The average weight of an adult woman in the United States is about 170.8 pounds (77.5 kg), based on data from the National Center for Health Statistics. That number reflects women aged 20 and older across all racial and ethnic groups. Globally, the picture is quite different, with averages running significantly lower in most other countries.
U.S. Average by Age Group
A woman’s average weight shifts meaningfully across her lifespan. In the U.S., women in their 20s average around 162 pounds. That number climbs through middle age, peaking in the 40s and 50s at roughly 176 pounds, then gradually declines after age 60 as muscle mass and bone density decrease.
Part of the midlife increase is hormonal. During the menopausal transition, women tend to gain weight at a rate of about 1.5 pounds per year through their 50s, according to the Mayo Clinic. This weight tends to redistribute toward the midsection rather than the hips and thighs, which changes body composition even when the number on the scale stays relatively stable.
How Race and Ethnicity Affect the Average
The national average of 170.8 pounds blends together groups with very different weight distributions. Non-Hispanic Black women have the highest average weight among U.S. women, while non-Hispanic Asian women have the lowest. To put the gap in perspective, obesity rates (a BMI of 30 or higher) are 3.6 times higher among Black women (43.8%) compared with Asian women (12.3%). Hispanic women and non-Hispanic white women fall between those two ends.
These differences reflect a mix of genetics, socioeconomic factors, access to healthcare, food environments, and cultural norms around body size. No single number captures the full picture for any group.
How the U.S. Compares Globally
The U.S. average is well above the global average for women, which sits closer to 137 pounds (62 kg). Women in many parts of East and Southeast Asia average between 110 and 130 pounds. In most of Western Europe, the average falls in the 140 to 155 pound range. Countries with the highest averages tend to be Pacific Island nations like Tonga and Samoa, where cultural preferences and genetic factors push averages above 180 pounds.
These international differences are largely driven by diet, physical activity levels, and economic development. As countries industrialize and adopt more processed food, average weights tend to climb, a pattern researchers call the nutrition transition.
How the Average Has Changed Over Time
American women weigh considerably more today than they did a few decades ago. In the early 1960s, the average adult woman weighed about 140 pounds. By the late 1990s that had risen to 163 pounds, and it has continued climbing since. The roughly 30-pound increase over six decades is not explained by changes in height, which has remained nearly constant at about 5 feet 3.5 inches.
The shift tracks closely with changes in the food supply: larger portion sizes, more ultra-processed foods, and increased sugar consumption. Simultaneously, daily physical activity has declined as more jobs became sedentary and screen time increased.
Why “Average” Isn’t the Same as “Healthy”
It’s worth being clear that the average weight is a statistical snapshot, not a health target. Because obesity rates in the U.S. are high (roughly 42% of adult women qualify as obese by BMI standards), the average is pulled upward beyond what most clinical guidelines consider a healthy range.
For a woman of average height (5’3.5″), a “normal” BMI of 18.5 to 24.9 corresponds to roughly 104 to 141 pounds. That’s noticeably lower than the national average. BMI has well-known limitations: it doesn’t account for muscle mass, bone density, or where fat is distributed. A woman who carries more muscle will weigh more without being less healthy, and someone with a “normal” BMI can still have metabolic problems if most of their fat sits around internal organs.
Waist circumference offers a useful additional signal. A waist measurement above 35 inches in women is associated with higher risks of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and metabolic syndrome, regardless of what the scale says. For many people, tracking waist size alongside weight gives a more practical sense of health than either number alone.