The average vertical jump for adult men is 16-20 inches and 12-16 inches for women, though these numbers vary significantly by age and training level. Below we break down vertical jump norms with percentile charts so you can see how your jump height compares.
A good vertical jump performance is key in sprinting speed, volleyball players, high jump athletes, NBA players, and high school basketball players alike.
Keep reading to learn about vertical jump test norms, how to assess your highest vertical jump, and what a good and average vertical jump is for men and women of different ages.
The Honest Truth About Average Vertical Jump Numbers (And Why Measurement Method Can Change Your Result By 15%)
Vertical jump is the most widely used field test for lower-body power — but its benchmark tables are unusually deceptive because the measurement is non-standard. Before you compare your inches against the averages below, here are three things about vertical jump standards that most pages skip over.
The same athlete can produce 3-4 different “vertical jumps” depending on which protocol is used
The field uses at least three very different tests under the label “vertical jump”: the Sargent jump (standing reach vs. two-leg jump reach), the countermovement jump (CMJ) on a force plate or contact mat, and the squat jump (SJ) without countermovement. Markovic, Dizdar, Jukic & Cardinale’s 2004 Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research reliability study found that CMJ results are consistently 2-4 inches (roughly 10-15%) higher than SJ results for the same athlete, and arm-swing vs. no-arm-swing protocols add another 3-6 inches. That means if the “average vertical jump” number you’re comparing to was collected with a Vertec with full arm swing, and you measured yourself with a chalk-mark Sargent test and no arm swing, you’re comparing two different physical quantities. Before you celebrate or panic, check that the protocol matches.
Vertical jump is a rate-of-force-development test, not a max-strength test — and the two don’t transfer automatically
Newton & Kraemer’s seminal reviews in Strength and Conditioning Journal and Sports Medicine established that vertical jump height correlates more tightly with rate of force development (how fast you can produce force) than with maximum force. That’s why a powerlifter with a 500lb back squat often has a lower vertical jump than a volleyball player with a 300lb squat — squat max is about slow-force production, vertical jump is about fast-force production. Cormie, McGuigan & Newton’s 2011 two-part Sports Medicine review on developing maximal neuromuscular power confirmed that vertical jump responds primarily to plyometric and ballistic training, with heavy-strength work contributing only indirectly. If your vertical jump is below your age-group average but your deadlift and squat are strong, you don’t have a strength problem — you have an RFD problem, and more heavy lifting won’t fix it.
For distance runners, vertical jump is a surprisingly good proxy for running economy
Paavolainen, Häkkinen, Hämäläinen, Nummela & Rusko’s classic 1999 Journal of Applied Physiology study on explosive-strength training in endurance runners found that 5-km time improvements correlated more strongly with changes in countermovement jump performance than with changes in VO2max. Barnes & Kilding’s 2015 Sports Medicine review on running economy reached similar conclusions: distance runners with better reactive strength (measured via CMJ and drop jump) show better running economy at race paces, independent of aerobic markers. Blagrove, Howatson & Hayes’ 2018 review on strength training for middle- and long-distance runners reinforces the point — vertical jump gains of a few inches often track with 2-5% improvements in running economy. For marathoners and 5-10K runners, the vertical jump table below isn’t a vanity test; it’s one of the cleanest field tests of neuromuscular readiness that you can do without a lab.
When the age-based vertical jump table IS the right question
All the caveats above assume you want your vertical jump number to inform a training decision. If you’re being tested for a team-sport combine, military or first-responder fitness battery, or a school PE assessment, the age- and sex-based tables below are exactly the framework you need — they anchor you against the population you’re actually being compared to. The “honest truth” framing above is for the reader whose goal is running performance, athletic transfer, or interpreting their own number. The tables are for the reader whose goal is the scoreboard.
Average Vertical Jump by Age and Sex
According to a study1 , the overall average vertical jump height for both sexes combined (n=116 subjects) was just about 40 cm (15.75 inches).
Using the data from this study, the average vert jump test results for men was 45 cm (17.7 inches), and the average female vertical jump height was 30 cm (11.8 inches).
The average age of the subjects in these studies was around 26-27 years old.
Unfortunately, it is hard to find the average vertical jump height by age since most vertical jump norms or studies have been conducted with college-aged students2 (N.d.). Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/232198046_Power_Output_Estimate_in_University_Athletes or professional athletes.
According to the Eurofit Vertical Jump Testing3 De L’europe, C. (n.d.). TESTING PHYSICAL FITNESS EUROFIT Experimental Battery PROVISIONAL HANDBOOK STRASBOURG 1983 COUNCIL OF EUROPE. , here are the vertical test norms by age for men and women based on percentile rankings:
Average Vertical Jump: Men
| Age Range cm (in) | |||||
| Percentile | 20-29 | 30-39 | 40-49 | 50-59 | 60+ |
| 80th | 61(24.0) | 55(21.7) | 52(20.5) | 45(17.7) | 39(15.4) |
| 60th | 55(21.7) | 51(20.1) | 47(18.5) | 42(16.5) | 35(13.8) |
| 40th | 52(20.5) | 47(18.5) | 42(16.5) | 37(14.6) | 31(12.2) |
| 20th | 47(18.5) | 42(16.5) | 38(15.0) | 31(12.2) | 24(9.4) |
Average Vertical Jump: Women
| Age Range cm (in) | |||||
| Percentile | 20-29 | 30-39 | 40-49 | 50-59 | 60+ |
| 80th | 43(16.9) | 40(15.7) | 36(14.2) | 30(11.8) | 26(10.2) |
| 60th | 39(15.4) | 35(13.8) | 31(12.2) | 27(10.6) | 23(9.1) |
| 40th | 36(14.2) | 32(12.6) | 28(11.0) | 25(9.8) | 20(7.9) |
| 20th | 31(12.2) | 29(11.4) | 25(9.8) | 21(8.3) | 17(6.7) |
Vertical Jump Record With A Run Up
The two primary approaches to performing the vertical jump test to determine your vertical jump height are either jumping as high as possible from a standing start or having a running approach to your vertical jump.
