Average typing speed (WPM)

We originally wrote this article on November 10, 2019, and completed our second survey in March 2020. To ensure the most accurate results, we conducted a large-scale survey in March 2025 with over 56,000 volunteers.

We also included data from previous surveys to obtain a more accurate average WPM with a larger sample size. First of all, if you are here to increase your average typing speed, I suggest you read this article: How to increase typing speed?

People ask me a question several times, what is a good and average typing speed of a person? You might have wondered the same at some point. Many people are curious about others' typing speeds to set benchmarks and improve their own skills.

In this post, I’ll share some statistical data about average typing speeds to give you a clear idea of where you stand.

What is the average typing speed?

The average typing speed is measured in words per minute or WPM. In this survey, we divided our 56,000+ volunteers into different groups based on their age and job title, allowing us to determine the average typing speed of people of various ages working in different job profiles. Before we share the survey results, here are some points you should know:

What is WPM and how to calculate it?

Words Per Minute (WPM) is the fundamental unit of typing speed. It indicates how many words you can type in one minute. In typing tests, a "word" is standardized to five characters, including spaces and punctuation.

To calculate the average typing speed we have to count the total number of characters you have typed (including space) and divide it by 5 to get the number of words. Now divide it by the time you took to type it.

WPM = Total characters typed/(5×Time in minutes)

Survey Report of March 2025

Last month we surveyed thousands of people in several occupations. We did the same type of survey earlier in the year 2019, but this time we did it on a vast scale.

We have divided the participants into different groups back-office workers, students, data entry operators and typists, medical scribes, teachers, and programmers. In this article, we will provide a detailed analysis of that survey.

Before scolding the survey result, I want to clarify that we conducted this survey online on our website. Participants of different ages and occupations from different parts of the world joined this survey.

Average Typing Speed of Students (Age 07 to 28)

Average words per minute

Nearly 28,325 students participated in this survey, and all the students aged between 11 to 27 years. As you can see in this graph, 10,060(35.51%) students out of 28,325 have a typing speed between 30 to 40 WPM. 10,450 (36.89%) students have a typing speed below 30 WPM. Only 489(1.73%) students have a typing speed over 60 WPM.

This report shows that over 61% of students have a typing speed between 30 and 60 words per minute (WPM). Now come to the next category, back-office workers.

Accuracy rate

It is essential to track the accuracy rate besides typing speed, as a good typing speed has value only when you have an excellent accuracy rate. In our survey, we found that the average accuracy rate of students is 95.14%. Weather, the accuracy rate of students who scored below 30 WPM, is 97.2%.

Back-office workers (Age group – 21 to 54)

Average words per minute

The report is also not very impressive here. Over 30% of general office workers have a typing speed between 20 to 30 WPM. 39% of people have a speed between 30 to 40 WPM. 15.73% of office workers have a typing speed of around 40 to 50 WPM. And only 14% of them have over 50 WPM speed.

That means, according to this survey, it's very clear that most office workers don't see typing as a serious matter.

Accuracy rate

The average accuracy rate of back-office workers is 94.63%. This indicates that students have a slightly higher accuracy rate compared to office workers.

Programmers average typing speed (Age group 17 to 49)

Average WPM

On the other side, we found that programmers are pretty good at typing. As a programmer spends most of their time typing codes, it’s natural that they have a good typing speed. In our survey, approximately 73.42% of coders have a typing speed between 40 to 70 WPM. Only 3.4% of coders have a typing speed below 30 WPM. And 9.35% have speeded over 70 Words Per Minute. That’s really impressive.

Accuracy

The average exactness of programmers is 94.8%. The accuracy rate of coders who have a typing speed between 40 to 70 WPM is 95.23% which is an excellent rate.

Data entry operators & Professional typist (Age group 21 to 58)

Average WPM

Now the data entry operators and typists, but you have to understand that the typists who attended the survey are all not professional typists. Many people just started their careers as a typist and data entry operators.

You can see clearly in this graph that 86% of typists have a typing speed over 40 WPM. It’s definitely better than other professionals and students. Nearly 23% of typists have a typing speed over 60 WPM. And just 3.8% of typists have a WPM speed below 30.

Accuracy

96.12% is the average accuracy rate of professional typists and data entry personals and almost all participants typed with over 95% accuracy rate.

Average Typing Speed of Scribers

Average WPM and Accuracy of Scribers

In this survey, we found that scribes, particularly medical scribes demonstrate exceptional typing speed and accuracy. Over 89% of scribes achieve typing speeds exceeding 50 words per minute (WPM), while more than 90% of copyists maintain accuracy rates above 95%.

Average Typing Speed of Teachers (Elementary, Middle and High)

Average WPM

Teachers from elementary, middle, and high schools around the world volunteered for this large-scale survey, with over 5,000 educators participating.

You can see that 66.9% of teachers have a typing speed between 30 and 50 WPM. Nearly 8.8% have a typing speed above 60 WPM, while only 14.79% type below 30 WPM.

Accuracy

Over 32% of teachers achieved an accuracy rate above 95%, and nearly all participants typed with more than 90% accuracy.

