TL;DR The average difference in male to female height is 5", therefore height-matched couples have a 5" height difference. (Excluding the top 10% of people, because female height tapers significantly below 6' where male height remains variant).
(Men) To calculate height-match you must take your height in Inches and subtract by 5, (Women) Add 5.
(Men) If you are 6'1 or taller you may subtract your height by 5" or the difference shown below, since you are in a height-surplus category**
Source:
**The normal distribution curves for male and female height are unevenly distributed, female height is less variable than male height (M 10.5" - F 9.5" | Between 3rd and 97th percentiles), especially in the top percentiles; this means there is a small surplus of men that cannot be exactly height-matched and will be, at least, slightly taller (0.5"-0.9") than height-matched expectations (5").
Figure shown below:
As you can see, the graphs differ; the Male height shown on the left shows greater variance and the crest (top of the graph) is further from f(X) = 0.12 than the female height shown on the right.
If the graphs were overlayed there would be remainders on each end, but the CDC stats I'm using show the 5" trend is consistent for the bottom percentiles, so the overlay would in principle look like this:
The Lime green overlay is the Surplus category. For closure; imagine the blue line sliding left, representing taller men dating down.
5" is the official expectation for height difference; anything else is entitlement.
(Men) To calculate height-match you must take your height in Inches and subtract by 5, (Women) Add 5.
(Men) If you are 6'1 or taller you may subtract your height by 5" or the difference shown below, since you are in a height-surplus category**
| Percentile | Male | Female | Difference |
| 3 | 64.5" | 59.5" | 5" |
| 5 | 65" | 60" | 5" |
| 10 | 66" | 61" | 5" |
| 25 | 68" | 63" | 5" |
| 50 | 69.5" | 64.5" | 5" |
| 75 | 71.5" | 66" | 5.5" |
| 90 | 73" | 67.5" | 5.5" |
| 95 | 74.25" | 68.5" | 5.75" |
| 97 | 74.90" | 69" | 5.9" |
Source:
**The normal distribution curves for male and female height are unevenly distributed, female height is less variable than male height (M 10.5" - F 9.5" | Between 3rd and 97th percentiles), especially in the top percentiles; this means there is a small surplus of men that cannot be exactly height-matched and will be, at least, slightly taller (0.5"-0.9") than height-matched expectations (5").
Figure shown below:
As you can see, the graphs differ; the Male height shown on the left shows greater variance and the crest (top of the graph) is further from f(X) = 0.12 than the female height shown on the right.
If the graphs were overlayed there would be remainders on each end, but the CDC stats I'm using show the 5" trend is consistent for the bottom percentiles, so the overlay would in principle look like this:
The Lime green overlay is the Surplus category. For closure; imagine the blue line sliding left, representing taller men dating down.
5" is the official expectation for height difference; anything else is entitlement.
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