Average Typing Speed
Ever finished a typing test and wondered whether your number is actually any good? You’re in good company. Almost everyone who takes a typing speed test ends up asking the same thing, and the answer depends on who you’re comparing yourself to. So let’s look at what the real data says, where the popular numbers come from, and how your own speed stacks up.
So What Is the Average Typing Speed?
Across the general population, the average typing speed sits at roughly 40 words per minute, usually with about 90 to 95 percent accuracy. That figure comes up again and again in large datasets. When Ratatype analysed 506,024 typing tests in April 2026, the picture matched it closely, and their earlier published average of 41.4 WPM barely moved. Other big typing platforms land in the same neighbourhood.
You may also have seen 55 WPM quoted as the average. That number is real, but it comes from older research where volunteers copied text in a controlled setting. It describes a narrower group doing a narrower task. Large online tests attract everyone from first time keyboard users to professional transcribers, and that wider crowd pulls the average down to around 40. Neither number is a mistake. They simply describe different groups of people, which is why it helps to know what a source actually measured before you compare yourself to it.
How WPM Is Calculated
Words per minute isn’t a count of real words. Typing tests use a fixed rule where every five characters, spaces included, count as one word. If you type 300 characters in one minute, that’s 60 WPM.
Most tests then report net WPM, which is your raw speed minus the penalty for mistakes. This is why a clean 50 WPM at 98 percent accuracy usually beats a sloppy 70 WPM full of errors. Every typo costs you a backspace and a retype, so accuracy quietly feeds straight into your final score.
Typing Speed Benchmarks
Here’s a simple way to read your score. These bands describe adults typing ordinary English text on a standard keyboard.
| Skill Level | Typical WPM | What It Feels Like |
|---|---|---|
| Beginner | Under 25 | Still searching for keys with your eyes |
| Below average | 25 to 39 | Comfortable for casual use, slow for long documents |
| Average | 40 to 49 | Fine for email, chat and everyday school or office work |
| Above average | 50 to 59 | Smooth, confident typing that rarely feels like a bottleneck |
| Good | 60 to 79 | A strong result that suits most professional roles |
| Excellent | 80 to 99 | Fast, consistent, and usually the product of years of practice |
| Elite | 100 and above | Professional typist or serious competitive territory |
Roughly speaking, one in seven people still type with two fingers while hunting for each key. Around a third of test takers know their way around the keyboard but haven’t yet built a steady rhythm. If you’re sitting between 40 and 50 WPM, you’re right in the middle of the pack, and the good news is that this is also where practice pays off fastest.
Average Typing Speed by Age
Age matters, but mostly because of how much time someone has spent at a keyboard. Typing is muscle memory, so it keeps improving with practice well into adulthood and holds up better with age than reaction time does.
| Age Group | Approximate Average WPM |
|---|---|
| 10 to 14 | 20 to 30 |
| 15 to 19 | 30 to 40 |
| 20 to 34 | 40 to 50 |
| 35 to 49 | 38 to 45 |
| 50 to 64 | 33 to 40 |
| 65 and above | 28 to 35 |
Treat these as ballpark ranges rather than fixed rules, since different platforms collect different crowds and don’t always break results down the same way. What the data agrees on is the shape. Speed climbs through the teenage years, tends to peak somewhere between the twenties and mid thirties, and then eases down slowly rather than dropping off a cliff. Plenty of people in their fifties and sixties out type people half their age simply because they’ve practiced longer.
Typing Speed Needed for Different Jobs
Employers don’t all ask for the same thing. Here’s roughly what different roles expect.
| Job or Exam | Typical Requirement |
|---|---|
| General office work | 40 to 50 WPM |
| Customer service | 40 to 50 WPM |
| Programming and development | 40 to 60 WPM |
| Administrative assistant | 50 to 60 WPM |
| Data entry | 60 to 70 WPM or more |
| Medical and legal transcription | 75 to 80 WPM or more |
| Government typing exams | Often 30 to 35 WPM in the exact exam format |
Programmers are an interesting case. Code is full of symbols and brackets, so raw WPM matters less than accuracy and comfort with special characters, which is why so many developers are perfectly happy at 40 to 60 WPM.
Touch Typing vs Hunt and Peck
If one thing explains most of the difference between slow and fast typists, it’s technique. Touch typists use all ten fingers, keep their eyes on the screen, and rely on muscle memory. Hunt and peck typists look at the keys and use a few fingers, which tends to cap speed somewhere around 40 to 50 WPM no matter how long they practice.