Conclusion

It’s clear from the survey that writers, typists, and programmers generally have better typing skills than students, teachers, and office workers. The final results reveal that the average typing speed is approximately 33.4 WPM for students, 36.6 WPM for office workers, 53.7 WPM for programmers, 51.94 WPM for data entry operators and typists, over 60 WPM for scribes, and 40.87 WPM for teachers.

Average typing speed (Gender wise)

We found an interesting fact that girls’ average typing speed is a little less than boys. But among those who score above 60 WPM, girls are 65%. It is pretty interesting.

Average typing speed of teenagers

Our survey found that teenagers type at an average speed of approximately 38.3 words per minute, slightly higher than the average WPM of students overall. However, their accuracy rate is a little less than the others.

What is a good typing speed?

Now the question is, what is a good typing speed, and what WPM should we target? We can say that the speed that is above average is good. That means if you are a student; we can say that over 35 words per minute is a good typing speed (as the average typing speed of students is around 33.4 WPM).

To become a good typist or writer, a typing speed of over 60 words per minute (WPM) is ideal. Generally, a speed between 50 and 60 WPM is considered good. According to a survey conducted by Microsoft Corporation, many HR professionals and managers expect employees to type at speeds above 50 WPM. Therefore, if you are preparing for a job you should target at least 50 WPM.

In our survey, we found that a 14 years old girl achieved 83 WPM speed. That means it’s not necessary that students must have a typing speed between 35 to 50 WPM. There is no limit, consistent practice can significantly enhance your typing skills.

Fastest typing speed in the world

The record of being the fastest typist is in the name of Stella Pajunas Garnand. She made this record in 1946 by typing 216 words in one minute. She used an IBM model electric typewriter to make this record. It is the fastest typing speed ever recorded in the world using a QWERTY layout.

According to some journals and The Guinness World Records, the fastest typist is Barbara Blackburn, who made this record in 2005 by using a Dvorak keyboard. Her top speed was 212 wpm.

Both records were achieved by women, clearly debunking the myth that girls have lower typing speeds than boys.

I hope this detailed report will encourage you to practice typing more and improve your typing speed. Remember the average typing speed of a professional typist is around 60 WPM with more than 98% accuracy rate.

How to increase typing speed?

Before you know how to improve your typing skills, you need to know the factors that affect your typing.

Factors That Influence Typing Speed

Several factors affect typing speed, but the typing method is the most important among them.

Typing method

One of the main reasons for a slow typing speed is the wrong typing method. Generally, people use the Hunt & Peck typing method to type. In this method, the typist looks at the keyboard, finds the key, and then presses the key. It is a long process, so it takes some time to look at the keyboard and find the right key.

On the other side, the touch typing method is a way of typing where the typist memorizes the keyboard layout and types without looking at the keyboard. So this method can save time and make your typing fast. To learn touch typing click on this link: Learn touch typing.

Experience

Experience is another vital factor that impacts typing speed. The more you practice, the better your typing skills become. Following a consistent schedule is essential for improving your typing.

Language:

Language: One major factor that affects typing speed is the language itself. For example, English has 26 letters, while Russian has 33. This means you have to press more keys and move your fingers more frequently when typing in Russian.

How to beat the average typing speed?

If you are a student, a teacher, an office representative, or a programmer, in a simple word, if you are in a profession where you need to use a computer, a good typing speed can save a lot of time for you. That’s why people are getting interested to learn to type.

And the most common question that people ask is how I could increase my average typing speed. So here we will tell you how you could improve your average WPM.

Practice in the right way

As discussed earlier, the correct typing method is essential for improving your typing speed. Learning the touch typing technique and memorizing the keyboard layout can be challenging initially. To simplify the process, start by understanding the layout and practicing from the basics. You may join our free typing lessons to start practicing from the basics. We have designed this course to practice touch typing from the basic level to the advanced level.

In your free time, you may play typing games as it is helpful to set the fingers on the keyboard. Also, if you don’t want to join the 30-day long course, you may try our English typing test program. Using this you can practice and check your typing speed in just 5 minutes.

But the most important thing is consistency. If you are not consistent, no typing lesson can teach you to type. So, it is necessary to make a schedule and follow it. Keep at least one hour every day for practice.

If you can follow the schedule for 30 days, your average typing speed will increase a lot. Lastly, accuracy is more important than speed. So don’t ignore typing accuracy while you focus on the speed.

Go for a mechanical keyboard:

If you are using a mechanical keyboard, you definitely have some advantages over membrane keyboard users. Mechanical keyboards are designed to provide tactile feedback with every keystroke, helping users confirm that a key has been registered and preventing double or false key presses.

Additionally, high-end keyboards often come with wrist rests, making it more comfortable to type for a long time.

Improve your posture:

Practicing with the correct posture is essential to typing fast. You should sit properly on a height-adjustable chair, ensuring that your arms are aligned with the keyboard. This will allow you to type comfortably for longer periods.

Participate in Typing Challenges:

Typing challenges are a great way to improve your typing skills. There are several online challenges available, join one and invite your friends to participate in a friendly typing competition.

If you want to learn touch typing and increase your typing speed, you may join our 30 days of free typing lessons. If you follow this lesson properly your typing skills will surely improve a lot.