Does Height Matter in Dating? What a 2026 Study Found

September 30, 2026

If you've spent any time on a dating app, you've seen it. Somewhere between "loves travel" and "looking for my partner in crime" sits the line: 6ft+ only, sorry.

So how much does height actually matter in dating? A 2026 study from the University of St Andrews set out to find out.

The study: what 242 young adults really think

Psychologists Alexandra Dial and Gillian Brown surveyed 242 heterosexual adults in the UK, aged 18 to 29, about their height preferences in a partner. The results were published in the journal Human Nature.

The headline number: about 43% of women rated a partner's height as important or very important. For men, it was about 26%.

So yes, for a large share of women, height is on the checklist. It's not a myth your friends invented to explain why she didn't text back.

The good news hiding in the same number

Flip that 43% around and it means the majority of women surveyed, about 57%, did not rate height as important. They were more interested in things like whether you're kind, funny and able to keep a houseplant alive.

The study also found something interesting about the strictest height requirements. People who put the most weight on height tended to hold more traditional views about gender roles. For many, height was tied up with feelings of being protected, or of looking the part as a couple.

Translation: height matters to a lot of people, but it's rarely the whole story. The "6ft+ only" crowd is a smaller, more particular group than the internet would have you believe.

Why height makes the first impression

Online, height is a number on a profile. In person, it's part of a much bigger picture, and that picture forms fast.

Posture and presence. How you stand and move says as much as the number.
Photos. Height shows up in every group shot, every couple photo and every "we should take a picture here" moment.
Confidence. Feeling good about how you look changes how you talk, how you hold eye contact, and whether you actually go over and say hello.

The fine print

This was a small study: 122 women and 120 men, all young, all in the UK. It measured what people say they prefer, which isn't always who they end up with. Plenty of people with a strict height rule have a partner who breaks it.

And to be very clear: height is not a personality. If you show up 3 inches taller and spend the whole date talking about your crypto portfolio, the shoes can't save you.

A little lift, a lot of confidence

If you'd like the first impression to start on a slightly higher note, that's what we do. 6FT Club shoes add 2 to 3 inches through a lift built directly into the sole. There's no insert to slip, nothing to spot when your shoes come off at her place, and nothing that looks different from any other good pair of shoes.

Everything else (the jokes, the listening, remembering her dog's name) is still up to you.

Shop all shoes

Chelsea boots for dinner, sneakers for the second date, and dress shoes for the wedding you'll eventually go to together. All with hidden lift and a 30-day fit guarantee.

Shop All Shoes →