The average American woman is 5 feet 3.5 inches tall and weighs 171.8 pounds, based on CDC measurements collected from 2021 to 2023. Her waist circumference is 38.5 inches. These numbers come from direct physical measurements of adults aged 20 and older, not self-reported data, making them among the most reliable body-size statistics available.
Height, Weight, and Waist Circumference
The CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics publishes updated body measurement data every few years. The most recent dataset, covering August 2021 through August 2023, puts the average adult woman’s measurements at:
- Height: 63.5 inches (5’3.5″)
- Weight: 171.8 pounds
- Waist circumference: 38.5 inches
These are means across all adult women 20 and older, so they blend together younger and older age groups, shorter and taller frames, and every body type in the country. Your own “normal” depends heavily on your height, age, bone structure, and muscle mass. A 5-foot-8 woman and a 5-foot-1 woman could both be perfectly healthy at very different weights.
What BMI Ranges Look Like at This Average
At 5’3.5″ and 171.8 pounds, the average American woman has a BMI of roughly 30, which places her right at the threshold of obesity by standard medical categories. Those categories define a BMI of 18.5 to 24.9 as normal weight, 25 to 29.9 as overweight, and 30 or above as obese.
This isn’t unusual in context. According to data from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, 41.9% of adult women in the U.S. meet the clinical definition of obesity, and another 27.5% fall in the overweight range. About 11.5% of women have severe obesity, defined as a BMI of 40 or higher. In other words, the “average” woman in the U.S. is statistically in a higher weight category than many people assume, and she has plenty of company.
BMI is a blunt tool. It doesn’t distinguish between muscle and fat, doesn’t account for where your body stores weight, and can miscategorize athletic or naturally muscular women. Still, it remains a quick screening number that doctors use as a starting point.
Waist Size and Health Risk
Waist circumference often tells a more useful health story than weight alone, because it reflects how much fat is stored around your internal organs. For women, a waist measurement above 35 inches is generally associated with a higher risk of conditions like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure. The current national average of 38.5 inches sits above that threshold.
To measure your own waist circumference accurately, wrap a tape measure around your bare midsection at the top of your hip bones, level with your navel. Take the reading after a normal exhale. This number, combined with your overall weight and how you feel day to day, gives a more complete picture than any single measurement on its own.
Average Clothing Size
If you’ve ever wondered why shopping feels inconsistent, the disconnect between body data and clothing labels is part of the reason. Research comparing CDC body measurements to ASTM International clothing standards found that the average American woman’s body corresponds to roughly a misses size 16 to 18. Yet for decades, the fashion industry designed around a size 8 to 10 as its baseline. Many brands have responded by expanding size ranges and adjusting their fit models, but sizing still varies wildly from one brand to the next.
This gap also explains the rise of “vanity sizing,” where brands label garments with smaller numbers than the measurements would traditionally suggest. A size 12 today is often cut larger than a size 12 from 20 years ago, making it difficult to compare sizes across eras or even across stores.
How These Numbers Have Changed Over Time
American women have gotten both taller and heavier over the past several decades. In the early 1960s, the average woman stood about 5 feet 3 inches tall and weighed around 140 pounds. Today’s average of 171.8 pounds represents an increase of more than 30 pounds over roughly 60 years, while height has gained only about half an inch. The shift reflects broad changes in diet, physical activity, food availability, and the built environment rather than any single cause.
Weight gains haven’t been evenly distributed across the population. The increases have been steepest at the higher end of the weight spectrum, meaning the heaviest Americans have gained the most weight over time, pulling the average upward.
How the U.S. Compares Globally
The average American woman is heavier than women in most other countries. Globally, the mean height for adult women is roughly 5 feet 3 inches, similar to the U.S., but average weight varies dramatically by region. Women in many East Asian and Sub-Saharan African countries average 110 to 130 pounds. In much of Western Europe, averages fall between 140 and 155 pounds. The U.S., along with a handful of other high-income countries and some Pacific Island nations, sits at the upper end of the global weight distribution.
Height differences are driven largely by genetics and childhood nutrition. Weight differences track more closely with economic development, food systems, and lifestyle patterns. Countries that have undergone rapid urbanization and adopted more processed-food-heavy diets tend to see their average weights climb within a generation or two.
What “Average” Actually Tells You
Averages describe populations, not individuals. Knowing that the typical American woman is 5’3.5″ and 171.8 pounds is useful for context, but it doesn’t tell you whether your own body is healthy. Two women at the same height and weight can have very different body compositions, fitness levels, blood pressure readings, and metabolic health.
If you’re trying to figure out where you stand, the most informative combination is your waist circumference, your BMI (or simply your weight relative to your height), your blood pressure, and your blood sugar levels. Together, those paint a far clearer picture than any single number from a national survey.