NathanCustom Tailors

Average shoulder width for men

Enter your measurement to see exactly where you land — and what it means for how a suit should be cut for you.

Quick answer

The average shoulder width for men is 41.6 cm, and most fall between 39.7 and 43.5 cm (US active-duty adults (ANSUR II, 2012)). Enter yours below to see your exact percentile.

Free · No sign-up · Public anthropometric data · A tailoring reference, not health advice.

Your shoulder width

The average
41.6cm
average shoulder width for men*

Enter your measurement above to see where you land.

38.540.341.6average42.944.7

Shoulders are hardest to alter, so custom sets the seam exactly on yours.

No “too big” or “too small” — just “not what the factory graded for.”

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R
Richard Whitby
·Verified Google review · remote order to the UK

“WOW! Ordered a suit online with Linda. She contacted me by video call to go through the measuring process and once confirmed measurements again, around 4 weeks later a made to measure suit arrived in the UK. Fitted perfectly and I didn't even visit! Fantastic quality and customer service from Linda. Would definitely recommend!”

* ANSUR II, n=4,082 · a tailoring reference, not health advice.

Method & download the data yourself

Average shoulder width 41.6 cm (SD 1.9). We rank you by the normal curve: percentile = Φ((your value − average) ÷ SD).

Method: Average and standard deviation computed directly from the published per-person data.

Note: Measured on U.S. service members, who tend to run leaner and more muscular than the general public — read this as an active-adult reference, not the "average American".

License: Public domain (U.S. Government work).

Download the full reference table (CSV)View as JSONOriginal source & raw data

Shoulder width: common questions

What is the average shoulder width for men?
In US active-duty adults (ANSUR II, 2012), the average (mean) shoulder width is about 41.6 cm, with a standard deviation of 1.9 cm. Source: ANSUR II — 2012 Anthropometric Survey of U.S. Army Personnel (NATICK/TR-15/007).
How do I know if my shoulder width is small, average, or large?
Enter your measurement above and the tool places it on the bell curve for US active-duty adults (ANSUR II, 2012), returning an exact percentile (the share of people whose shoulder width is smaller than yours). It is a fitting reference, not a judgement — every result is handled the same way.
Does my shoulder width affect how a suit fits?
Yes — and that is the point. Off-the-rack clothing is graded around the middle of the curve, so any distance from average makes mass-produced garments fit worse. A custom suit from Nathan Tailors in Hoi An is drafted to your actual shoulder width, so your proportions become the pattern.

Other measurements

Average chest size · 105.9 cmAverage waist size · 103 cmAverage neck size · 39.8 cmAverage bicep size · 35.8 cmAverage forearm size · 31 cmAverage shoulder circumference · 117.9 cmAverage thigh size · 62.5 cmAverage hip size · 105.6 cmAverage calf size · 39.2 cmAverage arm / sleeve length · 89.6 cmAverage wrist size · 17.6 cmAverage height · 175.1 cmAverage weight · 90.3 kg

How to measure your shoulder width · All body-measurement percentiles · What suit size am I?