The latter vertical jump test protocol, where you get to run a step or two and then leap to the highest point, will result in higher vertical jump test averages than the average standing vertical jump height.
According to the Guinness Book Of World Records4 Highest vertical leap (running start). (2022, June 27). Guinness World Records. https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/95867-highest-vertical-leap-running-start, the highest vertical jump with a running start is 1.27 m, or 4 feet 1.92 inches.
This is essentially equivalent to a 50 inch vertical jump height.
This world record vertical jump height for men was achieved by Darius Clark (USA) in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, on 28 June 2022.
Vertical Jump Record From Standing
On the other hand, the highest jump world record5 Highest standing jump (male). (2021, February 7). Guinness World Records. https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/highest-standing-jump for men from standing (no run-up) is 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in), or about 67 inches. This highest standing vertical jump world record is held by American Christopher Spell and was set in February 2021.
The highest vertical jump height for women is not readily available.
For reference, Michael Jordan’s vertical jump is said to have been about 48 inches.
Why Age & Sex affect Jump Height
Your vertical jump ability is a good reflection of your lower-body power6 Vanezis, A., & Lees, A. (2005). A biomechanical analysis of good and poor performers of the vertical jump. Ergonomics, 48(11-14), 1594–1603. https://doi.org/10.1080/00140130500101262 and explosiveness.
After around age 30, the average vertical jump height reduces with each decade which passes. This is due to the loss of anaerobic power and decreased muscle mass as you age.
On average, men have higher average jump heights than women. Factors such as average lower body fat, higher muscle mass, and longer legs are all contributing factors.
The Most Important Factor: Fast Twitch Muscle Density
The other key component that contributes to your vertical jump ability is the relative percentage of fast-twitch vs slow-twitch muscle fibers you have, also known as type II vs type I muscle fibers.
Because the vertical jump test is an explosive power-based fitness assessment, and fast-twitch muscle fibers (type II fibers) responsible for more powerful, forceful, explosive contractions, the more fast-twitch muscle fibers you have in your calves, hamstrings, glutes, and quads, the better your vertical jump will be.
How To Test Your Vertical Jump
When you do an official vertical jump test, you use a device called a jump tester, which has thin plastic sticks in one-inch increments along the upper portion of a tall pole.
To test vertical jump height at home or at the gym, you can use a pencil or erasable marker and jump up along a wall.
Mark the wall, being careful not to extend the writing implement higher than the tips of your fingers.
Although most people inherently know how to jump after mastering this developmental milestone in toddlerhood, actually performing a proper vertical jump test takes a fair amount of skill and practice.
As mentioned, the test for vertical jump height can either be performed from the standing position or with a running start, like a vertical leap.
However, it is most common to do the vertical jump test protocol without a running start.
Here is how to do a standing vertical jump test:
- Stand with your core and legs engaged, your chest up, and your feet directly under your hips.
- Keeping your spine upright and core engaged, quickly bend your hips and knees into a partial squat, sitting your hips back and thrusting your arms behind you to create momentum.
- Explode upward, jumping as high as possible while driving your arms forward and overhead.
- Reach up as high as you can with only one arm, and hit the marker on the vertical jump tester (or make a mark on the wall with a writing utensil).
- After you start coming back down, straighten back out and land softly with your knees bending to absorb the load, ensuring they stay straight forward rather than caving in. Allow your arms to swing backward as a counterbalance.
Your vertical jump measurement is the distance between your standing vertical reach (stand up and reach up as high as you can, recording the height of the tip of your fingers) and the height you reach with your fingers when you jump.
For example, if your vertical reach is 98 inches and you mark 128 inches up on the wall with your pencil, your vertical jump distance is 30 inches.
How to Improve Your Vertical Jump Height: 4 Tips
Here are a few tips for increasing your vertical jump technique and height on the vertical jump test:
- Resist the urge to widen your stance because this actually reduces the leg power you’ll be able to generate and drive into the ground for take-off.
- While keeping your feet anchored into the ground, consciously pull your knees outward so that you feel tension in your hips because this engages the hips and glutes so that they’re primed and ready to fire rather than fully relaxed. This gets your neuromuscular system geared up so that muscle recruitment for your jump is faster.
- Make sure to reach up with only one hand instead of both arms because performing a unilateral vertical reach increases the maximum height you obtain compared with reaching with both arms.
- Incorporate plyometrics into your workout routine. This can include box jumps and body weight jumps and lunges.
You can learn more about how to improve your vertical jump here.
