How to Convert Feet to CM

What is the formula for converting feet to cm?

Centimeters = feet × 30.48, and for inches, centimeters = inches × 2.54. These factors are exact, not approximations: NIST (the US National Institute of Standards and Technology) marks inch to centimeter and foot to meter as exact in its guide to SI units. No further decimal places are hiding behind 2.54.

The foot in everyday use is the international foot of exactly 0.3048 meter. NIST treats the slightly different US survey foot as obsolete since January 1, 2023, except for historic and legacy applications, and it doesn't affect a height conversion at this level of precision. The conversion calculator converts between any pair of its length units.

How do you convert a height in feet and inches to cm?

Multiply the feet by 12, add the inches, and multiply the total by 2.54. Worked example for 5 feet 9 inches: 5 × 12 = 60, 60 + 9 = 69 inches, and 69 × 2.54 = 175.26 cm.

Don't type the height as a decimal without converting it first. The digits after the point in 5.9 feet are tenths of a foot, not inches. Since 5 feet 9 inches is 5 + 9 ÷ 12 = 5.75 feet, the correct entry is 5.75, which gives 175.26 cm. Entering 5.9 gives 179.83 cm, an error of more than 4.5 cm.

For a length in whole feet, multiply by 30.48 and skip the inches step. The table covers common values, as our conversion calculator reports them.

What is my height in cm? A chart from 4'10" to 6'6"

Find your height in the first column. The exact values come from the Height Converter on our height calculator, and the last column is that value rounded to the nearest whole centimeter.

How do you convert cm to feet and inches?

Divide the centimeters by 2.54 to get inches, then divide by 12. The whole number is the feet, and the remainder is the inches. Worked example for 170 cm: 170 ÷ 2.54 = 66.93 inches. Twelve goes into 66.93 five times, using 60 inches, which leaves 6.93. So 170 cm is 5 feet 6.93 inches, or about 5'7".

A decimal-feet answer needs one more step. The conversion calculator shows 170 cm as 5.5774278 feet, which doesn't mean 5 feet 5.77 inches. Multiply the decimal part by 12 to get the inches: 0.5774278 × 12 = 6.93.

How should you round a height conversion?

Keep the full figure while you calculate, then round the final answer to the precision you need. Whole centimeters or the nearest inch are enough for most everyday uses, and a form may tell you which it wants. For 5'9", 175.26 rounds to 175 cm. For a value ending in exactly .5, such as 190.50, the usual convention rounds up, to 191 cm.

Rounded values don't always convert back exactly. 170 cm rounds to 5'7", yet 5'7" is 170.18 cm. Neither figure is wrong; each is just rounded to a different unit's precision. Also avoid rounding midway. Rounding 66.93 inches to 67 before converting to feet is harmless for a height, but in a longer calculation these small errors can add up.

Which of our calculators should you use for height?

Use the Height Converter form on the height calculator if you have feet and inches together, or the conversion calculator for decimal values and other length units. The conversion calculator takes one number and one unit, so a height in feet and inches has to be entered as total inches or decimal feet.

The main purpose of the height calculator is different: it estimates a child's adult height from the child's age, sex and measurements and the parents' heights. Its result is only an estimate, not a unit conversion. The Height Converter is a separate form lower on that page, and it converts feet and inches to centimeters and centimeters back to feet and inches.

The same factor extends to area, but it has to be squared. One square foot is 30.48 × 30.48 = 929.0304 square centimeters, so converting a floor area by 30.48 alone gives a wrong answer. See how to calculate square footage for measuring rooms.