Women's Jean Sizes: How 16, 16W, Waist 30 and 1X Compare

One brand sells your jeans as a 16, the next as 16W, a third as 16 Plus, and a fourth asks for a waist number or a 1X. Ordering the number you wore last time is how a waistband ends up refusing to close, or gaping at the back. Below is one brand chart that sets a numeric size, a W size, a waist size and a letter side by side, then five brands’ waist and hip inches for the same plus size, so you can pick your row by tape measure.

The short answer

Label on the jean	What it is	One brand’s inches
28, 30, 32	Waist size	NYDJ waist size 30: 30 to 31 in natural waist
14, 16, 18	Numeric size	Democracy 16: 35 in waist, 45 in hips
14W, 16W	Separate plus scale	Democracy 16W: 37 in waist, 47.5 in hips
15 Plus, 16 Plus	Same run, Plus added	Good American 16 (Good Legs Straight guide): 39 in waist, 50 in hip
1X, 2X	Letter covering two or more sizes	NYDJ 1X (WaistMatch): its 14W and 16W
12P	Petite	Democracy 12P: same 32 in waist as its 12

Take two measurements

1. Waist: wrap a soft tape round the narrowest part of your natural waist, level all the way round, “snug but not tight” in NYDJ’s words.
2. Hips: feet together, round the fullest part of your hips and seat. NYDJ puts that about 7 to 9 inches below the natural waist; Democracy prints its hip column at 7 inches from the waist.
3. Write both down in inches. If they point to different rows, our rule is to start from the larger one: a loose waist can be belted, tight hips cannot be fixed.

Bust, waist and hip together are in how to measure your bust.

Pant size chart for women: four labels on one row

NYDJ’s size chart prints “Your Size (Other Brands)”, its own numeric size, a waist size, a letter and the body inches side by side. These are rows from its bottoms tables, regular and plus.

Your size (other brands)	NYDJ size	Waist size	Letter (WaistMatch)	Natural waist	Hips
10	8	30	M	30–31 in	40–41 in
12	10	31	M	31–32.5 in	41–42.5 in
14	12	32	L	32.5–34 in	42.5–44 in
16	14	33	L	34–35.5 in	44–45.5 in
18	16	34	XL	35.5–37 in	45.5–47 in
16W	14W	–	1X	36–38 in	46–48 in
18W	16W	–	1X	38–40 in	48–50 in
20W	18W	–	2X	40–42 in	50–52 in
22W	20W	–	2X	42–44 in	51–53 in
24W	22W	–	3X	44–46 in	54–56 in

• NYDJ labels a size down. A 12 elsewhere is an NYDJ 10, and the chart page says to “Order your NYDJ jeans one size smaller than you would typically wear.”
• Waist sizes stop at 34, and the column is a dash on every petite and plus row. Up to 31 the waist size is the bottom of the natural-waist range; from 32 it falls below it, so a 34 sits on 35.5 to 37 inches.
• From XS up, each WaistMatch letter spans two rows: M is NYDJ 8 and 10, 1X is 14W and 16W. NYDJ’s Spanspring column groups differently: its 1X runs 14W to 18W.
• The plus tab continues to NYDJ 28W at 50 to 52 inches, with 32W and 34W rows in the other-brands column and no NYDJ size beside them.

Waist size chart: the same number at five brands

Each cell is waist / hip in inches, from Universal Standard’s size guide (an image chart of body measurements), the size guide on Good American’s Good Legs Straight listing, Democracy’s size chart, Warp + Weft’s fit guide and the NYDJ chart above, in NYDJ’s own labels.

Size	Universal Standard	Good American	Democracy (W)	Warp + Weft (plus rows)	NYDJ (W)
16	39–41 / 48–50	39 / 50	37 / 47.5	39 / 49	38–40 / 48–50
18	41–43 / 50–52	41 / 52	39 / 49.5	41 / 51	40–42 / 50–52
20	43–45 / 52–54	43 / 54	41 / 51.5	43 / 53	42–44 / 51–53
22	45–47 / 54–56	45 / 56	44 / 54.5	45 / 55	44–46 / 54–56
24	47–49 / 56–58	47 / 58	47 / 57.5	47 / 57	46–48 / 56–58
26	50–52 / 59–61	49 / 60	Not on chart	Not on chart	48–50 / 58–60
28	53–55 / 62–64	51 / 62	Not on chart	Not on chart	50–52 / 60–62
30	56–59 / 65–68	53 / 64	Not on chart	Not on chart	No NYDJ 30W
32	60–63 / 70–73	55 / 66	Not on chart	Not on chart	No NYDJ 32W

Warp + Weft prints its plus rows as plain 14 to 24, and its menu sells them as 14W to 24W. Universal Standard’s chart image gives its 18 a 41 to 43-inch waist, while the denim answer in the FAQ on the same page puts size 18 at 40 inches.

Read across the 16 row: the waist runs from 37 inches at Democracy to 39 to 41 at Universal Standard, 2 to 4 inches apart for the same number (our arithmetic). Of the five charts, Universal Standard’s runs furthest, to a size 40 at 70 to 74 inches waist and 80 to 84 hips.

