Enter your height and get the desk height that fits you standing and sitting, the chair height, and where the top of the screen goes. Have a desk that does not move? Add its height and you get the chair and footrest that fix it.
Your desk heights
Standing desk: 42″sitting: desk 26″, chair 18″ · for 5′ 7″ in shoes
Quick answer: a desk is the right height when your elbows bend at a right angle with your shoulders relaxed, which puts the desk top about 1″ below your elbows. For someone 5′ 7″ in shoes that is a 42″ standing desk, and sitting a 26″ desk with the chair seat at 18″. The top of the screen goes at eye level. A standard 29–30″ desk suits people about 6′ 2″ and taller.
How to use the desk height calculator
- Enter your height in feet and inches (or cm), and whether you wear shoes at the desk: they add about 1″.
- Read your heights: the standing desk, the sitting desk, the chair, and where the top of the screen goes both ways.
- Stuck with a desk that does not move? Type its height: you get the chair height that fits it and the footrest your feet then need.
The rules of a desk that fits
- Desk: elbows at a right angle, forearms level, wrists straight. The keys then sit at elbow height, so the desk top is one keyboard (about 1″) lower. The same rule sitting and standing.
- Chair: the seat at the crease behind your knees, so your thighs are level and your feet are flat on the floor.
- Screen: the top at eye level or up to 2″ below it, about an arm’s length away: 20–40″ (50–100 cm), the distance OSHA’s workstation guide gives.
- Where the numbers come from: the average proportions of the human body, measured for stature by anthropometric surveys: standing elbows at 0.63 of your height, eyes at 0.94; sitting, the knees at 0.25, elbows 0.14 above the seat and eyes 0.45 above it. A long back or long legs move them by an inch or so.
Desk height by your height
In shoes. Barefoot, take about 1″ off each.
| Your height | Standing desk | Sitting desk | Chair seat | Screen top, sitting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5′ 0″ | 38″ | 23½″ | 16″ | 41–43″ |
| 5′ 2″ | 39″ | 24″ | 16½″ | 42½–44½″ |
| 5′ 4″ | 40½″ | 25″ | 17″ | 44–46″ |
| 5′ 6″ | 41½″ | 25½″ | 17½″ | 45–47″ |
| 5′ 8″ | 43″ | 26½″ | 18″ | 46½–48½″ |
| 5′ 10″ | 44″ | 27½″ | 18½″ | 48–50″ |
| 6′ 0″ | 45½″ | 28″ | 19″ | 49½–51½″ |
| 6′ 2″ | 46½″ | 29″ | 19½″ | 51–53″ |
| 6′ 4″ | 48″ | 29½″ | 20″ | 52–54″ |
Three worked examples
5′ 4″ in shoes. Standing desk 40½″; sitting, a 25″ desk with the chair at 17″. The top of the screen at 44–46″ from the floor when sitting.
6′ 0″ in socks at a sit-stand desk. It needs to go from 27″ for sitting up to 44½″ for standing. A screen that sits on the desk rises with it and stays right both ways, because the eyes are about the same distance above the desk sitting and standing.
5′ 7″ at a standard 29½″ desk. The desk is 3½″ too high for the chair at its right height. Raise the chair to 21″ so the elbows reach the desk, and put a 3½″ footrest under the feet.
Common desk height mistakes
- The standard desk for everyone. 29–30″ is right for people about 6′ 2″ and taller. Shorter, and the shoulders shrug all day to reach it.
- A laptop screen on the desk. Its top sits well below eye level, so the head tips forward all day. Raise the laptop on a stand and use a separate keyboard.
- Standing with locked knees at a desk set for someone else. Set it to your elbows, then change position every so often.
- A chair so high the feet dangle. If the chair has to go up to meet the desk, the floor has to come up too: a footrest.
Planning the room around the desk? The room square footage calculator sizes the room, and the rug size calculator the rug under the chair.
Plan the whole home office: the free 2D room planner opens with a furnished home office you can resize and rearrange, drawn to scale.
Open a home office in the plannerRead next
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Desk height questions
What height should a standing desk be?
About 1″ below your elbows with your arms at your sides and bent to a right angle. For someone 5′ 7″ in shoes that is 42″; 5′ 4″, 40½″; 6′ 0″, 45½″.
What is the standard desk height?
Most fixed desks are 29–30″ (74–76 cm) tall, which is right for people about 6′ 2″ and taller. For someone 5′ 7″ the desk should be about 26″; at a standard desk, raise the chair and add a footrest.
How tall should a desk be for my height?
Sitting, the desk top at about 0.39 of your height, in shoes: 25″ at 5′ 4″, 26½″ at 5′ 8″, 28″ at 6′ 0″. The chart above lists every height from 5′ 0″ to 6′ 4″.
What height should my monitor be?
With the top of the screen at eye level or up to 2″ below it, 20–40″ (50–100 cm) from your eyes. Sitting, that is about 46–48″ from the floor for someone 5′ 7″.
What height should my office chair be?
With the seat at the crease behind your knees, so the thighs are level and the feet flat: about 17″ at 5′ 4″ and 18″ at 5′ 8″, in shoes.
What do I do if my desk is too high?
Raise the chair until your elbows reach the desk at a right angle, then put a footrest under your feet for the difference. At a 29½″ desk, someone 5′ 7″ needs the chair at 21″ and a 3½″ footrest.
What height range does a sit-stand desk need?
From your sitting height to your standing height: 25–40½″ at 5′ 4″, 26½–43″ at 5′ 8″, 28–45½″ at 6′ 0″ (in shoes). Check both ends before you buy.