Joe Biden's Height: How He Ranks Among the Tallest Presidents

Politics

President Biden Departs The White House For East Palestine, Ohio — Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images News via Getty Images

Published: March 8, 2024 8:30 am

Joe Biden was 78 years and 61 days old on the date of his inauguration, making him the oldest president in U.S. history. It appears that another record will be set after the 2024 election, as well. With Nikki Haley’s recent announcement that she is suspending her bid for the Republican nomination, Donald Trump is all but certain to be the party’s nominee. Trump will be 78 years and 220 days old on Inauguration Day 2025, while Biden will be 82 years and 61 days old. Either way, it would mark the oldest person to ever take the presidential oath in U.S. history. By contrast, the youngest president in U.S. history was Theodore Roosevelt, who was only 42 years and 322 days old at the start of his presidency. (Here are 13 amazing facts about Joe Biden from his younger days.)

While much has been made about Joe Biden’s age, what about his height? Where does he rank among the tallest presidents in U.S. history? Admittedly, this is not as consequential or controversial as the questions swirling about the president’s age, but it’s still pretty interesting.

24/7 Wall St. accessed information that is available in the public record for use in this story.

Do Taller Candidates Win More Elections?

Closeup of a stadiometer, a human height measuring device — Does height really matter when it comes to presidential candidates? The evidence is mixed.

The average height of the 45 men who have served as U.S. president is approximately 5 feet, 11 inches. That is about two inches taller than the height of an average man in the U.S. today. Does that mean that taller people have an advantage in being elected to the presidency? Some claim that it does.

It has been suggested that in a contest between two candidates of disparate heights, the taller person has a better chance of winning the election. But does this theory have any basis in history? Well, sort of.

There have been 59 presidential elections in U.S. history, three of which featured one candidate who ran unopposed (1788, 1792, and 1820). Of the 56 contests that featured multiple candidates, three involved candidates of the exact same height (1832, 1884, and 2012). This leaves 53 presidential elections where the candidates were of different heights. In those contests, the tallest candidate won 29 times. That is a winning percentage of just under 55%, which may reveal that taller candidates have a very slight edge. It hardly supports the notion that somehow a taller candidate has an insurmountable advantage, though.

There have been 31 presidential elections since 1900. Out of those 31 contests, the taller candidate won 21 times. Taller candidates have certainly won more than their fair share of elections in the last 120 years.

It has been theorized that a candidate’s height became even more important with the advent of televised debates in 1960. In the 16 presidential contests since 1960, the taller candidate won 10 times.

More recently, though, the “taller candidate always wins” theory has lost traction. In the six presidential elections since 2000, the taller candidate has only won twice.

Joe Biden’s Height

President Biden Departs The White En Route To New York — Joe Biden is slightly taller than the U.S. presidential average.

Last month, President Biden underwent a physical examination administered by Dr. Kevin C. O’Connor who has served as Physician to the President for Biden’s entire term in office. Dr. O’Connor’s report includes the president’s vital signs. Biden’s blood pressure was 132/68, which is slightly elevated. His weight was 178 pounds and his body mass index was 24.1, which is within the healthy range. His height was listed as 72 inches (6 feet).

To put President Biden’s height into historical perspective, here is a look at the height of every American president from shortest to tallest.

45. James Madison

Chronology: 4th U.S. President
Height: 5 feet, 4 inches

James Madison was the shortest president in U.S. history, standing 5 feet, 4 inches tall. He was also the lightest, only weighing around 100 pounds according to some estimates.

43. (tie) Martin Van Buren

Chronology: 8th U.S. President
Height: 5 feet, 6 inches

43. (tie) Benjamin Harrison

Chronology: 23rd U.S. President
Height: 5 feet, 6 inches

41. (tie) John Adams

Chronology: 2nd U.S. President
Height: 5 feet, 7 inches

41. (tie) William McKinley

Chronology: 25th U.S. President
Height: 5 feet, 7 inches

40. John Quincy Adams

Chronology: 6th U.S. President
Height: 5 feet, 7 ½ inches

36. (tie) William Henry Harrison

Chronology: 9th U.S. President
Height: 5 feet, 8 inches

36. (tie) James K. Polk

Chronology: 11th U.S. President
Height: 5 feet, 8 inches

36. (tie) Zachary Taylor

Chronology: 12th U.S. President
Height: 5 feet, 8 inches

36. (tie) Ulysses S. Grant

Chronology: 18th U.S. President
Height: 5 feet, 8 inches

35. Rutherford B. Hayes

President Rutherford Hayes — Rutherford B. Hayes is pictured here with his wife, Lucy.

