 4′4.4″133.1 cm | 4′9.2″145.4 cm | +5.3 cm+2.1″ |
| 10yrs+5.1 cm/yr | 4′1.6″126.0 cm | 4′6.4″138.2 cm | 4′11.6″151.3 cm | +5.1 cm+2.0″ |
| 11yrs+6.0 cm/yr | 4′3.5″130.7 cm | 4′8.8″144.3 cm | 5′2.3″158.1 cm | +6.0 cm+2.4″ |
| 12yrs+7.2 cm/yr | 4′6.1″137.4 cm | 4′11.6″151.5 cm | 5′5″165.2 cm | +7.2 cm+2.8″ Teen growth-spurt peak |
| 13yrs+5.9 cm/yr | 4′8.8″144.2 cm | 5′1.9″157.3 cm | 5′7″170.2 cm | +5.9 cm+2.3″ |
| 14yrs+3.1 cm/yr | 4′10.3″148.1 cm | 5′3.2″160.5 cm | 5′8.1″172.9 cm | +3.1 cm+1.2″ |
| 15yrs+1.4 cm/yr | 4′11″149.7 cm | 5′3.7″161.9 cm | 5′8.6″174.2 cm | +1.4 cm+0.6″ |
| 16yrs+0.7 cm/yr | 4′11.2″150.4 cm | 5′4″162.6 cm | 5′8.8″174.8 cm | +0.7 cm+0.3″ |
| 17yrs+0.4 cm/yr | 4′11.3″150.7 cm | 5′4.1″162.9 cm | 5′8.9″175.1 cm | +0.4 cm+0.1″ |
| 18yrs+0.2 cm/yr | 4′11.4″150.9 cm | 5′4.2″163.1 cm | 5′9″175.3 cm | +0.2 cm+0.1″ |
| 19yrs+0.1 cm/yr | 4′11.5″151.0 cm | 5′4.3″163.3 cm | 5′9.1″175.4 cm | +0.1 cm+0.1″ |
| 20yrs+0.1 cm/yr | 4′11.5″151.1 cm | 5′4.3″163.3 cm | 5′9.1″175.5 cm | +0.1 cm+0.0″ |
How to read the growth column
Bar and number: how many centimeters (and inches) the median child grew in the 12 months before that birthday. A longer bar means faster growth.
Highlighted row: the teen growth-spurt peak on the median curve, from 13 to 14 for boys and from 11 to 12 for girls.
How to use it: measure your child about a year apart and compare the gain with this column for the same age.
Keep in mind
On a phone, the +cm/yr figure under each age shows how much the median child grew since the previous birthday.
About 12 cm from age 1 to 2, then 6–7 cm a year in early childhood, slowing to about 5 cm at 10–11, then a teen peak of 7.7 cm (13 to 14) before growth nearly stops around 18.
About 12 cm from age 1 to 2, then 6–7 cm a year in early childhood, slowing to about 5 cm at 9–10, then a teen peak of 7.2 cm (11 to 12) before growth nearly stops around 16.
These figures come from the smoothed median curve, which averages children who hit puberty at different ages. An individual teen usually grows faster than this in their own growth-spurt year and slower before and after it, so use the column as a rough guide, not a target.
Values calculated from the CDC LMS parameters (2000 CDC growth charts). Feet and inches are rounded to the nearest tenth of an inch.
* The age-2 growth figure covers the year from the first to the second birthday, which falls under the WHO Child Growth Standards rather than the CDC chart [6][7]. Children that young are measured lying down, and length runs about 0.7 cm longer than standing height, so treat this number as approximate.
The trend matters more than a single percentile
Most children hold a fairly steady position on the chart through childhood, then may drift up or down during puberty as some start their growth spurt earlier than others. That is why one reading tells you where your child is today, while several readings over time tell you whether growth is on track. Save each measurement above to see your child’s own curve, and use the same home measuring technique every time so the points are comparable.
Being short or tall on its own is rarely a problem. By definition, a few children out of every hundred sit below the 3rd percentile, and most of them are healthy children of shorter parents or late bloomers [4][5]. The patterns below are the ones worth raising with a pediatrician:
Height below the 3rd percentile (a z-score under about −1.88). Clinicians generally classify height more than 2 standard deviations below the mean, roughly the 2nd percentile, as short stature, and a child in this zone deserves a closer look even when they seem well [4].
Dropping across major percentile lines, for example from the 75th to below the 25th over a year or two outside of puberty. A child can have slowing growth while still looking average for age [5].
Height far from the family pattern, such as a child tracking well below what both parents’ heights suggest. Our mid-parental height calculator gives a rough genetic range to compare against.
Height above the 97th percentile or a sudden jump upward, especially in a young child. Tall stature is usually familial, but rapid acceleration can be an early sign of early puberty.
For the full list of warning signs and what a growth evaluation involves, see when parents should worry about a child’s height. For a plain-language walkthrough of growth charts, read height percentiles explained for parents.
Where the numbers come from
The calculator uses the CDC stature-for-age data for ages 2 to 20, which lists three parameters (L, M, and S) for every month of age for boys and girls. With those parameters, any height converts into an exact z-score and percentile using the LMS method, the same calculation built into clinical growth software [1][2][3]. Per CDC guidance, half a month is added to the child’s completed months of age before the lookup.
These data have not changed since the charts were first released in 2000 [1]. They were built from U.S. national health examination surveys conducted between 1963 and 1994, so they describe how American children grew in that reference population rather than an ideal [2]. For children under 2, the CDC recommends the WHO growth standards instead, measured lying down [6].
Frequently asked questions
What is a height percentile?
A height percentile compares a child’s height with a large reference group of children of the same age and sex. A child at the 60th percentile is taller than about 60 out of 100 children in that reference group and shorter than about 40. The 50th percentile is the median.
What height percentile is considered normal?
On the CDC charts, the band between the 3rd and 97th percentiles is the usual reference range. A child anywhere in that band can be perfectly healthy. Pediatricians look most closely at children below the 3rd percentile, above the 97th, or whose percentile changes sharply over time.
Why does this calculator start at age 2?
The CDC recommends the WHO growth standards for children under 2, who are measured lying down, and the CDC 2000 growth charts for ages 2 to 20, who are measured standing. This calculator uses the CDC stature-for-age data, so it covers ages 2 to 20.
Does my child’s percentile predict their adult height?
Not reliably. Percentiles often shift during puberty because children start their growth spurt at different ages, so an early maturer can look tall at 11 and end up average as an adult. Family height and the overall growth trend tell you more than any single percentile.
How accurate is this height percentile calculator?
The math uses the official CDC LMS parameters, the same method clinicians use. The bigger source of error is the measurement itself. At age 10, a 1 cm difference in height moves a boy near the median by about 6 percentile points, so measure barefoot against a flat wall and average two readings.