Average Voice Frequency For Men, Women and Kids

Most adult men speak with a fundamental frequency between about 85 and 155 Hz, and the most common averages fall around 100 to 120 Hz, roughly G2 to B2 on a piano. A median below about 95 Hz is unusually deep. One above about 150 Hz is on the high side for an adult man, though still well within normal.

A man reading aloud never sits on one frequency. His pitch might dip to around 90 Hz at the end of a falling phrase and jump to 160 Hz on a stressed word, then settle back. That is why researchers, and good voice tests, summarize a voice with its median or mean over many seconds of speech. The deep voice test does exactly that and turns the result into a depth score.

Male voices drop about an octave during puberty as the larynx grows and the vocal folds lengthen and thicken. Adult male vocal folds are typically about 17 to 25 mm long, compared with about 12.5 to 17.5 mm for women, and longer, heavier folds vibrate more slowly.

Most adult women speak between about 165 and 255 Hz, and the most common averages sit around 190 to 220 Hz, roughly F#3 to A3. That is close to an octave above the typical male average. A median below about 180 Hz is deeper than most women's voices, and one above about 230 Hz is on the higher side.

Female voices drop only a few semitones during puberty, far less than male voices. Later in life, the hormonal changes around menopause often lower a woman's speaking pitch a little, and smoking can lower it too, because it makes the vocal folds swell.

The male and female ranges meet and partly overlap in the 160s and 170s Hz. There, pitch alone says little about how a voice will be heard; resonance, intonation and articulation carry more weight. The male or female voice test shows where you sit on that scale and explains the other cues.

Children's voices are high because their vocal folds are short and light. Before puberty, most children speak at about 250 to 400 Hz, with younger children toward the top of that range and little difference between boys and girls. Babies cry higher still.

Puberty changes everything. Boys' voices typically drop about an octave over a year or two as the larynx grows, and the familiar cracking happens while the voice is between two sizes. Girls' voices drop by a few semitones. By the late teens, most voices have settled into their adult ranges.

Adult voices keep changing slowly. Many women's voices drop a little around and after menopause, while many men's voices rise a little from their sixties onward as the vocal folds thin and lose muscle tone. Illness, smoking, heavy voice use and some medications can also shift pitch. A sudden or lasting change in your voice without an obvious cause is worth mentioning to a doctor.