When Do You Stop Growing?

Most people stop growing taller between 14 and 18. Girls usually reach their adult height around 14 or 15, and boys around 16 to 18, because boys start puberty and their growth spurt about two years later. Growth stops for good when the growth plates in your bones close at the end of puberty.

What age do you stop growing?

Your age is only a rough guide. What really decides when you stop is your puberty timeline, which can start years earlier or later than your friends' and still be normal. Here is how the typical timelines compare:

The pattern is the same for everyone: steady childhood growth, a fast spurt during puberty, then a slowdown over a couple of years until growth stops. Boys end up taller on average partly because they keep growing at the childhood pace for about two extra years before their spurt starts, and their spurt is slightly bigger.

For the full details, ages and warning signs for each, read when do boys stop growing and when do girls stop growing.

Why you stop growing taller

Your bones get longer at growth plates, layers of cartilage near the ends of long bones such as the thighbone and shinbone. During childhood and puberty these plates keep making new bone. Near the end of puberty, the same hormones that caused your growth spurt make the plates harden into solid bone. Once a plate has closed, that bone cannot grow longer.

That is why nothing, from stretching to supplements, can make you taller once your growth plates have closed. After that point, the only change you can make is standing to your full height, which is about posture, not growth.

Do you stop growing at 18?

For most people, yes, or very close to it. On CDC growth charts the median boy grows only about 0.3 inch (0.7 cm) between 18 and 20, and the median girl about 0.1 inch (0.2 cm).

Late bloomers are the main exception. Cleveland Clinic notes that growth after 18 is rare and usually adds an inch or less, and that there is no evidence of height growth after 25. If you started puberty late, you may still have a little time left. Our guides on late bloomers and growing after 18 explain what to expect.

How to tell where you are

You can get a good sense of your own timeline with four questions:

1. How much did you grow in the last 12 months? More than about 2 inches (5 cm) means you still have real growing ahead: you are either in your growth spurt or have not hit it yet. Less than about 0.4 inch (1 cm), once puberty is well along, usually means you are close to done.
2. How far along is puberty? For boys, a fully deep voice, regular shaving and adult body hair point to the late stages. For girls, having had a first period more than two years ago is the strongest sign.
3. How do you compare with the charts? The height percentile calculator shows where you sit compared with others your age and sex.
4. What do your parents' heights suggest? If you are already near the height their heights predict, you likely have less left to grow.

Measure yourself carefully when you check. Stand barefoot against a wall, heels and back touching it, and measure at the same time of day each time. In one small study of young adults, people were about three-quarters of an inch (2 cm) shorter at night than in the morning, because the discs in the spine flatten during the day.

The only way to know for sure is a bone age X-ray: a doctor X-rays your left hand and wrist and compares it with standard images to see how mature your bones are and how much growing time is left. Our guide on how to tell if your growth plates are closed explains it.

When to see a doctor

Check with a doctor if:

• There are no signs of puberty by about 13 for girls (no breast development) or 14 for boys (no testicle growth).
• Puberty began before 8 in girls or 9 in boys.
• Your growth was normal and then slowed down a lot or stopped for a year while puberty is unfinished.
• You are far shorter than your parents' heights would suggest.
• You are still growing noticeably at 19 or 20.

A doctor can review your growth chart, order a bone age X-ray and blood tests, and refer you to a pediatric endocrinologist if needed.

The short version

Girls usually finish growing around 14 to 15 and boys around 16 to 18, with late bloomers sometimes going a little longer. By 18, almost everyone is done or within a fraction of an inch of their adult height. To estimate your own situation in a couple of minutes, use the Am I done growing? quiz linked above and compare your answers with the signs in this guide.