Blood Pressure Chart by Age: What's Normal for Men and Women

A blood pressure chart by age has two different jobs, and it helps to keep them apart. For every adult, from 18 to 98, the 2025 AHA/ACC guideline uses the same categories: normal is under 120/80, and high blood pressure starts at 130/80. What changes with age is the typical reading, because blood pressure in the population tends to climb as people get older.

Below are two charts: the guideline chart, which tells you where you stand, and the average blood pressure by age and sex from CDC survey data, which tells you what's common. Common and healthy can be far apart, especially after 60.

What is normal blood pressure by age?

For adults, normal blood pressure is under 120/80 at any age. The guideline categories apply to all adults and don't shift as you get older.

The 2025 guideline summary lays out the same four categories for everyone 18 and up. The American Heart Association's blood pressure chart adds two rows for very high readings.

The top number (systolic) is the pressure while your heart beats. The bottom number (diastolic) is the pressure between beats. When your two numbers land in different rows, the higher row counts, so 118/84 is Stage 1. Our blood pressure chart guide walks through each row, and stage 1 vs stage 2 hypertension explains the two hypertension stages.

Does normal blood pressure go up with age?

The definition of normal stays put, but the average reading does go up with age, mostly the top number. The AHA explains that systolic pressure usually rises as large arteries get stiffer and plaque builds up over time.

Here's what that looks like in real people. These are average readings from the CDC's National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), a national survey that measures blood pressure in a sample of US adults. The numbers come from a 2011 CDC report covering 2001 to 2008, the most recent official CDC report we could find that publishes average readings by both age and sex.

Typical (average) blood pressure by age and sex, US adults, NHANES 2001 to 2008

Read this table as what's common, and don't treat it as a target. A few things to know about it:

• It averages everyone, including people with high blood pressure and people taking medication for it.
• Each number is the average of up to three readings taken at a single exam. Your own category comes from repeated readings over days, so one exam isn't a diagnosis.
• The top and bottom numbers are separate averages placed side by side.
• The data is from 2001 to 2008. Newer CDC reports track how many people have high blood pressure, and they show the same pattern, with more of it in each older age group.

Notice the bottom number. It rises into middle age, then falls after 60. The CDC report describes the same pattern: systolic climbs steadily with age, while diastolic goes up and then comes back down.

How common is high blood pressure at each age?

Very common, and more so with age. In the CDC's August 2021 to August 2023 survey data, 47.7% of US adults had high blood pressure, defined as 130/80 or higher or taking medication for it.

By age group, it was 23.4% of adults 18 to 39, 52.5% of adults 40 to 59, and 71.6% of adults 60 and older. That's why a typical number for a 65-year-old can sit in the hypertension range. Typical just means a lot of people are there.

What is normal blood pressure for women vs men?

Normal is the same for women and men: under 120/80. The guideline doesn't use separate cutoffs by sex.

The averages do differ. In the 2001 to 2008 CDC data, men had higher average blood pressure than women overall, and the gap was widest in young adults (119/70 for men vs 110/68 for women at ages 18 to 39). By 60 and over, the order flipped for the top number, with women averaging 139 and men 133.

The newer CDC brief shows a similar pattern for high blood pressure itself. It was more common in men than women at ages 18 to 39 (30.0% vs 16.4%) and 40 to 59 (55.9% vs 49.0%). At 60 and older, the difference between men and women wasn't statistically significant (72.7% vs 70.6%).

Pregnancy has its own rules. The 2025 guideline recommends treating chronic high blood pressure in pregnancy at 140/90 or higher, according to the AHA's summary, so if you're pregnant, your obstetric team sets your numbers.

What blood pressure is normal for a 60-year-old or a 70-year-old?

Normal for a 60- or 70-year-old is still under 120/80, the same as for a 30-year-old. The typical reading is higher: in the CDC data, adults 60 and over averaged 136/68 (133/69 for men, 139/68 for women).

Both of those average top numbers fall in the Stage 1 range. So if your doctor says your 134 is "pretty typical for your age," that can be true, and it's still above the guideline's line. The CDC report groups everyone 60 and older together, so there's no separate row for people in their 70s or 80s.

The 2025 guideline's treatment goal is under 130/80 for all adults. It makes additional considerations for people who live in institutional care (like a nursing home), have a limited predicted lifespan, or are pregnant. A 2026 review of the guideline notes that it folded its age-specific discussion into the main evidence and that the best goals for different age groups still need more research.

In practice, that means an older adult's target is a conversation with their doctor, who weighs other health conditions, medicines, and whether blood pressure drops on standing (the guideline asks doctors to check for that when treatment aims for a top number under 130). If you get lightheaded when you stand, our guide to the orthostatic hypotension test at home is worth a look before your next visit.

What about children and teens?

Children use a different chart. For ages 1 to 12, the American Academy of Pediatrics judges blood pressure by percentile, based on a child's sex, age, and height, so there's no single "normal" number.

The AAP's 2017 guideline sets these categories:

• Ages 1 to 12: normal is below the 90th percentile for that child's sex, age, and height. Elevated starts at the 90th percentile, and hypertension starts at the 95th (or at the adult cutoffs of 120/80 and 130/80, if a child reaches those first).
• Ages 13 and up: the cutoffs line up with the adult chart. Normal is under 120/80, and Stage 1 starts at 130/80.

The AAP recommends a blood pressure check every year from age 3. It also says home readings shouldn't be used to diagnose high blood pressure in children. If your child's numbers worry you, bring them to the pediatrician, who has the percentile tables and can measure the way the guideline asks.

How do you know where you stand?

Go by your average over several days, since one reading only captures that moment. The 2025 guideline recommends home or ambulatory readings to confirm a diagnosis. Our guide on how to measure blood pressure at home covers the routine, and why blood pressure is different every time explains the swings. If your office numbers run higher than your home numbers, read about white coat hypertension.

Know your numbers, and hold them up against the guideline chart.

When to call a doctor

Call 911 if your blood pressure is higher than 180/120 and you have chest pain, shortness of breath, back pain, numbness, weakness, a change in vision, or trouble speaking. The AHA lists these as signs of a hypertensive emergency. Don't wait to see if the number comes down.

If you're higher than 180/120 and feel fine, wait a minute and take it again, as the AHA's chart advises. If it's still that high, contact your doctor promptly.

Call your doctor soon if your home averages over a week land at 130/80 or higher, whatever your age, or if you're on treatment and your averages stay above the goal you and your doctor set. Our guide on sharing home readings with your doctor shows what's most useful to bring.

Common questions

Is 130/80 normal for a 65-year-old?

It's common, and by the guideline it's Stage 1 hypertension. An average of 130/80 puts any adult in Stage 1, and the guideline's treatment goal for adults is under 130/80.

Is 140/90 OK for an 80-year-old?

An average of 140/90 is Stage 2 hypertension on the adult chart. The guideline allows doctors to weigh extra considerations for people in institutional care or with a limited predicted lifespan, so the right goal for an 80-year-old is one to set with their doctor.

Do women need a different blood pressure chart?

No. Women and men use the same adult chart. The averages differ by sex and age, and pregnancy has its own treatment thresholds.

How BP Log helps

BP Log classifies every reading against the 2025 AHA/ACC adult categories, which are the same at every adult age, so your label comes straight from the guideline chart. Its guided flow takes two readings a minute apart and averages them for you, and it shows your morning and evening averages separately. When it's time for your appointment, the doctor visit report puts your averages and every reading in one place. The categories in the app are the adult ones, so for a child's readings, go by the pediatrician.