Average Vertical Jump by Age 2026
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Average Vertical Jump by Age 2026
The average vertical jump for adult men is 16-20 inches (41-50 cm) and 12-16 inches (31-40 cm) for women, based on normative data from population studies and fitness testing databases. Performance peaks in the early 20s, then declines roughly 1-2 inches per decade. By age 75, jump power drops to about 50% of a 20-year-old's peak - a reduction of approximately 1% per year. At the elite end, NBA prospects average around 28 inches standing and 34-36 inches with a running start, while NFL draft prospects average roughly 35 inches. Plyometric and resistance training can reverse much of that decline: 12 weeks of compound lifting raises vertical jump by around 12.5% on average.
The vertical jump is one of the most direct measures of lower-body explosive power. Unlike a max squat or deadlift, it requires no equipment and produces a single, objective number that coaches, strength and conditioning staff, and sports scientists use to track athletic development over time. A declining vertical is often the first measurable sign of power loss - the fitness quality that fades fastest with age and inactivity.
This post collects 16 statistics on average vertical jump height by age, sex, and sport, drawn from peer-reviewed research, large population surveys, and official combine databases. It covers benchmark classifications, the rate of age-related decline, and the training interventions most reliably shown to add inches.
1. The Average Male Adult Vertical Jump is 16-20 Inches
16 to 20 inches (41-50 cm) is the accepted normative range for adult men across most major fitness testing databases, including the classification tables widely referenced in strength and conditioning coaching curricula. A score of 20-24 inches is rated "above average," 24-28 inches "very good," and anything above 28 inches "excellent." Most untrained adult men land in the lower half of the average band, meaning a dedicated 8-12 week training block can move a typical recreational lifter from average to above average. The vertical jump is not purely a genetic ceiling - it is trainable through squats, deadlifts, and plyometrics. If you have never tested yours, a Vertec or wall-chalk method gives a reliable baseline to track progress.
Source: Topend Sports - Vertical Jump Norms: Average Height Standards for Men and Women
2. The Average Female Adult Vertical Jump is 12-16 Inches
Women ages 18-35 average 12-16 inches (31-40 cm) in a standing vertical jump, with scores above 20 inches classified as "very good" for women aged 20-29. A large-scale study of young adult women found a mean countermovement jump height of approximately 30 cm (11.8 inches) among college-age subjects. NCAA Division I female volleyball players sit considerably higher at roughly 45.7 cm (18 inches) for countermovement jump, illustrating how targeted training and sport selection shift the curve dramatically. The gap between untrained women and trained female athletes is proportionally larger than for men, which means the ceiling for improvement through structured lower-body training is significant. Tracking vertical jump over a training cycle provides a clear signal of whether explosive power work is producing results.
Source: Topend Sports - Vertical Jump Norms: Average Height Standards for Men and Women
3. Vertical Jump Peaks in the Early 20s for Both Sexes
Research consistently places peak vertical jump between ages 20 and 25 for men and women alike. A 2023 study from China's National Health Survey - covering 19,269 participants aged 8-80 - found that median male vertical jump values rose steadily to a peak around age 18, then declined gradually across subsequent decades. Women in the same dataset showed relatively stable values from childhood into early adulthood before declining after age 30. This age pattern matters for training: athletes in their late teens and early 20s are in the optimal window to build explosive power that becomes a physical reserve they draw on for decades. Strength athletes who establish a high baseline in their 20s and maintain it through their 30s and 40s with regular resistance and plyometric training hold a meaningful long-term advantage in functional mobility and fall resistance.
4. Jump Power Falls ~1% Per Year After Age 20
By age 75, peak lower-body jump power is approximately 50% of the value measured at age 20 - a reduction of roughly 1% per year. This finding comes from studies of masters track and field athletes, who represent the fittest portion of older adults; the decline in sedentary individuals is steeper. The primary drivers are loss of fast-twitch (Type II) muscle fibers, reduced tendon elasticity, and decreased neural drive. Jump power declines earlier and more steeply than maximal strength or muscle mass alone, making it a sensitive early-warning measure of overall neuromuscular aging. Adults who train explosive movements in their 30s and 40s delay the onset of this curve rather than merely slowing it. The practical implication for any lifter: include at least some high-velocity lower-body work - box jumps, jump squats, power cleans - throughout the training lifespan.
