Cm to inches:
convert height, waist and clothing sizes

How to convert cm to inches

One inch is defined as exactly 2.54 centimetres, so to convert centimetres to inches you divide by 2.54. The same factor works for every length, from a baby's height to a screen width.

The number is exact rather than a rounded approximation. Since the international agreement of 1959, the inch has been defined as exactly 25.4 millimetres, which is 2.54 centimetres. Any rounding in your answer comes from you, not from the conversion factor.

1. 1Take the length in centimetres.
2. 2Divide by 2.54.
3. 3Round to one or two decimal places for a measurement, or to the nearest eighth of an inch for tailoring.
4. 4For a height, divide the inches by 12 to get whole feet, and keep the remainder as inches.

Example: 168 cm in feet and inches

The figure 5 ft 6.14 in is not the same as 5.6 ft. Feet and inches use a base of 12, not 10, so write the inches part separately.

Rounding choices change the answer slightly. 168 cm is 66.14 in, which rounds to 66 in, so a form that wants whole inches would read 5 ft 6 in. The same height as 5 ft 6.14 in is 5 ft 6 1/8 in on a tape. All three describe the same person, and which one you quote depends on the precision the form needs.

Height chart: 150 cm to 190 cm in inches and feet

Each extra 5 cm adds almost exactly 1.97 inches. If your height is between rows, find the nearest rows and add 0.39 inch for every additional centimetre.

Reading decimal inches on a tape measure

A calculator gives inches as a decimal, while a tape measure or tailor's ruler is marked in eighths or sixteenths. To read 66.14 in on a tape, keep the 66 and match 0.14 to the nearest mark.

Online health and fitness tools often ask for height in centimetres or in feet and inches. Convert first and enter the value in the unit the form asks for, because mixing the formats is a common error. A height of 5.6 ft is actually 5 ft 7.2 in, which is not the same person as 5 ft 6 in.

Waist, chest and baby measurements

Clothing labels from different countries mix cm and inches. A waist of 81 cm is 81 ÷ 2.54 = 31.9 in, so a size "32" label is a close match. A chest of 101 cm is 39.8 in.

• 76 cm waist is 29.9 in.
• 86 cm waist is 33.9 in.
• 96 cm chest is 37.8 in.
• 106 cm chest is 41.7 in.
• 50 cm baby length is 19.7 in.

Brands round differently and each has its own size chart, so use the converted figure as a guide and check the brand's own measurements before buying. Measure over light clothing or bare skin, with the tape snug but not tight.

Use the same method for children's growth records. A child measured at 120 cm is 47.24 in, or 3 ft 11.2 in, and a later reading of 126 cm is 49.61 in. Converting both to the same unit before you compare them avoids confusion when one record is in inches and the other in centimetres.

Quick estimates and converting a whole list

If you have a column of heights or measurements in centimetres, a single formula does the whole list. With the value in cell A2, enter =A2/2.54 in the next column and copy it down. Format the column to two decimal places.

For feet and inches, use =INT(A2/2.54/12) for the feet and =ROUND(MOD(A2/2.54,12),1) for the inches. The INT function drops the decimal part of the feet, and MOD returns the remainder after dividing by 12, which is the inches left over.

For a rough figure, multiply by 4 and divide by 10, which is the same as multiplying by 0.4. For 168 cm that gives 67.2 in. It is about 1.6% high, since 2.5 is slightly smaller than 2.54.

A closer estimate takes off the 1.6% afterwards, which is about 1 in for a height near 168 cm. 67.2 less 1.1 is 66.1 in, within 0.1 in of the exact 66.14. For tailoring, a medical form or a tight clothing size, use the exact divisor.

Mistakes people make with cm to inches

• Multiplying by 2.54 instead of dividing. That converts inches to cm, and gives 426.7 for 168 cm, which is not a height.
• Using 2.5 as the divisor and reporting the result as exact.
• Writing 66.14 in as 5.6 ft or 5 ft 14 in. The leftover inches are 6.14, not 14.
• Reading the decimal part of an inch as a fraction directly, so that 0.5 in is 1/2 in but 0.14 in is not 1/4 in.
• Mixing a waist measured in cm with a chest in inches on the same size chart.
• Converting each measurement of a set separately and rounding each one, so a total built from the rounded parts no longer matches the converted total.

To go the other way, from inches to centimetres for tailoring or screen sizes, see the inches to cm guide. The converter on this page handles both directions.