Ferritin Normal Range by Age and Sex (Cited Chart)

Ferritin is the protein that stores iron in your body, and a blood ferritin test is the single best snapshot of how much iron you have in reserve. The catch is that “normal” depends heavily on your age and your sex. A level that is perfectly healthy for a 40 year old man can signal a problem in a young woman. This guide gives you real, cited reference ranges by age and sex, then explains how to read your own result.

Part of our Iron Studies guide.

What is a normal ferritin level?

For most healthy adults, a normal serum ferritin is about 30 to 566 ng/mL in men and 15 to 205 ng/mL in women, according to the Cleveland Clinic. The single most useful threshold is on the low end: the World Health Organization defines iron deficiency as ferritin below 15 ng/mL in healthy adults. Below that, your iron stores are essentially empty even if a full blood count still looks normal.

Ferritin is measured in nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL), which is identical to micrograms per liter (mcg/L), so the two units are interchangeable on a lab report. The “normal” window is wide because ferritin doubles as an acute phase reactant, meaning it climbs during infection, inflammation, or liver stress regardless of true iron stores. That is why a single number is interpreted alongside your symptoms and other iron tests, never in isolation.

Ferritin normal range by age and sex

Ferritin reference ranges by age and sex span from a high of up to 650 ng/mL in young infants down to a floor of about 12 ng/mL in older children, with adult men running roughly twice as high as women (Cleveland Clinic, MedlinePlus). The table below uses values published by the Cleveland Clinic, the most widely cited US patient reference for this test.

Why the infant numbers look so high: babies are born with a large iron reserve from the mother, so ferritin peaks in the first months of life and then falls sharply as the child grows and uses that iron for an expanding blood volume (Cleveland Clinic). By the school years the level settles into the 12 to 140 ng/mL band and stays in a similar zone through adolescence. Always compare your own result against the reference range printed on your specific lab report, because cutoffs differ slightly by laboratory and analyzer.

How does sex change the range?

Sex is the biggest single driver of ferritin after infancy: adult men have a normal ceiling of about 566 ng/mL versus roughly 205 ng/mL for women, and men’s typical floor (30 ng/mL) sits twice as high as women’s (15 ng/mL), per Cleveland Clinic. The reason is monthly blood loss. Menstruation removes iron every cycle, so premenopausal women keep smaller iron reserves and naturally run lower.

Three practical consequences follow:

• Premenopausal women: a ferritin in the teens or low 20s may still be borderline low even though it is technically “in range,” especially with fatigue or heavy periods.
• Postmenopausal women: once periods stop, iron stores rise and the healthy range starts to look more like men’s, so a previously normal low-ish number is less expected.
• Men: because men do not have a routine route of iron loss, a low ferritin in a man is treated as a red flag for hidden bleeding until proven otherwise.

What makes ferritin rise or fall with age?

Ferritin generally falls from its infant peak through childhood, then trends upward across adult life, with iron stores rising notably in women after menopause when monthly losses stop (Cleveland Clinic). Two forces explain almost all of the age pattern: how much iron the body is losing, and how much inflammation is present.

What pushes ferritin down with age:

• Growth spurts: rapid growth in infancy and adolescence drains stored iron into new red blood cells.
• Menstruation and pregnancy: reproductive years are the lowest-ferritin stretch of life for women.
• Slow gut bleeding: ulcers, polyps, and colon cancer become more common with age and quietly lower iron.

What pushes ferritin up with age:

• End of menstruation: postmenopausal women accumulate iron.
• Chronic inflammation: arthritis, fatty liver, diabetes, and kidney disease raise ferritin independent of true iron, which is why the WHO lifts the deficiency cutoff to 30 ng/mL when inflammation is present.
• Iron overload conditions: hereditary hemochromatosis can drive ferritin into the thousands over decades (Cleveland Clinic).

When is an out-of-range result a concern?

A ferritin below 15 ng/mL almost always means depleted iron stores and is the most actionable result, while a markedly high ferritin (well above the lab ceiling, sometimes into the hundreds or thousands) points to inflammation, liver disease, or iron overload that needs follow-up (WHO, Cleveland Clinic). The direction tells you which way to look.

Low ferritin (below the reference floor) usually reflects iron deficiency from inadequate diet, poor absorption, heavy periods, pregnancy, frequent blood donation, or chronic blood loss from the gut. Combined with a low blood count it confirms iron-deficiency anemia (MedlinePlus). In men and postmenopausal women, a low result warrants a search for a bleeding source.

High ferritin (above the reference ceiling) has more possible causes, which is why context matters. It can come from inflammation or infection, liver disease, alcohol use disorder, obesity, certain cancers, or hereditary hemochromatosis (Cleveland Clinic, MedlinePlus). Because inflammation alone can elevate it, doctors often repeat the test or add a C-reactive protein and transferrin saturation to separate true iron overload from a temporary spike. An out-of-range number is a signal to investigate, not a diagnosis on its own.

Frequently asked questions

What ferritin level is dangerously low?

A ferritin below 15 ng/mL is considered iron deficient by the WHO, and levels in the single digits indicate severely depleted stores. Symptoms like fatigue, hair shedding, and shortness of breath often appear well before anemia shows on a blood count, so low ferritin alone deserves attention.

Is a ferritin of 200 normal?

For an adult man, 200 ng/mL is comfortably within the normal 30 to 566 range. For an adult woman it sits near the upper limit of about 205 ng/mL but is still typically in range. Interpretation depends on your sex and whether any inflammation is present, so confirm with your clinician.

Why is the normal range higher for men than women?

Men lack a routine route of iron loss, while menstruating women shed iron every cycle and keep smaller reserves. That is why the male normal range (30 to 566 ng/mL) sits roughly twice as high as the female range (15 to 205 ng/mL) per Cleveland Clinic data.

Does ferritin go up as you get older?

Generally yes in adulthood. Iron stores tend to rise across adult life, and women see a clear jump after menopause when monthly blood loss stops. Chronic inflammatory conditions that become more common with age, such as fatty liver and arthritis, also push ferritin upward.

Can ferritin be high without iron overload?

Yes. Ferritin is an acute phase reactant, so infection, inflammation, liver disease, obesity, and alcohol use can all raise it without true iron excess. That is why doctors add tests like transferrin saturation or C-reactive protein to tell genuine iron overload apart from an inflammatory spike.

Sources

• Cleveland Clinic, Ferritin Test: Levels and Test Results
• MedlinePlus, Ferritin Blood Test
• WHO, Guideline on Use of Ferritin Concentrations to Assess Iron Status (cut-off values)
• PubMed, Establishment of reference ranges for ferritin in neonates, infants, children and adolescents

This article is for general educational purposes and is not medical advice. It cannot diagnose or treat you and does not replace your clinician. Always discuss your lab results and any health decisions with a qualified healthcare professional.