The short answer
The average high jump for a 15-year-old is about 5 feet 3 inches (1.60 m) for boys and 4 feet 7 inches (1.40 m) for girls, among athletes who compete. A good sophomore height is over 5 feet 8 inches for boys and 5 feet for girls. The USATF 15-16 standard is 5 feet 4.25 inches and 4 feet 8.25 inches; the national class clears about 6 feet 6 inches and 5 feet 8 inches.
Key takeaways
- Typical competing 15-year-olds: 5 feet to 5 feet 6 inches for boys, 4 feet 4 inches to 4 feet 10 inches for girls
- A sophomore over 6 feet or a sophomore girl over 5 feet 3 inches is on a state-meet trajectory
- The USATF 15-16 standard (5'4.25" boys, 4'8.25" girls) sits right at the typical-to-good line
- Boys gain about four inches a year here; girls about two
- A 15-year-old new to the event, learning the flop, still starts at 4 feet 2 inches to 4 feet 8 inches
What is the average high jump for a 15-year-old?
Sophomore year is when the high jump gets a scoreboard. A 15-year-old is in the USATF 15-16 division with its own published standard, is jumping in varsity or JV meets with a state qualifying height on the wall, and has usually had the flop for two seasons. Among 15-year-olds who compete, the typical boy clears about 5 feet 3 inches (1.60 m) and the typical girl about 4 feet 7 inches (1.40 m).
Boys separate from girls here for good. The strength gains that arrive at 14 and 15 put six to eight inches between the typical boy and the typical girl, and the boys' top end keeps climbing for three more years while the girls' top end is close to its ceiling.
High jump benchmarks at age 15, feet and meters
| Tier at age 15 | Boys | Girls |
|---|---|---|
| New to the event, learning the flop | 4'2" - 4'8" (1.27 - 1.42 m) | 3'10" - 4'4" (1.17 - 1.32 m) |
| Typical (JV or developmental varsity) | 5'0" - 5'6" (1.52 - 1.68 m) | 4'4" - 4'10" (1.32 - 1.47 m) |
| USATF 15-16 performance standard | 5'4.25" (1.63 m) | 4'8.25" (1.43 m) |
| Good (sophomore scoring at varsity meets) | 5'8" - 6'0" (1.73 - 1.83 m) | 5'0" - 5'4" (1.52 - 1.63 m) |
| Strong (state-meet trajectory) | 6'0" - 6'3" (1.83 - 1.91 m) | 5'3" - 5'6" (1.60 - 1.68 m) |
| National class for the age | 6'4" - 6'8" (1.93 - 2.03 m) | 5'7" - 5'10" (1.70 - 1.78 m) |
Ages 14, 15 and 16 side by side
The typical boy is still adding about four inches a year. The typical girl adds about two, and by 16 the girls' typical bar is nearly where it will stay. The national-class girls, though, are within an inch or two of the best high school seniors already.
The high jump at 14, 15 and 16
| Level | Age 14 (B / G) | Age 15 (B / G) | Age 16 (B / G) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Typical | 4'9" / 4'3" | 5'3" / 4'7" | 5'5" / 4'9" |
| Good for the age | 5'5" / 4'10" | 5'10" / 5'2" | 6'0" / 5'2" |
| National class | 6'2" / 5'5" | 6'6" / 5'8" | 6'9" / 5'10" |
How close is a sophomore to a state meet?
Published 2025 and 2026 state qualifying heights for high school boys ran from about 5 feet 10 inches in the smallest classes to 6 feet 4 inches in the largest, and for girls from 4 feet 8 inches to 5 feet 4 inches. A sophomore at 6 feet or 5 feet 2 inches is already inside that range in many states.
Source: Published state association qualifying standards, 2025 and 2026
What is a good high jump for a 15-year-old boy?
Over 5 feet 8 inches is good and scores in varsity dual meets. Over 6 feet is strong and is a state-qualifying height in a lot of states. The national class is 6 feet 4 inches to 6 feet 8 inches. A sophomore in the typical 5 feet to 5 feet 6 inches band usually has one of two problems: a plant too close to the bar, or an approach that has not got faster since he learned the flop. Both are worth four inches.
What is a good high jump for a 15-year-old girl?
Over 5 feet is good for a 15-year-old girl and over 5 feet 3 inches is strong; in many states that is a state-qualifying height. The national class is 5 feet 7 inches to 5 feet 10 inches. Because the girls' curve is flattening, a sophomore at 4 feet 8 inches who wants 5 feet 2 inches is looking at approach speed and takeoff mechanics rather than another year of growth.
How these numbers were built
- Population. Athletes with a cleared height at a school, club or USATF meet, from Athletic.net, MileSplit and USATF Junior Olympic results.
- Typical band. The middle 50 percent of that population for the age, rounded to two inches.
- Good, strong, national class. Roughly the top 25 percent, top 5 percent and top 0.5 percent of the age. USATF youth performance standards are quoted where the age falls inside a division that publishes one.
- Heights are cleared bars, not attempts. A jumper who has cleared 5'0" once at practice and 4'8" in a meet is a 4'8" jumper for this chart.
- Feet and meters. Both are given; bars in the US are set in feet and inches at school meets and in metric everywhere else.
From 5 feet 3 inches to 5 feet 10 inches at 15
- Approach speed. A faster curve is more vertical at takeoff. Sophomores who add two steps of speed to the approach add an inch or two of height.
- The penultimate step. A longer, flatter second-to-last step that lowers the hips. Missing at this age more often than any other fault.
- The plant. Arm's length from the standard, foot pointing along the bar. Close plants clip the bar with the hips on the way over.
- Film from the takeoff side. The curve, the plant and the arm drive are visible in one clip, and that clip is usually worth a bar height.