Height Conversion: Feet/Inches to Centimeters

June 13, 2025 • 4 min read

Whether you are filling out a medical form, shopping for clothes internationally, or just curious how your height compares in metric, converting between feet/inches and centimeters is a skill you will use often.

The Conversion Formula

How to Convert Step by Step

Example: Convert 5 feet 7 inches to centimeters:

1. Convert feet to inches: 5 × 12 = 60 inches
2. Add remaining inches: 60 + 7 = 67 inches total
3. Multiply by 2.54: 67 × 2.54 = 170.18 cm

Common Height Conversions

• ▶ 5'0" = 152.4 cm
• ▶ 5'2" = 157.5 cm
• ▶ 5'4" = 162.6 cm
• ▶ 5'6" = 167.6 cm
• ▶ 5'8" = 172.7 cm
• ▶ 5'10" = 177.8 cm
• ▶ 6'0" = 182.9 cm
• ▶ 6'2" = 188.0 cm
• ▶ 6'4" = 193.0 cm

Going the Other Way: cm to Feet/Inches

To convert from centimeters to feet and inches:

1. Divide the cm value by 2.54 to get total inches
2. Divide total inches by 12 to get feet
3. The remainder is the leftover inches

Example: 175 cm ÷ 2.54 = 68.9 inches. 68.9 ÷ 12 = 5 feet remainder 8.9 inches. So 175 cm is approximately 5'9".

Where Height Units Differ

• ▶ US, UK (informally), Canada (informally): feet and inches
• ▶ Most of the world: centimeters or meters (1.75 m = 175 cm)
• ▶ Medical records: increasingly metric worldwide
• ▶ Passports: some countries list height in cm, others omit it entirely

Quick Mental Shortcut

Each inch is about 2.5 cm. Each foot is roughly 30 cm. So if someone says they are 180 cm, you can estimate: 180 ÷ 30 = 6 feet (close to the actual 5'11").