What’s the avarage foot size

You’ve probably been there before: During sale season you find so many pairs of shoes, which you need to own. But when you check for your size – it’s always sold out. But is your shoe size really that average, and is your foot size permanent? Read along and find out.

If you have an average sized foot, there’s a bigger probability that the shoes you’ve set out to buy on your shopping day with all your friends are sold out at the local store. Figures: The more normal your foot size is, the higher demand for exactly your shoe size. We all know that. But what is an average sized foot really?

The average shoe and foot size

Women: According to Footwear Market Insight, the most sold women’s shoe size is US 7 so according to the data we have, it’s the most common size for women. The average size is somewhere between 7,5-8. For Nike a US size 8 will fit a foot of 9.65 in.

Men: If you’re a man, you have an average sized foot if you’re a US 10.5, according to the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons. For Nike shoes a US size 10.5 will fit a foot of around 11.14 in. long.

Children: Here is the pattern a bit more scattered. Since children have different patterns of growth, their feet also grow in different paces. However, below you’ll find a chart over children and their most common foot sizes.

Age	US size	Foot length
1	3	4 3/8
2	6	5 1/4
3	9	6 1/4
4	11	6 7/8
5	12.5	7 1/4
6	13.5	7 1/2
7	1Y	7 5/8
8	2Y	8
9	3Y	8 3/8
10	4Y	8 5/8
11	5Y	9
12	6Y	9 3/4

Measure your feet regularly

You’ve probably heard that the body is fully grown when you’re in your mid-20s or even earlier. From there, only your belly, thighs and arms will grow thinner or thicker – and your clothing size will change accordingly. Your funny uncle probably cracked a joke to you as a child saying that from a certain age you don’t grow vertically anymore, but instead you start to grow horizontally. There is some truth to that, however, it’s not quite accurate when it comes to your feet. As we get older our feet lose some of its elasticity possibly resulting in your feet expanding. For women, menopause and pregnancies can also alter your shoe size. Therefore, it’s recommended that we regularly measure our feet, so we make sure that we wear the right shoe size. You’d probably be surprised to know just how many people there are out there wearing the wrong shoe size right now. Maybe you’re one of them?

What determines the size of your feet?

There are a lot of key elements, which factor in when it comes to your foot size. Your gender, genetics in general and your age – especially if you’re going through menopause. And yes, typically there is a relation between your height and your foot size. The taller you are, the more support your body needs to keep the balance – and therefore the average shoe size is higher as well. The same rule goes for men and women. If your parents have large feet, chances are that you’ll get large feet and vice versa.

Moreover, time has something to do with our feet’s sizing in general. A century ago, our feet were 1-1.5 inches smaller than they are today. So as human beings get higher, our feet grow with us.
Who knows? Someday we might be twice as tall as now – with feet the size of a clown’s.