A 2023 Ratatype study found that trained touch typists were up to 40 percent faster than hunt and peck typists and made about 60 percent fewer errors. That lines up with what typing teachers see in the real world. Learning to touch type feels slower for the first couple of weeks, then quietly overtakes everything else.
What Actually Affects Your Typing Speed
A few things can move your score from one attempt to the next, even if your skill hasn’t changed at all.
The keyboard itself matters. Mechanical switches give clear feedback that many people type faster on, while low travel laptop keys can feel quick but make accurate touch typing harder for some. Layout matters too. Switching from QWERTY to something like Dvorak or Colemak usually causes a sharp drop in speed at first, because you’re rebuilding muscle memory from scratch.
The text you type changes things as well. Common everyday words fly by, while unusual vocabulary, names, numbers and symbols slow almost everyone down. Posture plays a quiet role, since tense shoulders and bent wrists lead to fatigue and mistakes. Even the time of day matters, because a tired brain types slower and makes more errors than a fresh one.
The Fastest Typing Speeds Ever Recorded
For the curious, here are the records people usually quote.
| Typist | Speed | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Stella Pajunas | 216 WPM | Set in 1946 on an IBM electric typewriter, and still the benchmark for classic typewriting |
| Barbara Blackburn | 212 WPM peak | Reached in 2005 on a Dvorak keyboard, with long stretches sustained around 150 WPM |
Online typing communities also report unofficial bursts far above 250 WPM on modern keyboards. Those short runs are impressive, but they’re rarely verified under strict conditions, so it’s best to treat them as fun outliers rather than official records. The takeaway for everyone else is reassuring. Most people never need more than 60 to 80 WPM, and returns diminish quickly beyond that.
How Much Time Faster Typing Really Saves
Here’s a way to picture it. The average person speaks at around 130 words per minute, which means we think roughly three times faster than we type. If you spend four hours a day at a keyboard and raise your speed from 35 to 60 WPM, you save close to an hour and a half every day. Over a year, that adds up to more than thirty working days. Not bad for something you can practice in fifteen minutes a day.
How to Improve Your Typing Speed
You don’t need anything fancy. Learn proper touch typing first, because it’s the single biggest change you can make. Put accuracy ahead of speed, since fast but sloppy practice builds habits that are hard to undo. Practice in short daily sessions instead of one long weekly one, and mix in real sentences and your own writing so your fingers learn the patterns you’ll actually use. Keep your wrists neutral, stop looking at your hands, and track your progress weekly rather than obsessing over any single test. A realistic goal is to gain around five WPM a month, which adds up faster than most people expect.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a good typing speed?
Around 60 WPM or more is considered good for most professional work.
What is the average typing speed for adults?
Most large datasets put it at about 40 WPM with roughly 90 to 95 percent accuracy.
Is 40 WPM a good typing speed?
Yes, it’s average and perfectly fine for everyday use, though there’s room to grow.
Is 60 WPM a good typing speed?
Yes, it’s above average and meets the needs of most office jobs.
What typing speed do employers look for?
Most want 40 to 60 WPM, while data entry and transcription roles often ask for 60 to 80 or more.
Does accuracy matter as much as speed?
Yes, because mistakes are subtracted from your net WPM and cost you time to fix.
What is the average typing speed by age?
It usually peaks between the twenties and mid thirties, then eases down slowly with age.
Can I really improve my typing speed?
Yes, regular practice and proper touch typing can add roughly five WPM a month.
What is the fastest typing speed ever recorded?
Stella Pajunas reached 216 WPM in 1946, which remains the classic benchmark.
Does typing speed matter for coding?
Only a little, since accuracy and comfort with symbols matter more than raw WPM.
Where This Data Comes From
The figures in this guide draw on large public typing datasets, including Ratatype’s analysis of more than half a million tests in 2026 and its earlier average speed research, along with published academic work on typing performance and widely cited record listings. Where a range is given instead of a single number, that reflects real differences between platforms, test formats and the people who take them.
Final Words
The average typing speed is closer to 40 WPM than most people expect, and that’s good news, because it means you’re probably not as far behind as you feared. Whatever your number is today, treat it as a starting point rather than a verdict. Take the test, note your speed and accuracy, and check back in a few weeks. Small, steady practice really does add up, and watching your WPM climb is one of the most satisfying kinds of progress you can measure.
