Search for "shoulder width to height ratio" and you will find two kinds of answer: a single number, and a lot of argument about what kind of shoulder width it refers to. This guide gives you the chart first. It lists the shoulder width that goes with each height, in centimetres and inches, then explains the two ways shoulders are measured, what the real survey data say is average, and what you can and cannot change.
Shoulder width by height chart
The chart uses the biacromial measurement, the straight-line distance between the bony tips of your two shoulders. The columns are the bands used by our shoulder-to-height ratio calculator: below 0.22 is a narrower frame, 0.22 to 0.26 is the typical range for most adults, and above 0.26 is a broader frame. The middle column, 0.24, is the midpoint of that range.
| Height | Narrower (0.22) | Middle (0.24) | Broader (0.26) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 150 cm (4'11") | 33.0 cm (13.0 in) | 36.0 cm (14.2 in) | 39.0 cm (15.4 in) |
| 155 cm (5'1") | 34.1 cm (13.4 in) | 37.2 cm (14.6 in) | 40.3 cm (15.9 in) |
| 160 cm (5'3") | 35.2 cm (13.9 in) | 38.4 cm (15.1 in) | 41.6 cm (16.4 in) |
| 165 cm (5'5") | 36.3 cm (14.3 in) | 39.6 cm (15.6 in) | 42.9 cm (16.9 in) |
| 170 cm (5'7") | 37.4 cm (14.7 in) | 40.8 cm (16.1 in) | 44.2 cm (17.4 in) |
| 175 cm (5'9") | 38.5 cm (15.2 in) | 42.0 cm (16.5 in) | 45.5 cm (17.9 in) |
| 180 cm (5'11") | 39.6 cm (15.6 in) | 43.2 cm (17.0 in) | 46.8 cm (18.4 in) |
| 185 cm (6'1") | 40.7 cm (16.0 in) | 44.4 cm (17.5 in) | 48.1 cm (18.9 in) |
| 190 cm (6'3") | 41.8 cm (16.5 in) | 45.6 cm (18.0 in) | 49.4 cm (19.4 in) |
| 195 cm (6'5") | 42.9 cm (16.9 in) | 46.8 cm (18.4 in) | 50.7 cm (20.0 in) |
| 200 cm (6'7") | 44.0 cm (17.3 in) | 48.0 cm (18.9 in) | 52.0 cm (20.5 in) |
To use it, find your height, then see which column your own straight-line shoulder width is closest to. A person who is 175 cm (5'9") tall with a 42 cm biacromial width has a ratio of 0.24, which is in the middle of the typical range.
What "shoulder width" means: bone width or outer width
Two different measurements are both called shoulder width, and they give very different numbers.
- Biacromial breadth is bone to bone: from the outer tip of one shoulder blade's acromion to the other. It is mostly skeleton, so it hardly changes once you are fully grown. This is the measurement the chart above uses.
- Bideltoid breadth is the widest point across the outside of both shoulder muscles, measured with the arms relaxed at the sides. It includes the deltoids, so it is larger, and it is the width you see in a mirror or a photo.
When someone asks about a shoulder-to-height ratio of 0.25 or 0.30, check which of the two they mean. The numbers are not interchangeable.
What the survey data say is average
The most detailed public figures come from the 2012 Anthropometric Survey of U.S. Army Personnel (Gordon and colleagues, 2014), tabulated by the Ergonomics Center of North Carolina. These are measured values, in inches in the original, from a military sample that does not represent the general population. Dividing the median shoulder breadth by the median height of the same group gives these ratios:
| Measure | Women | Men |
|---|---|---|
| Median height | 162.6 cm (64.0 in) | 175.5 cm (69.1 in) |
| Median biacromial (bone) width | 36.5 cm (14.37 in) | 41.5 cm (16.34 in) |
| Ratio to height, bone width | about 0.224 | about 0.237 |
| Median bideltoid (outer) width | 45.0 cm (17.72 in) | 50.9 cm (20.04 in) |
| Ratio to height, outer width | about 0.277 | about 0.290 |
Two things stand out. First, the average bone-width ratio is about 0.22 to 0.24, so the middle of the typical range is where most people sit, and a ratio of 0.26 is a clearly broad frame. Second, the outer width runs at roughly 0.28 to 0.29 of height, well above the bone width, because the deltoid muscles add width on both sides.
The civilian numbers agree. A summary of the CDC's 1988 to 1994 survey of US adults aged 20 and over reports an average biacromial width of 16.1 inches (41.1 cm) for men and 14.4 inches (36.7 cm) for women, against 41.5 cm and 36.5 cm in the Army tables above.
