# How tall constitutes "tall?" **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 12, 2016, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-tall-constitutes-tall/745979 "2016-02-12T23:14:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2016, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-tall-constitutes-tall/745979/1 "2016-02-12T23:14:33Z")
Just curious. I’d say 6’4" or maybe 6’3" for guys, and about 5’9" for women. I don’t know why this came into my mind. OK, I lied. I do know why, but I’m not going to go there… ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2016, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-tall-constitutes-tall/745979/2 "2016-02-12T23:30:16Z")
I start thinking tall at about 6 ft for men and 5"8" for women. Thats the lowest level of what I consider tall. Most guys 6 ft say they are 6" 1" or 2" ---
**Author:** ![Enginerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bcef8e/32.png) [@Enginerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enginerd)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2016, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-tall-constitutes-tall/745979/3 "2016-02-12T23:37:05Z")
I’m 6’1" (really, I promise!), but my younger brother is 6’3". To me, “tall” begins when people are taller than he is… so 6’4"? ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2016, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-tall-constitutes-tall/745979/4 "2016-02-12T23:42:27Z")
I’m a guy that’s 5’9’’ and I consider myself average to right on the verge of being short but I like being the height that I am. Once a guy starts getting up around 6’3’’ I consider them tall enough that I notice, for women 5’8’’ and up seems tall but in the last few years I’ve seen quite a few women break 6’ or even taller, must be all the beef. ---
**Author:** ![Arrogance\_Ex\_Machina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/arrogance_ex_machina/32/192_2.png) [@Arrogance\_Ex\_Machina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrogance_Ex_Machina)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2016, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-tall-constitutes-tall/745979/5 "2016-02-12T23:49:40Z")
Given my lil ol’ mom is 6’ I can’t really think of any men under 6’3" as tall. For women I guess as long as they are as tall as my tiny little sister, so 5’11" or so. Brother and dad are both about 6’5" and I’m 6’6", makes it easy to find my family in a crowd. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2016, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-tall-constitutes-tall/745979/6 "2016-02-12T23:54:16Z")
I’m 5’9". When my wife (from the midwest) and I decided to move from California to Minnesota, she pointed out that I was going to have to get used to being short. I pointed out I was the national average height, and she said “Yeah, no.” Upon moving to Minnesota, I found out that I am, in fact, short. We came back to California to visit a few years later and I told my kids (about my height at that time) that we were going to get to be tall for a few days. We walked out onto the streets of San Francisco, and we were tall! We flew back to Minnesota and, as we walked down the concourse, a group of guys who were about 6’4" walked passed, and my daughter said “Welp, I guess we’re short again…” ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2016, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-tall-constitutes-tall/745979/7 "2016-02-12T23:58:54Z")
I’m 5’4" and live in San Francisco. Tall is 5’8" for a woman and 6’ for a man, although really if you can get something off a shelf for me, you’re tall. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2016, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-tall-constitutes-tall/745979/8 "2016-02-13T00:04:58Z")
> **[Cumulative Percent Distribution of Population, by Height and Sex statistics -...](https://www.allcountries.org/uscensus/230_cumulative_percent_distribution_of_population_by.html)** > > USA Census statistics numbers, Cumulative Percent Distribution of Population, by Height and Sex It is subjective. I’m 6’1" or so but I don’t really consider myself ‘tall’ even though I’m taller than 90% of males. If I had to guess, I’d say 6’3" for a male and about 5’10" for a female is the cutoff for tall. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2016, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-tall-constitutes-tall/745979/9 "2016-02-13T00:09:58Z")
Like Abe Lincoln, all I know is my legs are long enough to reach the ground. I’m 6’3", and I always thought tall traditionally started at 6’ for men. But if you come up to below my shoulders, you’re definitely not tall. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2016, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-tall-constitutes-tall/745979/10 "2016-02-13T00:10:55Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > I’m 5’9". When my wife (from the midwest) and I decided to move from California to Minnesota, she pointed out that I was going to have to get used to being short. I pointed out I was the national average height, and she said “Yeah, no.” > > Upon moving to Minnesota, I found out that I am, in fact, short. We came back to California to visit a few years later and I told my kids (about my height at that time) that we were going to get to be tall for a few days. We walked out onto the streets of San Francisco, and we were tall! > > We flew back to Minnesota and, as we walked down the concourse, a group of guys who were about 6’4" walked passed, and my daughter said “Welp, I guess we’re short again…” I wonder if this is genetic, Scandanavians are fairly tall (average height of a male is 5’11" in scandanavian countries). If that is the normal, and there is a bell curve distribution with maybe 4" per SD, then you’d have a lot of 6’3" Scandanavians walking around. Minnesota has a strong Scandanavian immigrant history. ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2016, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-tall-constitutes-tall/745979/11 "2016-02-13T00:26:29Z")
