Hat Size Chart: Fitted, Stretch-Fit, and Snapback Sizes

Key Takeaways

• A hat size is the inches around your head divided by 3.14, or the centimeters divided by 8, so 58 cm is a 7 1/4.
• Measure right above the eyebrows and ears.
• Stretch-fit S/M and L/XL ranges vary by maker, and on some caps they overlap.
• For a mixed group, an adjustable range from 6 5/8 or lower up to 7 5/8 or higher fits nearly every adult.

Table of Contents

• Hat Size Chart: Head Inches and CM to Fitted Sizes
• How Do You Measure Your Head for a Hat?
• How Can You Find Your Hat Size Without a Tape Measure?
• What Is the Average Hat Size for Men and Women?
• What Do S/M, L/XL, and XL/2XL Mean on a Stretch-Fit Cap?
• What Does a One-Size Adjustable Cap Fit?
• How Do You Size Hats for a Team Without Measuring Everyone?
• What Size Hat Fits a Kid or a Small Head?
• What If You're Between Two Hat Sizes?
• How Can You Check the Fit Before a Big Order?
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Measure First, Then Match the Cap's Listed Range

Your hat size is the measurement around your head in inches divided by 3.14, rounded to the nearest eighth. A head that measures 22 3/4 inches is a size 7 1/4. In centimeters, divide by 8 instead, so 58 cm is also a 7 1/4.

Caps use those numbers in three ways. A fitted cap, with a closed back and no stretch, is sold in single sizes such as 7 1/4. A stretch-fit cap comes in letter ranges like S/M and L/XL, and an adjustable cap comes in one size with a listed range. The chart below converts any head measurement, and the sections after it turn letters and ranges into the same numbers.

Hat Size Chart: Head Inches and CM to Fitted Sizes

Fitted caps are sold in these numbered hat sizes. Each size is the head measurement in inches divided by 3.14, rounded to the nearest eighth. So each size covers a band about 3/8 inch wide, or 1 cm. Find your measurement in the inches column, or the closest number in the centimeters column, and the size on that row is yours.

The caps we carry come in stretch-fit letter sizes or one adjustable size rather than single numbered sizes. Most of our product pages give each size's range in these numbers. Once you know your size, browse custom Flexfit hats and match it to each cap's listed range.

How Do You Measure Your Head for a Hat?

Measure around the widest part of your head with a soft tape, passing right above your eyebrows and the tops of your ears. That is the line the U.S. Army's measurers used in their 2012 survey of soldiers' body measurements, and it is about where a cap's sweatband sits.

1. Use a soft cloth or plastic tape, not a metal one.
2. Wrap it level around your head, right above the eyebrows and over the tops of the ears.
3. At the back, run it around the fullest part of your head.
4. Pull it snug and flat against the skin, without squeezing.
5. Read the inches, or centimeters, where the tape meets its zero end.
6. Measure a second time, and keep the larger reading if the two differ.
7. Find that number in the hat size chart, or divide the inches by 3.14.

Measure with your hair the way you'll wear it under the hat, because braids, a bun, or thick hair all add to the reading. A second person can hold the tape level at the back, where it tends to slip down toward the neck.

How Can You Find Your Hat Size Without a Tape Measure?

The quickest way to know your hat size without measuring is to read it from a hat that already fits. A numbered fitted cap has its size printed on a label or sticker, and that number goes straight into the chart. A stretch-fit cap's label shows a letter size, which only narrows it down, since each maker's letters cover different numbers. An adjustable cap tells you little, since its strap can sit anywhere in a wide range.

To get a real number with no tape, use a piece of string, a shoelace, a phone charging cable, or a strip of paper. Wrap it around your head right above the eyebrows and ears, and mark the point where the end meets it. Then lay it flat along a ruler, a yardstick, or a carpenter's tape and read the inches.

Skip yarn and elastic, which stretch while you wrap them and read short once they relax; a paper strip or a charging cable reads true.

What Is the Average Hat Size for Men and Women?

The average man's head measures about 57.4 cm, or 22.6 inches, right on the line between a hat size 7 1/8 and a 7 1/4. That figure is the median from the U.S. Army's 2012 survey of body measurements, which measured the heads of 4,082 men and 1,986 women. Nine in 10 of those men measured between 54.8 and 60.1 cm, or sizes 6 7/8 to 7 1/2. The most common sizes were 7 1/8 and 7 1/4, which together covered almost half the men.

Women in the same survey had a median of 56.0 cm, about 22 inches, which is a size 7. Nine in 10 fell between 53.2 and 59.7 cm, or sizes 6 5/8 to 7 1/2. For women who wore braids, the survey measured over the styled hair, which a hat has to fit over too.

The survey measured soldiers, so its averages suit choosing a cap range for a group, while one person still needs a real measurement.

What Do S/M, L/XL, and XL/2XL Mean on a Stretch-Fit Cap?

A stretch-fit cap has a closed back with a band that stretches. It comes in two or three letter sizes, each covering a range of hat sizes. The letters are not a standard, so an S/M from one maker can cover different sizes than another's.

On the two Flexfit caps, the sizes overlap, so a 7 1/4 head fits either S/M or L/XL. The Richardson 110's sizes do not overlap, and its S/M starts at 7, so a smaller head needs a different cap. The Flexfit 6277 is the one of the three that reaches a size 8, in its XL/2XL.

New Era's NE1000 uses S/M, M/L, and L/XL, and runs larger. Its page lists S/M at 7 1/8 to 7 3/8, M/L at 7 3/8 to 7 5/8, and L/XL at 7 5/8 to 7 7/8. If you own a numbered fitted cap that fits well, its size tells you which letter to pick on any of these caps.