The spread matters as much as the average. In the Army sample the 5th to 95th percentile of bone width at the median height works out to roughly 0.22 to 0.25 for men and 0.21 to 0.24 for women. Most people fall inside those limits, and where you sit inside them is mostly a matter of genetics.
Average shoulder width at every height
If you prefer the sample averages to the bands above, here is the width each ratio implies at each height. Use the first two columns to compare your bone width, and the last two to compare the width you see in a mirror.
| Height | Women, bone width | Men, bone width | Women, outer width | Men, outer width |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 150 cm (4'11") | 33.7 cm | 35.5 cm | 41.5 cm | 43.5 cm |
| 155 cm (5'1") | 34.8 cm | 36.7 cm | 42.9 cm | 45.0 cm |
| 160 cm (5'3") | 35.9 cm | 37.8 cm | 44.3 cm | 46.4 cm |
| 165 cm (5'5") | 37.0 cm | 39.0 cm | 45.7 cm | 47.9 cm |
| 170 cm (5'7") | 38.2 cm | 40.2 cm | 47.1 cm | 49.3 cm |
| 175 cm (5'9") | 39.3 cm | 41.4 cm | 48.4 cm | 50.8 cm |
| 180 cm (5'11") | 40.4 cm | 42.6 cm | 49.8 cm | 52.2 cm |
| 185 cm (6'1") | 41.5 cm | 43.8 cm | 51.2 cm | 53.7 cm |
| 190 cm (6'3") | 42.6 cm | 44.9 cm | 52.6 cm | 55.1 cm |
| 195 cm (6'5") | 43.8 cm | 46.1 cm | 54.0 cm | 56.6 cm |
| 200 cm (6'7") | 44.9 cm | 47.3 cm | 55.4 cm | 58.0 cm |
These are ratios applied to different heights, so they show proportion rather than a measured distribution. Short and tall people vary by a centimetre or two either way.
How to measure your shoulder width
- Stand relaxed with your arms by your sides, not shrugged or pulled back.
- For bone width, find the bony tip at the outer top of each shoulder, the point where the collarbone meets the shoulder blade.
- Ask a helper to hold a tape or a straight ruler across your back from one tip to the other, keeping it flat and level.
- A tape that follows the curve of the back reads a little wider than the straight-line distance, so keep it taut and level, as the calculator asks.
- For outer width, measure the widest point across both deltoids in the same way.
- Measure your height barefoot against a wall, and divide shoulder width by height.
Take each measurement twice and average the two. A centimetre of error in shoulder width moves the ratio by about 0.006, which is about a third of the gap between two neighbouring bands.
Is a wider ratio better?
Not in any medical sense. Shoulder width relative to height is a description of your frame, not a health score. Its main uses are practical: jacket and coat fit, understanding why some outfits hang differently on you, and setting realistic expectations about how a physique will look. A broad frame makes a narrow waist look more dramatic, while a narrow frame may need more muscle to create the same contrast.
It is also not the same as the V-taper ratio. Shoulder-to-waist ratio compares shoulders with waist, so it describes taper. Two people can share a taper ratio and still have very different frame widths, which is why this number is worth knowing separately.
Can you change it?
The bone width cannot change after you finish growing. What you can change sits on top of it.
- Muscle: training the deltoids and upper back adds to the outer width, which is the width people actually see. The V-taper guide shows how.
- Waist: a smaller waist makes the same shoulders look wider. See waist-to-height ratio.
- Posture: shoulders that roll forward can look narrower from the front. The rounded shoulders guide explains the fix.
- Clothing: structured shoulders and the right jacket seam position change the look. See clothes for your body shape.
Why this matters for clothes
A jacket's shoulder seam is the hardest part to alter. If you know your bone width, you can choose the size that fits at the shoulder first and have the rest tailored. Our calculator gives you the ratio, and the full Body Report places it alongside the rest of your proportions.
This guide is for general information only and is not medical advice. See our disclaimer.
Sources
- Gordon CC, et al. 2012 Anthropometric Survey of U.S. Army Personnel: Methods and Summary Statistics. U.S. Army Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center, 2014. Median stature and shoulder breadth values as tabulated by The Ergonomics Center of North Carolina, "Anthropometric Data for U.S. Adults".
- CDC/NCHS, Vital and Health Statistics Series 11, No. 249 (1988 to 1994 survey), biacromial width for adults 20 and over, as summarised by Healthline, "Average Shoulder Width".
- Our shoulder-to-height ratio bands are rules of thumb from the Shoulder Width to Height Ratio Calculator, not a published population norm.