W sizes against Plus sizes

The five charts split two ways.

• A separate W scale. Democracy prints 0 to 18 and 14W to 24W as separate tables: its 16 is a 35-inch waist and 45-inch hips, its 16W 37 and 47.5. NYDJ’s other-brands column does the same, a 16 at 34 to 35.5 inches and a 16W at 36 to 38.
• One run. Universal Standard’s chart is a single scale from 00 to 40 with no W. Good American’s guide runs 00 to 32, and its Good Legs Straight listing offers 00 to 14, then 15 Plus to 22 Plus.

So a 16 and a 16W from one brand are different jeans, 1.5 to 2 inches apart at the waist from 14 to 18 on Democracy’s chart (our arithmetic), and Good American’s 16 Plus, at 39 and 50, sits closer to Democracy’s 18W than its 16W (our reading).

Letters drift too. Universal Standard’s chart puts its S beside sizes 14 and 16 and the conventional 1X/XL, and its M beside 18 and 20 and 2X. Its FAQ says a conventional L “equals XS-S” there, while the chart image puts L beside XS only, in a cell shared with 0X.

Petite and Tall

• Democracy: the 0P to 18P rows carry the same waist and hip inches as 0 to 18, a 12P at 32 and 42 like the 12. Its FAQ says its petite jeans are designed for women 5’4” and under.
• NYDJ: each of its eleven petite rows is half an inch smaller at the waist than the regular row with the same NYDJ number, 10P at 30.5 to 32 inches against 31 to 32.5. Its FAQ gives the same 5’4” line and “shorter lengths”, and says its plus jeans are “made with the same inseam lengths as our jeans in regular sizes”.

Tall sits in both Democracy’s and NYDJ’s shop menus, while their bottoms charts have tabs only for regular, petite and plus. Our reading: a tall jean keeps your regular waist row and changes the length. The inches behind Petite, Regular and Long are in how to measure inseam women.

How to use the tables

• Waist-sized jeans (NYDJ to 34, Warp + Weft to 32): at NYDJ the label is the low end of the waist range up to 31 and under it from 32. Warp + Weft’s 10 | 30 lists a 31 1/2-inch waist and 14 | 32 lists 34 1/2, so its label runs 1 to 2 1/2 inches under its waist column (our arithmetic).
• Waist about 36 to 48 inches: find a column where both your waist and hips fit, and expect a different number at each brand.
• Waist over 48 inches: NYDJ’s labels end at 28W, Democracy’s chart at 24W, Warp + Weft’s at 24. Universal Standard’s chart continues to 40 and Good American’s guide to 32.
• Between rows: Universal Standard’s FAQ says “we recommend sizing up”; NYDJ’s says “consider sizing down”; for its jeans Democracy says “we usually recommend sizing down one size from your usual pants”.

Before you order

• A chart row is not a size on offer. Good American’s guide prints rows to 32; the Good Legs Straight listing it sits on stops at 22 Plus.
• Watch for slips. Warp + Weft gives size 10 a hip of 31 1/2, the same as its waist, between 40 1/4 and 43; we read it as a misprint. Democracy’s FAQ says its plus jeans run 14W to 28W; its chart stops at 24W.
• If jeans that fit your hips gap at the back waist, the cuts sorted by waist-to-hip drop are in best jeans for curvy women.
• Tops and dresses follow the bust-led clothing size chart women guide.

Where these numbers come from

Sizes, inches and quoted lines are copied from the size charts of NYDJ, Universal Standard, Democracy and Warp + Weft and the size guide on Good American’s Good Legs Straight listing, read on 1 October 2026; Universal Standard’s chart is an image, transcribed by hand. The gaps between columns and the waist-size offsets are our arithmetic.

Frequently asked questions

What waist size is a size 16 in women's jeans?

It depends on whose 16. On Democracy's bottoms chart a 16 is a 35-inch waist and a 16W is 37. Universal Standard's chart puts its 16 at 39 to 41 inches, and Good American's size guide gives 39 for the row its Good Legs Straight listing offers as 16 Plus. Measure your waist and read the row on the chart of the jean you are buying.

Is a size 30 jean a 30-inch waist?

Not always. On NYDJ's chart, waist size 30 sits on a 30 to 31-inch natural waist and is labelled NYDJ 8. On Warp + Weft's fit guide, the size printed as 10 | 30 lists a 31 1/2-inch waist. Treat the waist number as a label and check the inches beside it.

What is the difference between 16W and 16 Plus?

Both are brand labels for a plus-size 16, and the inches behind them differ. Democracy runs W sizes as a separate scale, so its 16W is 2 inches bigger at the waist than its 16. Good American sells one run from 00 and adds Plus to the label from 15 up on its Good Legs Straight listing; its guide row 16 is a 39-inch waist.

What size is 1X in jeans?

On NYDJ's chart (WaistMatch column), 1X covers its 14W and 16W, a 36 to 40-inch natural waist. Universal Standard's chart prints 1X/XL beside its sizes 14 and 16, a 37 to 41-inch waist. On NYDJ's WaistMatch column and Universal Standard's chart, 1X covers two numbers, so use the waist inches to pick between them.