What Is the Average Typing Speed?

The number you'll see most often quoted is 40 WPM as the adult average, with some sources putting it closer to 38-42 WPM. That figure is broadly right, but it's an average across everyone - from people who type a handful of emails a day to those who spend six hours at a keyboard. That's a wide spread, and the average on its own doesn't tell you much about where you should be.

Why Do Averages Vary So Much?

The headline average mixes together two very different groups: people who have learnt touch typing properly, and people who haven't. These groups have different speed ceilings, not just different skill levels. A two-finger typist who's used a keyboard for twenty years has usually hit their ceiling somewhere around 35-45 WPM. A touch typist at the same experience level is likely sitting at 65-80 WPM. When you average those together, you get a number that doesn't represent either group particularly well.

Age, occupation, and how much you type daily all shift the average too. Students who spend hours writing tend to type faster than retirees who use a computer occasionally. Office workers who use spreadsheets and email all day tend to type faster than people whose jobs involve very little typing. None of this is surprising - you get better at things you do more of.

What Are the Averages by Group?

Here's a more useful breakdown than a single number:

What Is the Accuracy Problem with Averages?

WPM figures are usually measured as net WPM - which deducts errors from the raw speed. A typist who types at 60 WPM but makes an error every ten words is producing net output considerably slower than that. Someone typing at 50 WPM with 99% accuracy is more productive in practice.

Most published averages don't make this distinction clear, which means the 40 WPM figure you'll see quoted includes people typing at 50 WPM gross but producing 38 WPM net due to errors. If you're comparing yourself to an average, make sure you're comparing net WPM to net WPM - otherwise the comparison isn't meaningful.

Does This Apply to Data Entry?

WPM measures letter typing. Data entry work - invoices, financial figures, reference numbers, stock codes - is measured differently: keystrokes per hour (KPH), specifically on the numpad. These are completely separate skills and the averages don't map across.

The average for data entry workers is typically quoted at 8,000-10,000 KPH for experienced staff, with entry-level roles often looking for 6,000 KPH minimum. Someone who types at 60 WPM might have a numpad KPH of anywhere from 4,000 to 12,000 depending on whether they've practised it specifically. The two don't predict each other.

If your work involves numeric data entry, your WPM average is largely irrelevant - measure your KPH separately and compare to data entry benchmarks instead.

What Should You Actually Aim For?

Beating the average isn't a useful goal on its own. The practical question is whether your typing speed is fast enough that it doesn't slow you down at work - and that threshold is different depending on what you do.

For general office work: 45-55 WPM is a comfortable threshold where typing stops being a friction point. Below 35 WPM, most people notice it slowing them down occasionally. Above 65 WPM, the returns for most office roles diminish - you're already not constrained by typing speed.

If you're below where you want to be, the single most effective thing you can do is learn touch typing properly. Not practising more - changing the technique. The ceiling for hunt-and-peck typing is roughly half the ceiling for touch typing. Technique is the bottleneck, not effort.