Kristi Noem is listed at 5 feet 7½ inches (171 cm) on IMDb, the most widely repeated figure for her height. That number is a listing, not a measurement. None of the official biographies reviewed for this article give a height measured or stated by Noem herself.
Other sites put her anywhere from 5 feet 6 inches to 5 feet 9 inches. Below is where each number comes from, which ones hold up, and how her height compares with that of most American women.
The Short Answer on Kristi Noem’s Height
The safest figure to quote is 5 feet 7½ inches, or about 171 cm, labeled as a listed height. That equals 67.5 inches. Round it up and you get 5 feet 8 inches, which is why so many pages print the higher number.
IMDb’s own pages show the rounding problem. Her biography overview gives 5 feet 7½ inches (1.71 m), while a question box on her main profile says 5 feet 8 inches, or 1.71 meters. The metric figure fits the half-inch version better, since 1.71 meters works out to about 5 feet 7.3 inches.
Where the 5 Feet 7½ Inches Figure Comes From
The figure traces back to IMDb, an entertainment database whose height field does not say where a number came from. It works as a listing, not a record.
HeightStar, a site that tracks celebrity heights, says its researchers checked interviews, public profiles, and official records and found no direct measurement from Noem. It treats the IMDb number as a listed height, not verified proof. Celeb Netic makes the same point, noting that her official government biographies do not give a confirmed height.
Wikipedia’s long article on Noem covers her ranch upbringing, her 2012 degree, and her years in Congress, yet its summary box carries no height entry.
That gap is normal for politicians. Athletes get measured at combines and weigh-ins, and actors often list heights in casting profiles. A governor or cabinet secretary has no reason to publish one, and driver’s license and passport records are private.
Why Reported Heights Run From 5 Feet 6 Inches to 5 Feet 9 Inches
Most reported figures for Noem cluster between 5 feet 7 inches and 5 feet 8 inches, with a few outliers on either side.
| Source | Reported Height |
| IMDb | 5 ft 7.5 in (171 cm) |
| HeightStar | 5 ft 7.5 in, citing IMDb |
| Celeb Netic | 5 ft 7 in to 5 ft 7.5 in |
| Married Biography | 5 ft 7 in (170 cm) |
| Punwish | 5 ft 7 in to 5 ft 8 in |
| thepkr2earn | 5 ft 8 in (173 cm) |
| Streets For All | 5 ft 6 in (168 cm) |
Three habits explain the spread. Sites copy IMDb and then round the half inch down or up. Profile aggregators reuse each other’s numbers without checking them. And some pages publish a figure with no source at all.
The 5 feet 9 inches claim appears on a few templated articles that cite nothing and fill space with talk of her “commanding presence.” A number with no named source is not worth repeating, however confident the page sounds.
For reference, here is how the competing numbers convert: 5 feet 6 inches is 167.6 cm, 5 feet 7 inches is 170.2 cm, 5 feet 7½ inches is 171.5 cm, 5 feet 8 inches is 172.7 cm, and 5 feet 9 inches is 175.3 cm. The whole range spans exactly three inches, or about 7.6 cm.
How Tall Is That for an American Woman
The CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics puts the average adult American woman at about 63.5 inches, or roughly 5 feet 3½ inches. At 67.5 inches, Noem’s listed height would sit about four inches above that average. Metric readers will see 171 cm against an average near 161 cm.
Even the lowest figure in circulation, 5 feet 6 inches, clears the average by 2.5 inches. The highest, 5 feet 9 inches, clears it by 5.5. Every version of her height puts her above average, which is the one point the sources agree on.
The CDC average covers women 20 and older, so it is a fair yardstick for a woman in her fifties, though individual heights vary widely.
Why Photos Make Her Height Hard to Judge
Photos look like easy evidence, but they rarely settle the question. HeightStar’s own full-length photo of Noem shows her wearing heels, and the site notes that the image cannot confirm an exact height. A heel of two or three inches is common at formal events and can make someone look close to 5 feet 10 inches.
