Heights of all U.S. presidents 1789-2021

The average height of the 45 men who have served as the President of the United States is approximately 180cm (5'11"); this is roughly five centimeters (two inches) taller than the average U.S. male in 2020. Abraham Lincoln has the distinction of being the tallest U.S. president in history, at 193cm (6'4"), while James Madison was the shortest (and lightest) U.S. president at 163cm (5'4").

US presidents are getting taller

Of the ten most recent presidents, only Jimmy Carter has been shorter than the presidential average, while none of the presidents who have served since the beginning of the twentieth century have been shorter than the national average. Since Ronald Reagan became president in 1981, George W. Bush and Joe Biden are the only U.S. president to have been shorter than six feet tall; by just half an inch.

Trump height controversy

Former President Donald Trump made headlines in 2018, when his official height increased from 6'2" (the height from all previously-existing records, including his 2012 drivers license) to 6'3"*. Many in the media speculated that this was to prevent him from being classified as obese according to his body mass index. A number of photos also circulated on social media showing Trump next to (and visibly shorter than) a number of athletes who are officially 6'3", while photos of him standing next to Barack Obama were used to show that he may be closer to his predecessor's height, at 6'1". Nonetheless, Trump's medical report from June 3. 2020, shows that his official height remained at 6'3".