What Does a One-Size Adjustable Cap Fit?

An adjustable cap, such as a snapback, comes in one size that fits a listed range of hat sizes. The range depends on the maker more than on the snap or strap. The Flexfit 110 lists 6 1/2 to 7 7/8, for example, while the Richardson 112 lists 7 to 7 3/4. We sell that 112 size as OSFM, short for one size fits most.

Measured against the heads in the U.S. Army's 2012 survey, those ranges fit different shares of people:

A cap that starts at 7 misses about one man in 10 and a third of women at the small end. A cap that stops at 7 3/8 misses the biggest heads. Check the range on each cap's own page before you pick it.

How Do You Size Hats for a Team Without Measuring Everyone?

For a team, pick an adjustable cap listed from 6 5/8 or lower to 7 5/8 or higher, and skip collecting head sizes. In the Army's 2012 numbers, the Flexfit 110's listed 6 1/2 to 7 7/8 fits over 99% of men and women.

A range starting at 7, like the Richardson 112's OSFM size, suits a crew of mostly men but fits about two thirds of women. The 112's XL size, listed 7 1/4 to 7 7/8, adds room for big heads only.

Stretch fit works best with a size from each person: a head measurement or the size of a cap they already wear. Put anyone who fits two sizes in the larger one, the safer guess without a try-on.

Without sizes, the Army's numbers give a starting split for the Flexfit 6277. About half the men measured 7 1/8 or 7 1/4, sizes that fit either S/M or L/XL. For a crew of men, an even split works; most women measured 7 or under, so tilt a mixed group toward S/M.

Mixed sizes still count as one design. A design counts together across every product, color, and size, so S/M and L/XL caps carrying it add up toward one volume price. Our custom hat pricing guide shows how the per-cap price falls as the quantity rises.

A youth cap or an XL for heads outside your main cap's range can count in the same design too. That style needs every placement the design uses, with room for each logo at the same size or larger.

What Size Hat Fits a Kid or a Small Head?

Kids need a youth cap, and youth caps list their own smaller ranges. The Legacy OFAY fits 6 3/8 to 7, listed for ages five up to a small adult. The Flexfit 6277Y fits 6 1/2 to 7.

The ages are a rough guide only, so measure a child the same way as an adult when you can.

A small adult head often falls below the 7 where many caps start. A range starting at 6 5/8 or 6 3/4 fits better, and Imperial's L338 lists 6 3/4 to 7 1/8 as its small fit. Crown height matters too, and our guide to low profile trucker hats for small heads covers that side.

What If You're Between Two Hat Sizes?

Between two numbered sizes, take the larger one. A fitted cap that is a little loose still stays on, while one that is an eighth too small presses on your forehead all day.

On a stretch-fit cap with overlapping sizes, the overlap is there for the in-between head. A 7 1/4 fits both S/M and L/XL on the Flexfit 6277. Pick the S/M for a firm fit or the L/XL for an easy one.

On an adjustable cap, a head near the middle of the listed range fits best. At the top of a range, the strap runs out of room. A 7 3/4 head fits better in a range that reaches 7 7/8.

How Can You Check the Fit Before a Big Order?

The surest fit check is one finished cap. To check a finished custom piece, order one; there is no minimum. If you only need to feel the fit, a cap with no logo on it, which the trade calls a blank, works too. A blank sample is available on request for a small fee plus shipping.

One cap shows what a chart can't: how the crown sits, how firm the band feels, and how big the logo looks.

Custom orders that match your approved proof can't be returned or refunded. A one-piece order is refundable only for a defect or a proof mismatch.

Embroidered hats ship in 2 to 3 weeks and patch hats in 4 to 6. With an event date ahead, order the test cap early enough for both runs. Rush is available on request. Contact us by phone, email, or live chat before you order and we confirm what is possible for your date.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I convert centimeters to a hat size?

Divide your head measurement in centimeters by 8. A 58 cm head gives 7.25, which is a size 7 1/4, and a 56 cm head gives a size 7. The shortcut works because a hat size is the inches divided by 3.14, and 2.54 times 3.14 is almost exactly 8.

Is hat size the same for men and women?

Yes. On any given cap, a numbered size, a stretch-fit letter, or an adjustable range fits the same head on a man or a woman. Women's heads run smaller on average: in the U.S. Army's 2012 survey, the median woman measured 56.0 cm, a size 7, against 57.4 cm for men. A range that starts at 6 5/8 fits more women than one starting at 7.

What hat size is XL?

XL means a different range on each cap. The Richardson 112 XL fits 7 1/4 to 7 7/8, and the Imperial X210P XL fits 7 3/4 to 8. The Flexfit 6277's XL/2XL fits 7 3/8 to 8. Go by the numbered range before you order a big size, and if a listing shows only the letter, ask us for its range.

How should a hat fit?

A cap should sit level and snug all the way around, with the band right above your eyebrows and the tops of your ears. It shouldn't press hard enough to leave a sore spot, and it shouldn't slip when you look down. If it presses, size up; if it slips, size down or tighten the strap.

Measure First, Then Match the Cap's Listed Range

Your hat size comes from one real number, the measurement around your head. Divide the inches by 3.14 or the centimeters by 8, or find that number in the chart. From there, go by each cap's numbered range, because S/M, L/XL, XL, and one size each cover a different range from maker to maker.

When the sizes are settled, browse the Flexfit cap collection and put your logo on the cap whose range fits your group. Have a question before you order? Contact us, and we'll get back to you within 24 hours on weekdays.