Testosterone levels by age: published ranges for men

You want to know what a normal testosterone level is at your age. Published studies give ranges, not a single number, and the ranges are wide. This page shows one set, copied from a peer-reviewed study, and explains what it can and cannot tell you.

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Published ranges by age band

Type your age to highlight your row. The table below is Table 4 of the study, “all nonobese men” section. We copied the numbers without changes.

The study’s table also lists the 10th, 25th, 75th and 90th percentiles. We show five columns to keep the table readable on a phone. The full table is in the paper.

How to read a percentile

A percentile describes a group. The 5th percentile is the value that 5 out of every 100 men in the group fall below. The 50th percentile is the middle. The 2.5th to 97.5th percentile range holds the middle 95 of every 100 men in that group.

So even in a large community group like this one, a few men sit below the 2.5th percentile and a few above the 97.5th. A value near an edge is not an automatic problem, and a value in the middle is not proof that all is well.

A lower percentile at an older age is also not the same as a healthy level. The Endocrine Society guideline uses a lower limit of 264 ng/dL for men, with no adjustment for age, and the study authors treat age-specific cutoffs as an open question. A result that fits your age row can still be worth discussing with a clinician.

What the study measured

• Who: 9,054 community-dwelling men from four studies in the United States and Europe. The table above uses the nonobese men among them, defined as a body mass index below 30 kg/m2.
• How: Each study’s testosterone results were adjusted to a common scale set by a reference method at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, then pooled. This is the “harmonized” part.
• When: The ranges came from single morning samples. The authors note this ignores the ups and downs of testosterone across a day and a year.
• Limits the authors name: The men were largely white, and the authors tie the ranges to assays calibrated to the same reference method and standard. The paper says a substantial share of the difference between studies comes from assay differences.

The paper also notes that the drop with age seen across different men at one point in time is smaller than the drop seen within individual men followed over the years.

Why 267 to 929 and not 264 to 916

The paper’s headline range for healthy nonobese men aged 19 to 39 is 264 to 916 ng/dL. That comes from two studies and excludes men with major health conditions. The 19 to 39 row above comes from a model fitted to all nonobese men in all four studies. Different group, different method, slightly different numbers. Both are in the paper.

The same study, for all men

The paper says values in nonobese men tended to be higher at all percentiles than values from all men. This table gives the paper’s figures for all men, obese and nonobese together (N = 9,054), from the “all men” section of the same Table 4.

Age band	2.5th	5th	50th	95th	97.5th
19 to 39	229	273	507	834	902
40 to 49	208	243	461	813	902
50 to 59	192	222	446	812	902
60 to 69	190	221	446	812	902
70 to 79	190	220	446	812	902
80 to 99	119	203	446	812	902

Values in ng/dL, total testosterone, all men in the four cohorts.

Why other charts show other numbers

You will find other ranges online. A patient page from the Endocrine Society says normal levels in adult men should be between 300 and 1,000 ng/dL, depending on age and lab. A large US reference laboratory lists 264 to 916 ng/dL for adults over 18, the same as the paper’s headline range, with no age bands. Ranges differ in who was measured, how, and where the cutoffs were drawn.

That is why this site does not label any number “normal” or “healthy” for you. If your lab prints a range on your report, that is the range your result was measured against.

What a level cannot tell you

• One result is a snapshot. Testosterone is highest in the morning and changes through the day. MedlinePlus says blood is usually drawn in the morning, between 7 and 10, when levels are typically highest. See the best time to test.
• A level alone does not diagnose. The Endocrine Society guideline recommends diagnosing low testosterone (hypogonadism) only in men who have symptoms and signs consistent with testosterone deficiency and who have unequivocally and consistently low results. Its patient page says that means at least two early morning tests. See retesting.
• Total testosterone is not the whole picture. The guideline recommends a free testosterone measurement when total testosterone is near the lower limit of normal or when a condition alters SHBG, a protein that binds testosterone. See free vs total testosterone and free testosterone levels.
• A lower value with age is not always a disease. MedlinePlus says it is normal for testosterone to decrease with age, and that an abnormal result does not always mean a condition that needs treatment.

If you want to check your level

A total testosterone test gives the number this table describes. If you are unsure which test fits your question, use the test finder or read the testosterone test guide. If you want a free testosterone figure too, the free and total test gives both numbers on one order. If you already have total testosterone and SHBG results, the free testosterone calculator gives an estimate of the free part.

See a clinician if you have symptoms such as low sex drive, erectile dysfunction, or unexplained tiredness, or if a result falls outside your lab’s range. Bring the result and the lab’s printed range with you.