---
title: "Desk Height Calculator: Desk, Chair & Screen | Desk Blossom"
description: "What height should your desk be? Work out chair, desk and screen heights from your measurements or your height, in cm and inches, with a footrest check."
url: https://deskblossom.me/
---

Desk and chair height calculator

# Desk height calculator: what height should your desk be?

Set your chair first, so your feet rest flat and your thighs are about level. Then the desk should bring the keys to your elbow height, forearms roughly horizontal, and the top of the screen should sit at about eye level. For a 175 cm (5 ft 9 in) person in shoes with 2.5 cm soles, that is a seat of about 44.8 cm (17.6 in), a desk of about 67.5 cm (26.6 in) and the top of the screen about 57.6 cm (22.7 in) above the desk. Your own measurements give the best answer; the calculator can also estimate from your height.

## How to measure yourself

You need a tape measure, a firm flat chair and ideally a helper. Take your shoes off: the calculator adds them back separately.

Feet flat, knees at a right angle. 1: floor to the back of the knee. 2: seat to the underside of the elbow. 3: seat to the outer corner of the eye.

1. **Back of the knee.** Sit with your thighs level, knees bent at a right angle and feet flat. Measure from the floor up to the crease behind your knee, where the calf meets the thigh. This sets the seat height.
2. **Elbow above the seat.** Let your upper arms hang by your sides and bend your elbows so your forearms point forward, level. Measure from the seat up to the underside of the elbow. This sets the desk or keyboard height.
3. **Eyes above the seat.** Sit tall and look straight ahead. Measure from the seat to the outer corner of your eye. This sets the top of the screen.

## How the calculator works

**Chair.** The seat goes at the height of the back of your knee, plus your shoes. OSHA’s Computer Workstations eTool says the chair height is right when the whole sole of the foot rests on the floor, with the back of the knee slightly higher than the seat; the UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) says the seat should support the front and back of the thighs equally. So treat the seat height as a maximum: a centimetre lower is fine, higher presses on the backs of your legs.

**Desk.** The keys go at elbow height: seat height plus your elbow height above the seat. OSHA says the elbows should be about the same height as the keyboard, with forearms roughly parallel to the floor; the HSE says just below elbow height. The desk goes lower by the height of your keyboard.

**Screen.** The top of the screen goes at eye level: seat height plus your eye height above the seat. The HSE’s checklist asks whether your eyes are at roughly the same height as the top of the screen, and Cornell University’s ergonomics guidance says to line your eyes up with the top of the viewing area. OSHA says at or slightly below eye level, with the centre of the screen 15 to 20 degrees below your eyes. The [monitor distance calculator](https://deskblossom.me/monitor-distance-calculator/) works out that window for your screen.

**Estimating from your height.** If you only know your height, the calculator multiplies it by body proportions from ANSUR II, a survey of 1,986 women and 4,082 men in the US Army measured between 2010 and 2012. For each measurement it takes the survey’s average divided by the average height, for women and for men, and uses the mean of the two: 0.242 of your height for the back of the knee, 0.141 for the elbow above the seat and 0.459 for the eyes above the seat. Standing, it uses 0.617 for the elbow and 0.934 for the eyes. Real people vary: across the survey, elbow height above the seat had a standard deviation of 2.6 cm in the women and 2.9 cm in the men, which is why your own measurement is better.

## A worked example

Take the example above: 175 cm tall, in shoes with 2.5 cm soles, at a desk that adjusts. The back of the knee is about 175 × 0.242 = 42.3 cm, so the seat goes at 42.3 + 2.5 = 44.8 cm (17.6 in). The elbow sits about 175 × 0.141 = 24.7 cm above the seat, so the keys go at 69.5 cm; with a keyboard 2 cm tall, the desk goes at 67.5 cm (26.6 in). The eyes are about 80.3 cm above the seat, so the top of the screen goes at 125.0 cm from the floor, 57.6 cm (22.7 in) above the desk.

Now say the desk is fixed at 74 cm. That is 6.5 cm too high, so either raise the chair by 6.5 cm to 51.3 cm and put a 6.5 cm footrest under your feet, or fit a keyboard tray at 67.5 cm and keep the chair where it was. The screen rises with your eyes in the first case, so it still goes 57.6 cm above the desk.

## If your desk doesn’t adjust

- **Desk too high:** raise the chair until your forearms are level with the keys, then support your feet. OSHA and the HSE both suggest a footrest when the feet no longer rest flat; a sturdy box works at home. OSHA also says a keyboard tray may be needed when the desk or chair can’t be adjusted.
- **Desk too low:** raise it on risers rather than hunch over it, and check there is still room for your thighs underneath.
- **Chair too low and fixed,** like most kitchen chairs: the HSE suggests a cushion to raise your seated position, and another behind your lower back if the backrest doesn’t support it.

Fitting a desk into a small room? Our sister site [Tiny Room Life](https://tinyroomlife.me/) checks whether furniture fits the space.