Chronology: 19th U.S. President
Height: 5 feet, 8 ½ inches

33. (tie) Millard Fillmore

Chronology: 13th U.S. President
Height: 5 feet, 9 inches

33. (tie) Harry S. Truman

Bess Truman | Harry Truman And Bess Truman — Harry Truman is pictured here next to his wife, Bess.

Chronology: 33rd U.S. President
Height: 5 feet, 9 inches

32. Jimmy Carter

Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter, January 20, 1977 — Jimmy Carter is seen here holding his wife, Rosalynn’s, hand during his inaugural parade on January 20, 1977.

Chronology: 39th U.S. President
Height: 5 feet, 9 ½ inches

Jimmy Carter is only the 32nd tallest president, but he is tops in a much more important category. At 99 years old, Carter is the longest-lived president in American history.

28. (tie) Franklin Pierce

Chronology: 14th U.S. President
Height: 5 feet, 10 inches

28. (tie) Andrew Johnson

Chronology: 17th U.S. President
Height: 5 feet, 10 inches

28. (tie) Theodore Roosevelt

President Theodore Roosevelt — Theodore Roosevelt was known as a “Bull Moose,” but he was not as tall as you might imagine.

Chronology: 26th U.S. President
Height: 5 feet, 10 inches

28. (tie) Calvin Coolidge

Calvin Coolidge with his dog — Calvin Coolidge was an animal lover who is pictured here with one of his dogs.

Chronology: 30th U.S. President
Height: 5 feet, 10 inches

27. Dwight D. Eisenhower

Dwight D Eisenhower, American General and 34th President of the United States, on his re-election as president. Original Publication: Picture Post - 8718 - They Still Like Ike - pub. 1956 (Photo by Bert Hardy/Getty Images) — Dwight D. Eisenhower is seen here celebrating his reelection as president.

Chronology: 34th U.S. President
Height: 5 feet, 10 ½ inches

25. (tie) Grover Cleveland

President Grover Cleveland (1837-1908) gardening at his summer home in Tamworth, New Hampshire, USA, circa 1900. (Photo by Kean Collection/Getty Images) — Grover Cleveland, seen here tending the garden at his summer home in Tamworth, New Hampshire, was a portly fellow of average height.

Chronology: 22nd and 24th U.S. President
Height: 5 feet, 11 inches

25. (tie) Woodrow Wilson

Chronology: 28th U.S. President
Height: 5 feet, 11 inches

Grover Cleveland and Woodrow Wilson both stood 5 feet, 11 inches tall, the exact average height among all American presidents.

21. (tie) William Howard Taft

President William Howard Taft — William Howard Taft was America’s most rotund president.

Chronology: 27th U.S. President
Height: 5 feet, 11 ½ inches

While William Howard Taft was nowhere near the tallest president, he holds the record as the heaviest. Taft’s weight fluctuated a great deal, but it is estimated that, at his heaviest, the 27th president may have weighed upwards of 340-350 pounds.

21. (tie) Herbert Hoover

Chronology: 31st U.S. President
Height: 5 feet, 11 ½ inches

21. (tie) Richard Nixon

Richard Nixon shaking hands with Elvis Presley — The 37th president was about half an inch shorter than the King of Rock and Roll.

Chronology: 37th U.S. President
Height: 5 feet, 11 ½ inches

21. (tie) George W. Bush

President Bush Departs The White House — George W. Bush is slightly taller than the average height among U.S. presidents.

Chronology: 43rd U.S. President
Height: 5 feet, 11 ½ inches

14. (tie) James Monroe

Chronology: 5th U.S. President
Height: 6 feet, 0 inches

14. (tie) John Tyler

Chronology: 10th U.S. President
Height: 6 feet, 0 inches

14, (tie) James Buchanan

Chronology: 15th U.S. President
Height: 6 feet, 0 inches

14. (tie) James A. Garfield

Chronology: 20th U.S. President
Height: 6 feet, 0 inches

14. (tie) Warren G. Harding

1921: American president Warren G Harding (1865 - 1923) and his wife, First Lady Florence Harding, watch a horse show from a balcony, Washington DC. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images) — Warren G. Harding is pictured here with First Lady Florence Harding in 1921.

Chronology: 29th U.S. President
Height: 6 feet, 0 inches

14. (tie) Gerald Ford

Gerald Ford and Richard Nixon — Gerald Ford (left) was half an inch taller than Richard Nixon (right). Ford was Nixon’s vice president and assumed the presidency upon Nixon’s resignation.