Source: PMC - Age-Related Decline in Vertical Jumping Performance in Masters Track and Field Athletes
5. Without Training, Adults Lose 2-3 Inches of Vertical Per Decade
Average vertical jump height decreases by approximately 2-3 inches per decade in adults who are not performing targeted resistance or plyometric training. That translates to a measurable difference between a sedentary 40-year-old and their 20-year-old self that goes far beyond sports performance - reduced jump ability is directly associated with slower walking speed, greater fall risk, and lower functional independence. A 2024 study in Frontiers in Aging reported that even master-level track and field athletes show gender-differentiated rates of jump decline with aging, with men losing ground faster in absolute terms once past 60. Maintaining or rebuilding vertical jump ability is not just a sports performance goal; it is a marker of whether the neuromuscular system is aging well.
6. NBA Draft Prospects Average ~28 Inches Standing, ~35 Inches Max
Over the last 25 years of the NBA Draft Combine, 1,795 players have participated in strength and agility testing. The average standing vertical is approximately 28 inches, while the max vertical - measured with a short running approach - averages 34-36 inches. Only 7.19% of all tested players (129 out of 1,795) have registered a maximum vertical leap of at least 40 inches. Guards and wings tend to jump highest; centers average lower. The gap between standing and max vertical (roughly 6-8 inches) reflects the contribution of the stretch-shortening cycle - the elastic energy stored in tendons during the approach. NBA data provides a useful elite anchor: if the average NBA prospect stands at 28 inches, a recreational lifter who can clear 24-26 inches is operating in the same ballpark as elite athletes.
Source: NBA.com - NBA Draft Combine: Highest Max Vertical Leaps
7. The Average NFL Combine Vertical is ~35 Inches
NFL draft prospects average approximately 35 inches in the standing vertical jump at the NFL Scouting Combine. Skill position players - wide receivers, cornerbacks, safeties, and running backs - are held to a standard of 36 inches or higher by some talent evaluators. In 2026, tight end Eli Stowers posted a 45.5-inch vertical at the NFL Combine, just short of the all-time record of 46 inches set by safety Gerald Sensabaugh in 2005. College football players outside the draft process average 29-31 inches. The jump in average from college (29-31 inches) to NFL combine (35 inches) illustrates the selection effect: the athletes who reach the combine have already been filtered for elite athleticism through four years of high-level competition.
Source: Pro Football Network - NFL Combine Records: 40-Yard Dash Times, Bench Press, Vertical Jump, and More
8. Only 7% of NBA Combine Athletes Clear 40 Inches
Just 129 of 1,795 NBA combine participants over 25 years have posted a max vertical of 40 inches or more - that is 7.19% of elite draft-eligible college basketball players. The highest reliably documented max vertical at the combine belongs to Zion Williamson, who registered 45 inches in 2019. A 40-inch vertical is genuinely rare even among the most athletic young men in the country. This puts perspective on social media content claiming 40+ inch verticals are achievable in a few weeks of training. For most recreational athletes, a realistic 8-12 week target is a 3-5 inch gain from a trained baseline, which is meaningful without being mythological.
Source: NBA.com - NBA Draft Combine: Highest Max Vertical Leaps
9. Plyometric Training Improves Vertical Jump Significantly in Meta-Analysis
A 2020 meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials in volleyball players, published in PMC, found a very large and statistically significant improvement in vertical jump height from plyometric training programs. A 2024 meta-analysis of youth basketball players across 24 studies (738 participants) confirmed meaningful jump gains. The mechanism is well understood: plyometric work improves the stretch-shortening cycle - the rapid load and release of tendons during a jump - and increases the rate of force development in the quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes. Programs of 6-12 weeks involving depth jumps, box jumps, and broad jumps produce the clearest gains. Crucially, these improvements plateau without progressive overload, making session-by-session tracking essential for athletes who want to maximize transfer to performance.