## Common mistakes

- **Setting the desk first.** The chair comes first because your feet and thighs fix the seat height; then the desk follows your elbows.
- **Measuring barefoot, working in shoes** (or the other way round). A 3 cm heel moves everything by 3 cm.
- **Forgetting the keyboard.** A desk at elbow height puts the keys a couple of centimetres too high.
- **A screen that is too high,** so you tip your head back. This is common with bifocals and progressive lenses; OSHA suggests lowering the screen for those.
- **Armrests that stop you getting close.** The HSE points out that chair arms can keep you too far from the desk; lower or remove them.
- **Treating one posture as perfect.** OSHA notes that sitting still in one posture for long periods is not healthy; the [sit-stand planner](https://deskblossom.me/standing-desk-height/) and the [20-20-20 timer](https://deskblossom.me/20-20-20-rule-timer/) can remind you to move.

**General information, not medical advice.** A good set-up makes desk work more comfortable, but it can’t treat an injury. The NHS advises seeing a GP if symptoms such as pain, tingling, pins and needles or numbness are not going away or are getting worse; a physiotherapist or your occupational health service can help too. In the UK, employers must assess the workstations of staff who use screens daily for an hour or more at a time: our [desk set-up checklist](https://deskblossom.me/desk-setup-checklist/) explains what that covers.

## More desk tools

- [Standing desk height](https://deskblossom.me/standing-desk-height/): Sit and stand presets, plus a day planner with optional reminders.
- [Monitor distance](https://deskblossom.me/monitor-distance-calculator/): How far, how high and how to angle one or two screens.
- [20-20-20 timer](https://deskblossom.me/20-20-20-rule-timer/): Gentle reminders to rest your eyes, and what the evidence says.
- [Laptop set-up](https://deskblossom.me/laptop-ergonomics/): Laptop stand height and fixes for the sofa or kitchen table.
- [Desk set-up checklist](https://deskblossom.me/desk-setup-checklist/): A home office DSE checklist that scores each area and saves locally.

## Recommended

For one-off downloads and codes

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For unfamiliar shops and links

### WebTraceCheck

Spotted an ergonomic chair or standing desk at a surprising price on a shop you’ve never heard of? WebTraceCheck’s free DNS and domain lookup shows how long the shop’s domain has existed, which is one signal to weigh, not proof either way. Its disposable cloud browser opens the link on a remote desktop that is deleted after the session.

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## Sources

All checked on 5 November 2026.

- OSHA Computer Workstations eTool: [Chairs](https://www.osha.gov/etools/computer-workstations/components/chairs), [Keyboards](https://www.osha.gov/etools/computer-workstations/components/keyboards), [Monitors](https://www.osha.gov/etools/computer-workstations/components/monitors), [Desks](https://www.osha.gov/etools/computer-workstations/components/desks), [Good working positions](https://www.osha.gov/etools/computer-workstations/positions) and [Evaluation checklist](https://www.osha.gov/etools/computer-workstations/checklists/evaluation).
- Health and Safety Executive (HSE): [Good posture when using DSE](https://www.hse.gov.uk/msd/dse/good-posture.htm) (updated 20 March 2025), [Display screen equipment (DSE) workstation checklist](https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/ck1.pdf) (CK1, 2013) and [Display screen equipment (DSE) workstation](https://www.hse.gov.uk/msd/dse/index.htm) (updated 20 March 2025).
- Cornell University Ergonomics Web (Prof. Alan Hedge): [Ergonomic guidelines for arranging a computer workstation: 10 steps for users](https://ergo.human.cornell.edu/ergoguide.html) (last revised 13 June 2015).
- Body proportions: Gordon CC, Blackwell CL, Bradtmiller B, et al. [2012 Anthropometric Survey of U.S. Army Personnel: Methods and Summary Statistics](https://tools.openlab.psu.edu/publicData/ANSURII-TR15-007.pdf). Technical report NATICK/TR-15/007, US Army Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center, December 2014; hosted by the [Penn State OPEN Design Lab](https://www.openlab.psu.edu/ansur2/). Dimensions used: stature, popliteal height, elbow rest height, eye height (sitting), and the derived standing elbow rest height and eye height.
- NHS: [Repetitive strain injury (RSI)](https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/repetitive-strain-injury-rsi/) (reviewed 28 May 2026).

## Questions

**What height should my desk be for my height?**

Low enough that the keys are at your elbow height when you sit with your feet flat. Estimated from body proportions, a 175 cm (5 ft 9 in) person in 2.5 cm shoes needs a desk of about 67.5 cm (26.6 in) under a 2 cm keyboard. Measure your elbow height above the seat for a better answer.

**Should my desk be at elbow height?**

The keyboard should be, not the desk. OSHA says the elbows should be about the same height as the keyboard and the HSE says just below, so the desk itself goes a keyboard’s height lower than your elbows.

**What height should my office chair be?**

About the height of the back of your knee, plus your shoes, so your feet rest flat and your thighs are about level. A little lower is fine; higher presses on the backs of your legs.

**Do I need a footrest?**

Only if you have to raise the chair to reach a desk that is too high and can’t be lowered. Then the footrest makes up the difference, so your feet are supported rather than dangling. Enter your desk height in the calculator to see how tall it should be.

**How high should the top of my monitor be?**

At about eye level when you sit up straight, or slightly below. The HSE and Cornell say level with your eyes; OSHA says at or slightly below, with the centre of the screen 15 to 20 degrees below eye level. Lower it if you wear bifocals or progressive lenses.