Average Typing Speed: What 136 Million Keystrokes Show

The headline number: about 52 WPM

In 2018, researchers from Aalto University and the University of Cambridge published Observations on Typing from 136 Million Keystrokes at the CHI conference on human factors in computing. They analyzed 136,857,600 keystrokes from 168,960 volunteers who took an online typing test, which makes it far larger than earlier studies of typists.

The average speed was 51.56 words per minute, with a standard deviation of about 20 WPM. The fastest participants reached 120 WPM or more. The distribution was slightly skewed toward the slower end, with a long tail of fast typists.

A standard deviation of 20 means speeds were spread widely. Roughly two thirds of participants typed within 20 WPM either side of the average, so anywhere from the low 30s to the low 70s is ordinary.

What the number does not tell you

The participants were volunteers on a typing website. The researchers describe them as mainly teenagers and young adults, many of whom had taken some typing training: people interested in testing and improving their typing. That group is likely faster than the general population, so the average across all computer users is probably lower than 52 WPM.

You will see tables online listing average typing speed by age or by profession. We have not found a large, well-documented study behind those figures, so we do not repeat them here. If you see one, check whether it names its source and its sample.

What WPM actually measures

By convention, a "word" in typing tests is five characters, including spaces. Words per minute is the number of characters typed correctly divided by five, divided by the time in minutes. Using a fixed word length makes scores comparable across texts with long and short words.

Typing tests also report accuracy, and some report a raw WPM that counts every keystroke including mistakes. A high raw speed with low accuracy is not really fast, because every error has to be fixed. The typing test on this site shows WPM, raw WPM, accuracy and consistency for each run.

What separates fast typists

The study's most interesting findings were about how fast people type, not just how fast.

Training mattered less than expected. Participants who had taken a typing course were on average only about 5 WPM faster than those who had not.
Rollover was common among the fastest. Rollover means pressing the next key before releasing the previous one. The fastest cluster of typists, averaging around 68 WPM, used rollover on about 38% of keystrokes and also made the fewest uncorrected errors.
Keypress duration was similar for everyone. On average a key was held for about 116 ms across typist groups. The difference between fast and slow typists was the gap between keys, not how long each key was held.
Alternating hands helps. Letter pairs typed by different hands or fingers were faster than pairs typed by the same finger.

Rollover is also why keyboard rollover matters. A keyboard that cannot register overlapping key presses can drop characters for fast typists. You can check your keyboard with the ghosting and rollover test, and read what is NKRO for the background.

A rough guide to speeds

These bands are a practical guide based on the distribution above, not categories from the study.

Under 30 WPM: often hunt-and-peck or early learning. Practice brings quick gains here.
30 to 50 WPM: typical everyday typing.
50 to 70 WPM: around and above the study average. Comfortable for most work.
70 to 90 WPM: fast. Usually consistent technique and good rollover.
Above 90 WPM: very fast, uncommon outside practiced typists and enthusiasts.

Measure your own speed properly

Use a test of at least 60 seconds. Short tests reward a quick start and vary a lot.
Take three tests and use the average, not the best.
Look at accuracy alongside speed. Aim for 95% or better.
Test on the keyboard you actually use; speed often drops on an unfamiliar board.

The typing test offers runs from 15 to 120 seconds, plays a simulated mechanical switch sound on every keystroke, and supports Dvorak and Colemak. If you want to improve, read how to type faster and our touch typing guide.

Frequently asked questions

What is the average typing speed?

The largest published study of typing, which analyzed 136 million keystrokes from 168,960 people taking an online typing test, found an average of 51.56 words per minute with a standard deviation of about 20 WPM. Those participants were volunteers interested in typing, so the average across all computer users is likely somewhat lower.

Is 40 WPM a good typing speed?

40 WPM is a perfectly functional speed for everyday computer use. It sits a little below the average in the large study above, which was drawn from people who chose to take a typing test. With some practice, most people can move from 40 into the 50s and 60s.

What typing speed do you need for a job?

It depends on the job and the employer. Roles built around typing, such as transcription or data entry, often ask for higher speeds and test accuracy as well. Most office jobs do not set a requirement at all. Check the specific job listing rather than relying on a general number.

Does touch typing make you faster?

In the large study above, people who had taken a typing course were on average only about 5 WPM faster than those who had not, a small difference. The fastest typists were distinguished more by habits such as rollover, pressing the next key before releasing the previous one, and by using both hands efficiently.

Source

Vivek Dhakal, Anna Maria Feit, Per Ola Kristensson and Antti Oulasvirta, "Observations on Typing from 136 Million Keystrokes," Proceedings of the 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems.

Average typing speed, from real data