Short answer: it depends on the desk, and many do not go low enough. Of the 33 desks in our table, only 2 reach a 22.6 inch sitting surface (the bottom of the seated keyboard-surface range in BIFMA G1-2013, as quoted by the University of Washington), 8 reach 24 inches, 18 reach 26 inches and 25 reach 28 inches. A 5-foot user may not need as low as 22.6 inches, because desk height follows elbow height, not stature, but the low end is where the choice narrows. The counts below show how many desks clear each sitting height.
How tall is 5 feet?
The CDC’s 2015-2018 survey of US adults aged 20 and over measured standing height. Five feet (60 inches) sits at the 10th percentile for women (60.0 in) and well below the 5th percentile for men (64.1 in). The 5th percentile for women is 59.0 inches, the median 63.5 inches. The survey does not measure elbow height, so it cannot tell us how low a 5-foot person needs their desk. Use our height calculator with your own measurements.
How low do the desks go?
The table counts how many of the 33 desks in our height-range table have a lowest surface height at or below each sitting height. Frame-only ranges have 1 inch added for a top; ranges with an unstated basis are used as listed.
| Sitting surface height you need (in) | Desks that reach it | Share of 33 |
|---|---|---|
| 22.6 | 2 | 6% |
| 24.0 | 8 | 24% |
| 25.0 | 12 | 36% |
| 26.0 | 18 | 55% |
| 27.0 | 20 | 61% |
| 28.0 | 25 | 76% |
22.6 inches is the bottom of the seated keyboard-surface range in the guideline the University of Washington quotes from BIFMA G1-2013. Every desk that reaches it is a desk where a short sitter would not need a keyboard tray.
How high do they go?
The standing side matters for tall users. The top of the same reference range is 48.7 inches.
| Standing surface height you need (in) | Desks that reach it | Share of 33 |
|---|---|---|
| 44.0 | 32 | 97% |
| 46.0 | 30 | 91% |
| 48.0 | 21 | 64% |
| 48.7 | 20 | 61% |
| 50.0 | 6 | 18% |
The lowest and the highest
| Desk | Lowest surface height (in) | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| IKEA BEKANT electric underframe | 22.6 | As listed; basis not stated |
| UPLIFT V3 C-frame (FV3-200) | 22.6 | Frame range plus a 1 in top |
| FlexiSpot E8 | 23.6 | As listed; basis not stated |
| FlexiSpot E5 | 23.6 | As listed; basis not stated |
| VIVO DESK-E-300B (3-leg) | 23.6 | As listed; basis not stated |
| FlexiSpot E7 | 23.8 | Frame range plus a 1 in top |
| VIVO DESK-V102E | 23.8 | As listed; basis not stated |
| VIVO DESK-E-P4B (4-leg) | 23.8 | As listed; basis not stated |
What the study does not show
- Elbow height. Desk height follows elbow height, so stature alone cannot say whether a given desk works. Two 5-foot adults can need different heights.
- Chairs and feet. Whether feet reach the floor depends on the chair, which this site’s table does not cover.
- Coverage. The table covers IKEA, FlexiSpot, UPLIFT, Branch, Vari, VIVO, ApexDesk, Herman Miller and Autonomous only. Counts are of desks in the table, not of all desks sold.
- Maker conflicts. Some makers list different ranges on different pages. We used each maker’s spec table or sheet.
Data
Download the table behind these counts as a CSV file . Each row carries its source link and check date. We re-check every row quarterly; the next check is due in February 2027.
Sources
- CDC National Center for Health Statistics, Anthropometric Reference Data for Children and Adults: United States, 2015-2018 , Vital and Health Statistics Series 3, No. 46, January 2021, Tables 10 and 12, checked November 8, 2026.
- University of Washington Environmental Health and Safety, Office and administrative ergonomic furniture and equipment design guidelines , Table 3, quoting ANSI/BIFMA G1-2013. We have not read the standard.
- Desk minimums and maximums: the maker pages linked in the height-range table .
This is desk research from published figures. We did not test the desks.