Average Typing Speed by Age (WPM Chart)
If you’ve ever finished a typing test and wondered whether your words-per-minute (WPM) score is actually good, you’re not alone. WPM is the standard way to measure typing speed, but “good” depends heavily on age, experience, and how often someone types for a living.
Key takeaways
- WPM counts five-character groups typed correctly per minute — whether a score is “good” depends on your age and what you type for a living, so compare yourself against the right benchmark.
- As a rough guide: children 10–20 WPM, teenagers 20–40, adults around 35–45, professional and data-entry roles 60–80 with high accuracy, and elite typists 100–120+ — and accuracy above roughly 95% matters more than raw speed.
- Touch typing without looking at the keyboard is the single biggest factor for improvement, along with short consistent sessions, varied practice, and tracking consistency rather than just top speed.
Table of Contents
What does WPM actually measure?
WPM counts how many five-character groups you type correctly in one minute. Using 5 characters as the standard “word” length (including spaces) means results are comparable across different tests and languages, even though real words vary in length.
Average typing speed by age group
These are general benchmarks, not hard rules — individual results vary a lot based on practice and keyboard familiarity:
- Children (ages 7–12): Typically 10–20 WPM while still learning key positions.
- Teenagers (13–17): Usually 20–40 WPM, especially for those who grew up typing on phones and computers.
- Adults (18–65): The general population average sits around 35–45 WPM.
- Professional typists and data entry roles: Commonly 60–80 WPM, with high accuracy.
- Competitive and elite typists: 100–120+ WPM, often with 97%+ accuracy.
Age vs Profession
Age benchmarks tell you where you stand for your stage of life, but job expectations care about what your work actually demands. A teenager typing 35 WPM is doing well for their age; a data-entry clerk typing 35 WPM would struggle to keep up. The ranges overlap — many working adults land near the 35–45 WPM general average, while roles built around typing usually expect 60–80 WPM or more with high accuracy. For what different jobs typically require, see our guide to typing speed by profession — and remember that consistency matters more than raw WPM when your speed has to hold up through a full workday.
Is speed or accuracy more important?
Accuracy matters more than most people expect. A test with a high WPM but many uncorrected errors is often slower in practice than a moderately fast, highly accurate one — because every mistake in real writing costs time to notice and fix later. Most typing coaches recommend prioritizing accuracy above roughly 95% before pushing for more speed.
What actually improves typing speed?
- Touch typing technique (not looking at the keyboard) is the single biggest factor.
- Consistent short practice sessions beat occasional long ones.
- Typing test variety — practicing with punctuation and numbers, not just plain lowercase words, since real writing includes both.
- Tracking your consistency, not just your top speed, since steady pacing is what actually holds up in real typing.
Test your own WPM
The only way to know where you actually stand is to test yourself under real conditions — timed, with live accuracy tracking. You can run a free test right now on the MonkeyTypeHub typing speed test, with Time, Words, Quote, Zen, and Custom Text (5 modes total), plus a results graph that shows exactly where your speed dipped.
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