Key takeaways
- One to two per cent a year is slow enough that you should not be able to feel it year to year.
- Total testosterone is what most laboratories report by default.
- Symptoms carry as much weight as the number, and plenty of men are meaningfully symptomatic in the 400-500 range — particularly if that represents a large fall from their own earlier baseline.
- Below 50, a low reading is more often a downstream consequence than a primary problem.
- Testosterone declines slowly and predictably with age, but "normal for your age" is a statement about a population, not about you — and the population it describes is not an especially healthy one.
The question behind "what's normal for my age" is almost never statistical. It is "should I be worried?" Those are different questions, and the chart below only answers the first one. Knowing the difference is what stops you from either dismissing a real problem because you are inside a range, or chasing a number that was never the reason you feel flat.
The average testosterone chart by age
These are typical total testosterone figures for men in the general U.S. population. Note the two separate columns — what laboratories report as "normal," and where men generally report feeling best.
| Age | Average total T | "Normal" range | Optimal target |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15-19 | 650 ng/dL | 300-1,200 | 700-1,100 |
| 20-29 | 625 ng/dL | 300-1,000 | 700-1,000 |
| 30-39 | 580 ng/dL | 300-950 | 650-950 |
| 40-49 | 500 ng/dL | 300-900 | 600-900 |
| 50-59 | 450 ng/dL | 300-850 | 550-850 |
| 60-69 | 400 ng/dL | 300-800 | 500-800 |
| 70+ | 350 ng/dL | 300-750 | 450-750 |
Critical context: "Normal" lab ranges are derived from a reference population that includes a great many men with obesity, metabolic syndrome and untreated sleep disorders. Population-level testosterone in men has also declined across recent decades independently of age — a same-age man today tends to measure lower than a same-age man a generation ago (Travison et al., J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2007). "Normal" describes the population you are being compared against. It does not mean "healthy."
The rate of decline
- Peaks around age 17-19.
- Plateaus through the twenties.
- Begins declining around age 30.
- Falls roughly 1-2% per year thereafter.
- By 60, most men have 30-50% less total testosterone than they had at 20.
A point worth holding onto: that decline is gradual by design. One to two per cent a year is slow enough that you should not be able to feel it year to year. When a man describes a distinct change — something that happened over months rather than a decade — age is usually not the explanation, and the workup should look for what else changed.
Total vs free testosterone
Total testosterone is what most laboratories report by default. But 97-98% of it is bound to SHBG and albumin and is not biologically available. What tissue can actually use is the free fraction — the 2-3% unbound and able to reach receptors.
| Age | Average free T | Optimal free T |
|---|---|---|
| 20-29 | 15 pg/mL | 15-25 pg/mL |
| 30-39 | 13 pg/mL | 14-22 pg/mL |
| 40-49 | 11 pg/mL | 12-20 pg/mL |
| 50-59 | 9 pg/mL | 10-18 pg/mL |
| 60-69 | 8 pg/mL | 10-18 pg/mL |
These are typical for equilibrium dialysis or calculated free testosterone from a reliable laboratory; values vary by assay and are not comparable between labs.
Free testosterone matters more with age for a specific reason: SHBG tends to rise as men get older. So the free fraction usually falls faster than the total does, and a man in his sixties can show a total that has dropped modestly while his available testosterone has dropped considerably more. A total-only panel systematically understates the change. See free vs total testosterone.
What counts as "low" at your age
- Under 30: total below 400 ng/dL, or free below 12 pg/mL.
- 30-50: total below 350 ng/dL, or free below 10 pg/mL.
- Over 50: total below 300 ng/dL, or free below 8 pg/mL.
These are thresholds for taking a closer look, not diagnoses. Symptoms carry as much weight as the number, and plenty of men are meaningfully symptomatic in the 400-500 range — particularly if that represents a large fall from their own earlier baseline.
Which raises the most useful point in this article: your own previous result is a better comparator than any population chart. A man who has always run at 900 and now sits at 500 has lost nearly half of his testosterone and will be compared to a range that says he is fine. If you have never had a baseline, the best time to establish one is while you feel well.
Why your number might be lower than the chart
Below 50, a low reading is more often a downstream consequence than a primary problem. The usual candidates:
- Short or fragmented sleep — testosterone is largely produced overnight, and a week of restriction is enough to move it (Leproult & Van Cauter, JAMA 2011).
- Excess body fat, particularly visceral.
- Untreated sleep apnea — common, underdiagnosed, and capable of producing the entire symptom set on its own.
- Chronic stress and sustained cortisol elevation.
- Heavy alcohol intake.
- Medications — opioids especially, plus some antidepressants and corticosteroids.
- Vitamin D deficiency and thyroid dysfunction.
- Genetic and structural causes, which LH and FSH help identify.
When testing is worth it
- You have three or more symptoms of low testosterone.
- You are over 35 and have never established a baseline.
- You are actively working on health or longevity and want real numbers.
- You have a condition associated with low testosterone — obesity, type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea, depression.
Not sure which describes you? Work through the 15-question symptom checklist first — it is designed to tell you whether the blood test is worth ordering, which is the only thing a symptom score can honestly do.
How to test correctly
More results are ruined by method than by biology:
- Morning draw, 7-10 a.m. Testosterone peaks early and falls through the day.
- Fasted. A meal acutely suppresses testosterone.
- Two separate occasions before drawing any conclusion.
- Not during acute illness or immediately after an unusually hard training block — both depress the result transiently.
- A full panel: total and free testosterone, SHBG, LH, FSH, estradiol, thyroid, plus metabolic markers.
- The same laboratory each time, because free testosterone in particular is not comparable across methods.
See your actual numbers
OPTML's men's hormone panel measures total and free testosterone, SHBG, estradiol, LH/FSH and 30+ other markers from a single draw — so you get the whole picture rather than one line.
Order your panelThe bottom line
Testosterone declines slowly and predictably with age, but "normal for your age" is a statement about a population, not about you — and the population it describes is not an especially healthy one. Free testosterone usually falls faster than total because SHBG rises, so a total-only panel understates the change. Your own earlier baseline beats any chart. And below 50, a low number is usually pointing at something upstream — sleep, weight, apnea, stress or a medication — which is worth finding before anything else is decided.
Educational content, not medical advice. Reference ranges and assay methods vary between laboratories. Laboratory interpretation, diagnosis and any treatment decision are made by a licensed physician after individual evaluation. Individual results vary.
