Average typing speed by age group
| Age | Average WPM | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 6–11 (elementary) | 5–20 | Skill-building years; formal touch-typing usually starts here |
| 12–16 (middle/high school) | 25–40 | Fastest improvement phase of life — daily practice at school |
| 17–24 | ~45–48 | The peak: keyboard-native generation at maximum daily usage |
| 25–34 | ~44 | Peak sustained; professional typists in this band average far higher |
| 35–44 | ~41 | Near the overall average |
| 45–54 | ~38 | Gentle decline begins — practice, not capability |
| 55–64 | ~33 | Varies widely with career keyboard use |
| 65+ | ~28 | Career typists routinely stay in the 40s and 50s |
How these figures are built: population averages modeled from the published studies on our methodology page (the Aalto dataset skews young; the Ostrach study covers all ages), updated as our own anonymous test data grows. Modeled figures are labeled as such — that’s the house rule.
Test yourself against your age group
The result screen below compares your WPM directly to your age band:
Click the words and start typing — the timer starts on your first keystroke. space next word · Esc restart
Kids and school grades: what’s realistic
Classroom typing programs commonly target roughly 5–10 WPM by grades 2–3, 10–15 WPM by grades 4–5, 15–25 WPM through middle school, and 30+ WPM by high school — with accuracy above 90% mattering more than the number at every stage. Two things adults consistently get wrong about kids’ typing: pushing speed before accuracy (which trains permanent error habits), and comparing a 9-year-old’s hand span to adult benchmarks. A child improving 5 WPM a semester with clean accuracy is exactly on track.
Teens: the peak is real, and so is the asterisk
The 17–24 band posts the highest averages ever measured — this is the generation that grew up with a keyboard under its hands, and daily practice volume peaks in school and university years. The asterisk: the same generation increasingly types on phones, and thumb-typing (averaging ~36–38 WPM in the research) doesn’t transfer fully to keyboards. A teen who games and chats on desktop will usually out-type one who lives on mobile.
Older adults: the decline is smaller than you think
Average speeds drift down after 55 — but the driver is practice volume, not fingers. Studies of career typists show experienced older typists maintaining speed by reading further ahead in the text, compensating strategy for raw motor speed. Practical translation: a 60-year-old who types daily loses very little, and a retiree returning to the keyboard can recover 10+ WPM in weeks. The age table is a snapshot of habits, not a verdict on ability.
Reading your own result
Beat your age average and you’re ahead of your cohort; beat 60 WPM and you’re ahead of nearly everyone regardless of age. For where any score sits against the whole population, see the percentile ladder — and for whether your number is “enough” for work or school, what is a good typing speed answers it purpose by purpose.
Sources
- Population baselines: Ostrach (all-ages, ~40 WPM) and Aalto CHI 2018 (168K volunteers, 52 WPM, age breakdown skewing young). Details on the methodology page.
- Classroom targets: commonly used K-12 typing-program benchmarks (teaching targets, not population averages).
- Mobile comparison: Aalto/ETH smartphone typing study.
FAQ
What is a good typing speed for a 13-year-old?
Around 25–35 WPM with 90%+ accuracy is solidly on track; 40+ is ahead of most adults. Accuracy first, always.
What’s the average typing speed for a high school student?
Roughly 30–45 WPM, with wide variation by keyboard time. Students who type essays regularly cluster at the top of that range.
Does typing speed decline with age?
Averages drift down after 55, but it’s mostly reduced practice. Career typists hold their speed deep into their 60s and beyond.
Can seniors improve their typing speed?
Yes, measurably — consistent daily practice recovers speed at any age, and accuracy typically improves faster than in younger learners.