173 cm in Feet: Exact Conversion and Height Comparison

Few numbers cause as much head-scratching as height conversions between metric and imperial. This guide settles exactly what 173 cm is in feet and inches, why conflicting numbers appear, and how it fits global height averages for men and women.

Exact conversion: 173 cm = 5 feet 8.11 inches ·
Common rounding: Often mistaken as 5’8″ or 5’9″ ·
Average male height (global): ~171 cm ·
Average female height (global): ~159 cm ·
BMI at 70 kg: 23.4 (normal range)

Six key data points show exactly where 173 cm lands in the conversion and height landscape.

Is 173cm 5’8″ or 5’9″?

The short answer: 173 cm equals 5 feet 8.11 inches — so it’s much closer to 5’8″ than 5’9″. The confusion arises because decimal feet and inches use different bases.

One foot equals 30.48 centimeters, as defined by RapidTables (conversion reference). To convert, divide 173 by 30.48:

173 ÷ 30.48 = 5.6759 feet

The whole number 5 becomes the feet. The decimal remainder (0.6759) gets multiplied by 12 inches per foot (RapidTables (conversion reference)):

0.6759 × 12 = 8.1102 inches

So the precise result is 5 feet 8.11 inches. This matches the figures from The Calculator Site (conversion tool) and Calculatio (conversion tool).

1. Divide 173 by 30.48 to get 5.6759 feet.
2. The whole number 5 becomes the feet.
3. Multiply the decimal remainder (0.6759) by 12 to get 8.1102 inches.

“To convert centimeters to feet, divide by 30.48, then multiply the decimal by 12 to get inches.”

— Math with Mr. J (educational YouTube channel)

Why confusion happens: decimal feet vs inches

• The metric system uses base 10; the imperial system uses base 12 for inches.
• Some calculators display 5.68 feet (rounding the decimal), which people misinterpret as 5’9″ because 0.68 feels close to 0.75 (i.e., 9/12).
• Symbolab reports 173 cm as approximately 5.7 feet (Symbolab (calculator)), further muddying the waters.

The pattern: when you round 5.68 feet up to 5.7, the mental shortcut to 5’9″ is predictable but wrong. A Reddit user in r/NoStupidQuestions captured it well: “It’s confusing because decimal feet don’t work — there are 12 rather than 10 inches in a foot.”

Is 173 cm tall for a guy?

Globally, the average adult male height is about 171 cm (Our World in Data (research group)). That puts 173 cm just above the worldwide mean — meaning a man at that height is taller than the average male on the planet.

But “tall” is relative to where you live. In the United States, the average male height is 175.3 cm (5’9″), according to CDC (health statistics body). So at 173 cm, a man in the US is slightly below average. In the Netherlands, where the average male height exceeds 183 cm, 173 cm would be notably short. Meanwhile, in many Southeast Asian countries where averages hover around 165-168 cm, 173 cm is above average.

What this means: local context matters more than any global average.

Is 173 cm tall for a girl?

The global average adult female height is around 159 cm (Our World in Data (research group)). At 173 cm, a woman is approximately 14 cm above that average, placing her in the top 10-15% of female height worldwide.

In the US, where the average woman is about 162.5 cm (CDC (health statistics body)), a 173 cm woman is distinctly above average. In countries like the Netherlands, the female average is higher (~170 cm), so a woman at 173 cm is still above average but closer to the norm.

Dating preferences vary widely by culture and individual, but in many contexts, a woman of 173 cm is perceived as tall. This height often falls outside the “petite” range for modeling agencies but is common in runway fashion, where minimum height requirements often start at 173 cm.

The implication: 173 cm is objectively tall for a woman in virtually every country except Northern European populations where averages are higher.

Is 70kg for 173 cm good?

For a person 173 cm tall weighing 70 kg, the BMI is 23.4 — well within the normal weight range of 18.5-24.9 established by the NIH (health authority).

The healthy weight range for 173 cm is approximately 55 kg to 74 kg at the extremes of the normal BMI bracket. At 70 kg, you sit comfortably in the middle, neither underweight nor overweight by standard clinical metrics.

BMI alone doesn’t distinguish between muscle and fat. A person with high muscle mass at 70 kg and 173 cm could still have a normal BMI while carrying significant lean tissue. Athletes and bodybuilders often fall at the upper end of the normal range or even slightly into overweight by BMI alone, despite very low body fat percentages.

The trade-off: BMI gives a useful baseline but misclassifies muscular individuals. At 70 kg and 173 cm, your composition matters more than the raw number.

Is 173 cm too short?

The answer depends entirely on the reference group. Against the global male average of ~171 cm, 173 cm is not short — it’s slightly above. Against the US male average of 175.3 cm, it’s slightly below but still within one inch of the mean, which is not clinically or socially considered short in most contexts.

Many well-known individuals stand around 173 cm. Notable figures include actors Tom Cruise and Robert Downey Jr., both estimated near this height. The fact that highly successful public figures share this measurement suggests that height has minimal bearing on professional achievement or social standing.

Medical definitions of short stature apply only when someone falls below the 3rd percentile for their age and sex, which for an adult male in most developed countries is around 163-165 cm (CDC (health statistics body)). At 173 cm, you are nowhere near that cutoff.

The catch: online opinions often diverge from statistical reality.

Related reading

• 1.68 m in Feet — Another metric-to-imperial height conversion you might need.
• Convert Stone to KG — A complementary unit-conversion guide for weight measurements.

For a direct comparison, the 1.73 m in feet covers the same height of 1.73 meters in feet and inches.

Frequently asked questions