10. Resistance Training Raises Vertical Jump by ~12.5% on Average
Traditional resistance training produces an average 12.5% increase in vertical jump performance, according to a meta-analysis of training intervention studies. Complex training - combining resistance work with plyometrics in the same session - improves vertical jump by approximately 13.2%, suggesting the combination is marginally superior. A separate meta-analysis found that weight resistance exercise raised vertical jump by a mean of 9.9 cm. The most effective compound lifts for jump transfer are the back squat, trap bar deadlift, and power clean, as these share the most mechanical overlap with the triple-extension pattern of the jump. This is consistent with the data in our average squat and deadlift standards guide: stronger posterior-chain lifters consistently produce higher jump outputs in force plate assessments.
Source: PMC - A Meta-Analysis on the Effect of Complex Training on Vertical Jump Performance
11. A 10-Week Deadlift Program Improved Rapid Torque by 18-49%
A 10-week barbell deadlift training program increased rapid torque capacities in knee extensors and flexors by 18.8-49.0%, as measured by an isokinetic dynamometer. Rate of force development - how quickly a muscle can produce force - is the key physical quality underlying vertical jump height. Athletes with higher rates of force development produce greater jump heights regardless of absolute peak strength. This finding explains why dedicated deadlift progressions in a structured training log correlate with jump improvements even in athletes who are already strong. The connection between max strength and power output is well established; the strength standards 2026 guide covers how squat and deadlift numbers map to power benchmarks across weight classes.
12. Volleyball Players Jump Higher Than Basketball Players on Average
A 2023 comparative study published in the Journal of Men's Health found that the overall vertical jump ability of college volleyball players exceeded that of college basketball players. Elite professional volleyball players exhibit vertical jumps of 35-50 inches, with the top players exceeding 50 inches. NBA players average around 28-30 inches for standing vertical. The difference reflects training specificity: volleyball requires repeated explosive jumps every few minutes across a two- to three-hour match, whereas basketball involves explosive bursts with longer recovery intervals. Both sports produce athletes far above the general population average of 16-20 inches for men. Aspiring volleyball players - a group that regularly follows jump-training programs - represent one of the most data-motivated audiences for performance tracking.
13. Vertical Jump Predicts ACL Injury Risk in Collegiate Athletes
Asymmetric landing patterns measured during a drop vertical jump test are predictive of ACL injury in Division I collegiate athletes. Female athletes who later sustained an ACL injury showed a 2.5 times greater knee abduction moment, a 20% higher ground reaction force, and a 16% shorter stance time compared to non-injured athletes during jump-landing assessment. The drop vertical jump is now used by athletic trainers and sports medicine clinicians as a low-cost, field-deployable screening tool that requires no equipment beyond a video camera. This application expands the relevance of vertical jump testing from performance to injury prevention: the test is not just about how high you jump, but how well your hips and knees absorb the load on the way down.
Source: PMC - Prediction of ACL Injuries from Vertical Jump Kinetics in Division 1 Collegiate Athletes
14. Low Vertical Jump Power Screens for Sarcopenia in Older Adults
A 2025 study in ScienceDirect investigated whether vertical jump lower-limb power is a sensitive and specific measure for screening sarcopenia, comparing it with handgrip strength and the chair stand test. Jump power was found to be a functionally relevant indicator of muscle loss in aging populations. Separately, a study of 176 healthy community-dwelling adults with a mean age of 75.3 years (60% female) found that maximum jumping power at baseline predicted 24-month functional decline across mobility, balance, and endurance assessments. The implication for lifters: maintaining a measurable vertical jump into your 60s and 70s is a strong functional health marker, not a vanity metric. Strength training data that shows declining jump power over a training season is an early warning worth acting on.
