Average Height By State

When evaluating the average height of populations across the United States, it is easy to assume that differences are driven by local diets, healthcare access, or environmental factors. However, in a fully developed nation where childhood nutrition is generally standardized, average height acts as a fascinating biological map of human migration.

Across the United States, the average height varies significantly from coast to coast, but perhaps not as much as one might expect. The difference between the tallest and shortest states spans less than two full inches. 

When we analyze the data provided by the CDC's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), it becomes clear that state-by-state height averages are not a measure of localized health or wellness. Instead, they are a direct reflection of a state's ancestral heritage, ethnic demographics, and historical immigration patterns.

When looking at the states with the tallest average residents, a clear geographic cluster emerges in the Northern Great Plains, the Midwest, and the Mountain West. 

For men, South Dakota ranks as the tallest state in the country, with an average height of 70.7 inches (roughly 5 feet, 10.7 inches). It is closely followed by a massive statistical tie across states like Montana, Nebraska, Utah, and Idaho, all sitting at 70.5 inches. For women, Utah claims the top spot at 64.7 inches (roughly 5 feet, 4.7 inches), followed by South Dakota, Minnesota, and Oregon.

The reason these states dominate the height leaderboards comes down to historical settlement patterns. During the 19th and early 20th centuries, these regions saw massive influxes of immigrants from Northern Europe and Scandinavia. Today, states like Minnesota, the Dakotas, and Utah still possess incredibly high concentrations of residents with Dutch, Norwegian, Swedish, and German ancestry. Because these Northern European nations boast the tallest global height averages, those genetic traits continue to reflect in the modern demographics of the American Midwest.

On the other end of the spectrum, the states with the shortest average heights are primarily coastal hubs, border states, and Pacific islands. 

Hawaii records the lowest average height for both men (69.0 inches) and women (63.3 inches). Among the contiguous 48 states, California, New York, New Jersey, Texas, and New Mexico anchor the bottom of the list.

Rather than indicating poor health or nutrition, these averages highlight the incredible cultural and ethnic diversity of these states. California, Texas, and New Mexico are home to massive Hispanic and Latino populations, while Hawaii, California, and New York host the nation's largest Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. Because global height averages in Latin America and Asia are genetically shorter than those in Northern Europe, states with highly diverse, international demographics naturally reflect a slightly lower overall height average.

Perhaps the most surprising insight from the CDC's data is not how much states differ, but how incredibly similar they are. To visualize this, we can plot the average male height against the average female height for every state.

The scatter plot above compares Average Male Height (X-Axis) against Average Female Height (Y-Axis). Notice the incredibly tight clustering of the data points and the near-perfect linear correlation between genders.

Because state averages are driven by overarching demographic populations rather than gender-specific environmental factors, male and female heights scale in perfect lockstep with one another. If a state has a high concentration of tall men, it invariably has a high concentration of tall women.

Furthermore, the data reveals that the "height gap" across the United States is remarkably narrow. 

• For Men: The difference between the tallest state (South Dakota) and the shortest state (Hawaii) is just 1.7 inches.
• For Women: The difference between the tallest state (Utah) and the shortest state (Hawaii) is a mere 1.4 inches.

Despite spanning a continent, encompassing diverse climates, and housing over 330 million people from every ethnic background on Earth, the average American height remains incredibly uniform from coast to coast.