Is a men's size 6 shoe big?
A US men's size 6 fits a foot of about 22.9 cm (9.0 in), longer than under 1% of men's feet. In EU sizing that is 36, in UK 5.5.
Percentile
<1%
of men have smaller feet than a men's 6
US men's 6 = 22.9 cm
US men's 6 by group
Foot length
The same foot in other systems
Percentile is the share of the group with shorter feet than this size fits. “1 in X” counts the rarer side: people at or beyond this value above the median, at or under it below. The size is converted to foot length in cm, then compared with a normal distribution of foot lengths.
What this means
- The average man's foot is 26.5 cm, about a US men's 10.5. The average woman's is 24.0 cm, about a US women's 8.5. A men's 6 is 3.6 cm shorter than the men's mean.
- Measured against women, the same foot is longer than 17% of them. In US women's sizing it is about 7.
- Shoe sizes are not standardised. The same foot gets different numbers from different brands, usually by half a size, sometimes a whole one.
Questions
- Is a men's size 6 big?
- A US men's 6 fits a foot of about 22.9 cm, which is longer than under 1% of men's feet. That is a small foot for an adult; the size range starts near here.
- What is a US men's 6 in EU and UK sizes?
- A US men's 6 is about EU 36 and UK 5.5, for a foot of 22.9 cm (9.0 in). In US women's sizing the same foot is about 7. Brands round differently, so try before you trust.
- How rare is a size 6 foot?
- About 1 in 383 men have feet this short or shorter. Among women it is 1 in 6.
Source: Foot length distributions: Jurca et al., Footwear Science 2019; Wunderlich and Cavanagh, Med Sci Sports Exerc 2001. Sizes converted with the same formula as our shoe size test. Percentiles on this page are our estimate from a normal distribution with the stated mean and SD.
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