15. A Population Study of 19,269 People Found Male Median VJ of 20.3 cm
The China National Health Survey measured vertical jump and sit-and-reach in 19,269 participants aged 8-80 years - one of the largest general-population vertical jump datasets ever published. The median vertical jump across all adult males was 20.3 cm (8.0 inches), with an interquartile range of 8.8 cm. For females, the median was 14.1 cm (5.6 inches), with an IQR of 5.5 cm. These numbers are substantially lower than the 16-20 inch (41-50 cm) figure often cited for active Western adults, likely because the dataset includes sedentary adults across all ages and fitness levels. The contrast is instructive: an untrained 40-year-old in the general population may jump only 8-10 inches, while an active adult of the same age who follows a structured strength program can realistically achieve 18-22 inches.
16. Force-Velocity Training Improves Jump Height with Small-to-Moderate Effect
A 2025 systematic review and meta-analysis in Scientific Reports found that force-velocity profile-based training produced small-to-moderate improvements in vertical jump height. Athletes with a "force-deficient" profile - those who are already explosive but lack absolute strength - benefit most from adding heavy resistance work to their program. Athletes with a "velocity-deficient" profile - strong but not fast - benefit most from plyometric and sprint work. This individualized approach to jump training is gaining traction in elite sports science and is directly relevant to recreational athletes: identifying which end of the force-velocity spectrum you are on allows you to target the weak link rather than doing generic programming. Strength training statistics data explored in our strength training statistics post shows only 30% of US adults currently strength train, meaning most people begin closer to the force-deficient profile.
What the Vertical Jump Data Reveals
The 16 statistics above paint a consistent picture. Explosive lower-body power peaks early, erodes steadily with age and inactivity, and responds reliably to training. The gap between average recreational athletes (16-20 inches for men) and elite draft prospects (28-35 inches) is large but not mysterious - it reflects years of structured, progressive lower-body training tracked and adjusted over time. The NBA and NFL combine data shows that even at the elite level, only a small fraction of the most athletic young adults ever reach 40 inches, which is a helpful calibration for setting realistic training targets.
For the vast majority of lifters, the practical story is this: a consistent combination of heavy compound lifts (squats, deadlifts) and targeted plyometric work produces 10-13% gains in vertical jump in just 8-12 weeks. Sustaining those gains requires ongoing progressive overload - the same principle that drives strength progress in every other measure of athletic output.
A structured log that tracks your squat and deadlift progress week-over-week is the same tool that tracks your jump power progress, because the numbers that drive one drive the other.
Track the Training That Drives Your Jump
Vertical jump is a downstream output. The training upstream - squat volume, deadlift loads, plyometric frequency, recovery quality - is what actually moves the number. Most athletes who stall on their vertical are not stalling on genetics; they are stalling because they do not have a clear picture of what they did last session, last week, or last month.
Gainwise is built for exactly that: a reliable, fast workout tracker that logs your sets, tracks volume and progressive overload, records estimated 1RM changes, and lets an AI coach adapt your program to your equipment and goals. With hands-free on-device voice logging, you can call out "three sets of ten squats at 185" without touching your phone between sets - so your lower-body training data is complete, not patchy.
Join the Gainwise waitlist and start building the training history that shows exactly why your vertical is moving up.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the average vertical jump for men?
The average vertical jump for adult men is 16-20 inches (41-50 cm). Scores of 20-24 inches are considered above average, 24-28 inches very good, and above 28 inches excellent, based on normative classification tables used in strength and conditioning.
What is the average vertical jump for women?
The average vertical jump for adult women is 12-16 inches (31-40 cm). Scores above 20 inches are rated very good for women aged 20-29. NCAA Division I female volleyball players average roughly 18 inches (45.7 cm), showing how sport-specific training shifts performance significantly above population norms.
At what age does vertical jump peak and decline?
Vertical jump typically peaks between ages 20 and 25. Without targeted training, jump height declines about 2-3 inches per decade thereafter. By age 75, jump power is approximately 50% of a 20-year-old's peak - roughly a 1% annual reduction - according to studies of masters athletes.
Can strength training improve vertical jump?
Yes. Traditional resistance training produces an average 12.5% increase in vertical jump, and complex training combining resistance work with plyometrics yields around 13.2% improvement. Squats, deadlifts, and power cleans have the strongest transfer to jump performance because they share the triple-extension mechanics of the vertical jump.
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