> [@pool](#): > > I’m a guy that’s 5’9’’ and I consider myself average to right on the verge of being short but I like being the height that I am. 5’9" is average height for American men. 5’5" is about average for American women. I’m female and 5’9". I get “wow, you’re tall!” a lot. Also, “can you get that from the top shelf for me?” in the grocery store from shorter women. My brother is 6’3", and my intended was 6’4". That’s when I notice “tall”. > [@Ethilrist](#): > > We flew back to Minnesota and, as we walked down the concourse, a group of guys who were about 6’4" walked passed, and my daughter said “Welp, I guess we’re short again…” I’m moving to Minnesota, then, so I can meet guys with whom I “can” wear high heels. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![MoonMoon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moonmoon/32/2959_2.png) [@MoonMoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MoonMoon)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2016, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-tall-constitutes-tall/745979/12 "2016-02-13T00:45:24Z")
6’2" is the bottom threshold for men and 5’10" for women. I once was 5’11" (I’m a woman), but I seem to have misplaced an inch, recently. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2016, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-tall-constitutes-tall/745979/13 "2016-02-13T00:51:06Z")
I’m 5’10", and my husband is 6’10". He’s \*tall. \* ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2016, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-tall-constitutes-tall/745979/14 "2016-02-13T10:15:04Z")
> [@GrumpyBunny](#): > > Also, “can you get that from the top shelf for me?” in the grocery store from shorter women. I get that and I’m 5’4"… ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2016, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-tall-constitutes-tall/745979/15 "2016-02-13T10:45:13Z")
Once in Japan, the wanted poster for a guy listed his height as 183 cm (6 ft) and said he was really tall. I’m that height and I’d say that’s true for there. I always thought someone two inches taller than me was tall. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2016, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-tall-constitutes-tall/745979/16 "2016-02-13T11:22:16Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > I wonder if this is genetic, Scandanavians are fairly tall (average height of a male is 5’11" in scandanavian countries). If that is the normal, and there is a bell curve distribution with maybe 4" per SD, then you’d have a lot of 6’3" Scandanavians walking around. > > Minnesota has a strong Scandanavian immigrant history. Yeah, here in Sweden I am 6’2" and I consider myself above average, but not tall. In a gathering I can look above most people but you have quite a few weirdly tall people that just tower over everyone. I work in a company of 50-60 people. It is pretty mixed, so we have about 25-30 men. Two of those are around two metres tall. I see those as the tall ones, but a person fairly shorter than me might see me as tall. ---
**Author:** ![appleaday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/41988e/32.png) [@appleaday](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleaday)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2016, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-tall-constitutes-tall/745979/17 "2016-02-13T12:02:46Z")
I’m 4’11". Just about everyone looks tall to me. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2016, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-tall-constitutes-tall/745979/18 "2016-02-13T16:07:57Z")
I’m about 6’0" and consider anyone noticeably taller than me to be “tall”. So probably starting around 6’2" or so. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2016, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-tall-constitutes-tall/745979/19 "2016-02-13T16:52:47Z")
> [@SpoilerVirgin](#): > > I’m 5’4" and live in San Francisco. Tall is 5’8" for a woman and 6’ for a man, although really if you can get something off a shelf for me, you’re tall. I’m your height, and I agree. However, once you get to a woman being taller than 5’11" or a man being taller than 6’3" we’ve moved on to really tall, rather than simply tall. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2016, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-tall-constitutes-tall/745979/20 "2016-02-13T18:30:49Z")
The [Tall Clubs International](http://www.tall.org/) standard is 5’10" for women, 6’2" for men. However, esp. for men, few people at the low end of the range bother joining. I know that 6’2" is around the height where you start to run into issues regarding leg space, head room, etc. Except for clothing, these things are gender neutral. For women around 6" the main issue is dating, which makes a club a bit useful. (Yes I have a relative that’s “big” in the Tall Club.) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-tall-constitutes-tall/745979.md?page=2)