Grip strength percentile
Your grip strength ranked against all adults of your age and sex — and against NCAA Division I athletes. Hand dynamometer, standing, arm straight down at your side and not touching your body. Best single squeeze from either hand, in kilograms.
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StrengthLifts, pulling and grip
Hand dynamometer, standing, arm straight down at your side and not touching your body. Best single squeeze from either hand, in kilograms.
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Grip strength standards by age — men
Result needed to beat the given share of all men in each age group.
| Age | 10th | 25th | 50th | 75th | 90th | 95th | 99th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18-29 | 85 lb | 95 lb | 105 lb | 120 lb | 135 lb | 140 lb | 160 lb |
| 30-39 | 90 lb | 100 lb | 115 lb | 125 lb | 135 lb | 145 lb | 165 lb |
| 40-49 | 90 lb | 95 lb | 110 lb | 120 lb | 130 lb | 140 lb | 145 lb |
| 50-59 | 80 lb | 90 lb | 100 lb | 110 lb | 125 lb | 130 lb | 145 lb |
| 60-69 | 75 lb | 85 lb | 95 lb | 110 lb | 115 lb | 125 lb | 130 lb |
Measured — direct normative data exists for this population. Survey-weighted percentiles from the US national health survey (NHANES 2011-2014, about 8,900 adults), adjusted for your height.
Grip strength standards by age — women
Result needed to beat the given share of all women in each age group.
| Age | 10th | 25th | 50th | 75th | 90th | 95th | 99th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18-29 | 55 lb | 60 lb | 70 lb | 75 lb | 85 lb | 90 lb | 100 lb |
| 30-39 | 55 lb | 65 lb | 70 lb | 80 lb | 90 lb | 95 lb | 100 lb |
| 40-49 | 55 lb | 60 lb | 70 lb | 75 lb | 85 lb | 90 lb | 100 lb |
| 50-59 | 50 lb | 60 lb | 65 lb | 70 lb | 80 lb | 85 lb | 90 lb |
| 60-69 | 50 lb | 55 lb | 60 lb | 65 lb | 70 lb | 75 lb | 85 lb |
Measured — direct normative data exists for this population. Survey-weighted percentiles from the US national health survey (NHANES 2011-2014, about 8,900 adults), adjusted for your height.
Grip strength — NCAA Division I athletes
Pooled across sports with published testing data, weighted by the number of D1 athletes in each sport.
| 10th | 25th | 50th | 75th | 90th | 95th | 99th | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men | 90 lb | 100 lb | 115 lb | 130 lb | 140 lb | 145 lb | 160 lb |
| Women | 60 lb | 65 lb | 75 lb | 80 lb | 90 lb | 95 lb | 105 lb |
Men: Modeled — estimated from indirect evidence; treat as an informed estimate. Roster-weighted model with direct D1 sport measurements where available. Unmeasured sports retain an explicit proxy; protocols and sampling differ across studies.
Women: Modeled — estimated from indirect evidence; treat as an informed estimate. Roster-weighted model with direct D1 distance-running and gymnastics measurements. Most women’s sports still use an explicit proxy because published sex-specific values are scarce.
Grip strength questions
What is a good grip strength for a 30-year-old man?
For a 30-year-old man of median US size (179 lb), 49 kg (110 lb) beats half of them, 55 kg (120 lb) reaches the 75th percentile, and 60 kg (130 lb) reaches the 90th of all men that age. The calculator adjusts these for your own bodyweight where the evidence supports it.
What is a good grip strength for a 30-year-old woman?
For a 30-year-old woman of median US size (153 lb), 31 kg (70 lb) beats half of them, 35 kg (75 lb) reaches the 75th percentile, and 38 kg (85 lb) reaches the 90th of all women that age. The calculator adjusts these for your own bodyweight where the evidence supports it.
How does that compare with D1 athletes?
Division I is a different population: our estimated median NCAA Division I man is at 52 kg (115 lb), which would be the 70th percentile among all men aged 18-29; and our estimated median NCAA Division I woman is at 33 kg (75 lb), which would be the 70th percentile among all women aged 18-29. The D1 comparison is raw — no age or size adjustment — so it is you against the athletes as they are.
How accurate are these grip strength percentiles?
Measured — this table comes from direct normative data on a representative sample. Survey-weighted percentiles from the US national health survey (NHANES 2011-2014, about 8,900 adults), adjusted for your height. Modeled percentiles have no validated error margin. Results past the 99th percentile are shown as 99+ because the data cannot support more precision.
Related
Sources
- National Center for Health Statistics. NHANES 2011-2012 and 2013-2014 Muscle Strength (Grip Test), Body Measures and Demographics public-use files; survey-weighted percentiles computed for this site.
- Perna FM, et al. Muscular grip strength estimates of the U.S. population from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2011-2012. J Strength Cond Res. 2016;30(3):867-74.
- Tomkinson GR, Lang JJ, Rubin L, et al. International norms for adult handgrip strength: a systematic review of data on 2.4 million adults aged 20 to 100+ years from 69 countries and regions. J Sport Health Sci. 2025;14:101014. doi:10.1016/j.jshs.2024.101014
- Nevill AM, Tomkinson GR, Lang JJ, Wutz W, Myers TD. How should adult handgrip strength be normalized? Allometry reveals new insights and associated reference curves. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2022;54(1):162-168.
- Catanzano J, Wang D, Gibson M, et al. Differences in Hand Grip Strength in Division I Male Student-Athletes Across Multiple Sports. Int J Exerc Sci Conf Proc. 2025;15(6), Article 14.
- Nipp H, DeBeliso M, Lawrence MM. The relationship between handgrip strength and performance scores in North American Collegiate Division I women's artistic gymnasts. Turk J Kinesiol. 2022;8(3):56-66. doi:10.31459/turkjkin.1163073
- Lucki NC, Nicolay CW. Phenotypic plasticity and functional asymmetry in response to grip forces exerted by intercollegiate tennis players. Am J Hum Biol. 2007;19(4):566-577. doi:10.1002/ajhb.20632
- Slowik R, Morris C, Hoch M, Uhl T. Identifying risk factors of upper extremity injuries in collegiate baseball players: a pilot study. Int J Sports Phys Ther. 2021;16(3):797-806.
- Barrack AJ, Sakurai M, Wee CP, et al. Investigating the influence of modifiable physical measures on the elbow varus torque-ball velocity relationship in collegiate baseball pitchers. Orthop J Sports Med. 2024;12(11).
- Huerta DE, Norris JM, McCormack WP, et al. The relationship between muscular strength, jump power, and bone health in collegiate distance runners. Int J Exerc Sci. 2023;16(6):563-575.