Chronology: 38th U.S. President
Height: 6 feet, 0 inches

14. (tie) Joe Biden

President Biden Returns To The White House From Delaware — Joe Biden, pictured here with First Lady Jill Biden, is the seventh president to stand exactly six feet tall.

Chronology: 46th U.S. President
Height: 6 feet, 0 inches

Joe Biden is six feet tall, which is one inch taller than the average height of America’s 45 presidents. It places Biden in a seven-way tie for 14th place among the tallest presidents in U.S. history.

11. (tie) Andrew Jackson

Chronology: 7th U.S. President
Height: 6 feet, 1 inch

11. (tie) John F. Kennedy

Chronology: 35th U.S. President
Height: 6 feet, 1 inch

John F. Kennedy is among the taller presidents in U.S. history. Sadly, though, he was also the shortest-lived. Kennedy died from an assassin’s bullet at just 46 years old.

11. (tie) Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan And Margaret Thatcher — President Ronald Reagan, pictured here alongside British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in 1984, was 6 feet, 1 inch tall.

Chronology: 40th U.S. President
Height: 6 feet, 1 inch

9. (tie) George Washington

Chronology: 1st U.S. President
Height: 6 feet, 1 ½ inches

9. (tie) Barack Obama

Barack Obama | President Obama Returns To The White House — Barack Obama is the same height as George Washington.

Chronology: 44th U.S. President
Height: 6 feet, 1 ½ inches

6. (tie) Chester Arthur

Chester Alan Arthur — Chester Arthur was James Garfield’s vice president and was his successor when Garfield was assassinated.

Chronology: 21st U.S. President
Height: 6 feet, 2 inches

6. (tie) Franklin D. Roosevelt

Franklin And Eleanor Roosevelt — President Franklin D. Roosevelt is pictured here with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt circa 1930s.

Chronology: 32nd U.S. President
Height: 6 feet, 2 inches

6. (tie) George H.W. Bush

President Bush And Father Attend Family Wedding — George H.W. Bush (left) stood about 2 ½ inches taller than his son, George W. Bush (right).

Chronology: 41st U.S. President
Height: 6 feet, 2 inches

4. (tie) Thomas Jefferson

Chronology: 3rd U.S. President
Height: 6 feet, 2 ½ inches

4. (tie) Bill Clinton

President Biden Speaks On The 30th Anniversary Of The Family And Medical Leave Act At The White House — Bill Clinton (left) stands 2 ½ inches taller than Joe Biden (right).

Chronology: 42nd U.S. President
Height: 6 feet, 2 ½ inches

Fun fact: William Jefferson Clinton is the exact same height as Thomas Jefferson.

3. Donald Trump

Chronology: 45th U.S. President
Height: 6 feet, 3 inches

Donald Trump is not only the second-oldest person to serve as president, he is also one of the tallest at 6 feet, 3 inches. There has been some discrepancy over Trump’s height, though. His Selective Service Card and his previous New York driver’s license both list his height as 6 feet, 2 inches. In this case, Trump would drop into a tie for sixth place with Chester Arthur, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and George H.W. Bush regarding presidential height.

However, the 2019 report from Dr. Sean P. Conley, Physician to the President during Trump’s presidential term, lists his height at 6 feet, 3 inches. Using this measurement, Trump is the third-tallest person to serve as president.

2. Lyndon B. Johnson

Lyndon and Lady Bird Johnson, circa 1966 — Lyndon Johnson, pictured here with his wife, Lady Bird, was America’s second-tallest president.

Chronology: 36th U.S. President
Height: 6 feet, 3 ½ inches

1. Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln | Gettysburg Address — Abraham Lincoln, depicted here delivering his iconic Gettysburg Address, was the tallest president in American history.

Chronology: 16th U.S. President
Height: 6 feet, 4 inches

Abraham Lincoln is widely regarded as the greatest president in American history. He is also the tallest at 6 feet, 4 inches, making him exactly one foot taller than James Madison, America’s shortest president. Lincoln is a towering figure in American history in more ways than one!

Take This Retirement Quiz To Get Matched With An Advisor Now (Sponsored)

Are you ready for retirement? Planning for retirement can be overwhelming, that’s why it could be a good idea to speak to a fiduciary financial advisor about your goals today.

Start by taking this retirement quiz right here from SmartAsset that will match you with up to 3 financial advisors that serve your area and beyond in 5 minutes. Smart Asset is now matching over 50,000 people a month.

Click here now to get started.

Read more: Politics, Biden, Abraham Lincoln, Bill Clinton, donald trump, Franklin Roosevelt, george w. bush, George Washington, James Madison, JFK, shortest, tallest

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.