Is a men's size 9 shoe big?
A US men's size 9 fits a foot of about 25.4 cm (10.0 in), longer than 20% of men's feet. In EU sizing that is 40, in UK 8.5.
Percentile
20%
of men have smaller feet than a men's 9
US men's 9 = 25.4 cm
US men's 9 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 9 is 1.1 cm shorter than the men's mean.
- Measured against women, the same foot is longer than 88% of them. In US women's sizing it is about 10.
- 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 9 big?
- A US men's 9 fits a foot of about 25.4 cm, which is longer than 20% of men's feet. That is on the small side.
- What is a US men's 9 in EU and UK sizes?
- A US men's 9 is about EU 40 and UK 8.5, for a foot of 25.4 cm (10.0 in). In US women's sizing the same foot is about 10. Brands round differently, so try before you trust.
- How rare is a size 9 foot?
- About 1 in 5 men have feet this short or shorter. Among women it is 1 in 8.
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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