Podiums, camera angles, and the people standing nearby add more noise. A speaker behind a lectern looks shorter from the waist up, and a wide-angle lens close to the stage can stretch or shrink anyone.
For a rough check, look for a candid photo in flat shoes beside an object of known size. A standard interior door in an American home is 80 inches tall, which gives a usable yardstick. Treat the result as an estimate within an inch or two, not a replacement for a documented figure.
How to Judge Any Celebrity Height Listing
Her case works as a template for any public figure. A trustworthy height has one of three backings: a statement from the person, a published measurement from an official body such as a team or agency, or a named source that explains how the number was obtained.
A listing like IMDb’s sits in the middle. It beats nothing and falls short of a primary source, which is why the careful wording is “listed at.” Rely on pages that name their source and admit gaps, and discount any that call a number “official” without showing the record.
Weight and Body Measurements Are Less Reliable Still
Several sites go past height. Married Biography and FactMandu list a weight and a set of body measurements for Noem, and neither shows a source. She has not published those numbers in any material reviewed here, so this article does not repeat them. Anyone who needs them for a project should treat them as unverified.
Kristi Noem’s Career at a Glance
Early Life and Education
Kristi Lynn Arnold was born on November 30, 1971, in Watertown, South Dakota, and grew up on her family’s ranch and farm near the town of Hazel. She was crowned South Dakota Snow Queen in January 1990 while a senior at Hamlin High School.
She attended Northern State University from 1990 to 1994. In March 1994 her father was killed in a grain bin accident, and she left college to run the family farm. She later added a hunting lodge and restaurant to the property and finished a political science degree at South Dakota State University in 2012, while serving in Congress.
From Statehouse to Congress
She won a seat in the South Dakota House of Representatives in 2006 and later served as assistant majority leader. In 2010 she defeated Democratic incumbent Stephanie Herseth Sandlin to win South Dakota’s at-large seat in the U.S. House, and voters returned her three more times before she left in 2019.
In Washington she served on the Armed Services Committee from 2013 to 2015 and sat on the conference committee that negotiated the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. She also started a leadership PAC, KRISTI PAC, in 2011.
The Governor’s Record
She won the governor’s race in 2018 and became South Dakota’s first female governor, sworn in on January 5, 2019. Voters reelected her in 2022 with 61.9 percent of the vote.
During the COVID-19 pandemic she was one of few governors who kept no statewide stay-at-home orders or mask mandates, and she later spoke at the 2020 Republican National Convention. Her time in office also brought criticism, including a legislative investigation tied to her daughter’s appraiser license and bans from tribal lands in 2024, one of which was later lifted.
National Profile and Vice Presidential Talk
By 2024 she was widely discussed as a possible running mate for Donald Trump. She tied with Vivek Ramaswamy as the top choice in the February 2024 CPAC straw poll, with 15 percent each. Her chances faded after excerpts of her memoir No Going Back described shooting her family’s dog and a goat, and NBC News reported in June 2024 that she was off Trump’s shortlist.
Homeland Security and the Envoy Role
The Senate confirmed her as Secretary of Homeland Security on January 25, 2025, by a 59 to 34 vote. Her tenure drew heavy controversy over immigration enforcement, and in March 2026 she testified before the Senate and House Judiciary Committees.
President Trump announced on March 5, 2026, that he was removing her from the department and naming her Special Envoy for the Shield of the Americas, a regional security effort. Markwayne Mullin was sworn in as her successor on March 24, 2026, and she has held the envoy post since that date. Wikipedia also reports that she joined the mining firm NovaRed Mining as an adviser in June 2026.
Books and Family
She has published two memoirs, Not My First Rodeo in 2022 and No Going Back in 2024. She married Bryon Noem in 1992, and the couple has three children and four grandchildren.
What Will Need Updating
Her height will not change, but the listing might if IMDb or another database adds a sourced figure, so recheck it before publishing anything that depends on it. Note the date you checked, since listings can be edited at any time.
Her age moves to 55 on November 30, 2026. Her title has also changed several times in recent years, so confirm her current post whenever this page is refreshed.