{"dataset":{"name":"Typing speed on computer keyboards","title":"Typing Speed Statistics: Average WPM by Group","question":"How fast do people type on a computer keyboard, and how does it differ between groups and tasks?","url":"https://yapapp.cc/data/typing-speed","measure":{"label":"Typing speed","unit":"words per minute","short":"WPM","decimals":1},"dimensions":[{"key":"group","label":"Who","values":["General adults","Students","Office and professional workers","Professional typists","Children and teens","Older adults","People with disabilities","Fastest typists"]},{"key":"task","label":"Task","values":["Copying text","Composing text","Online typing test","Mixed or unspecified"]},{"key":"statistic","label":"Figure","values":["Mean","Median","Percentile","Maximum or record","Range"]},{"key":"country","label":"Country"},{"key":"n","label":"People"},{"key":"year","label":"Year"}],"include":"Measured typing speeds on physical computer keyboards (desktop or laptop), reported as words per minute, for a defined group of people: from peer-reviewed studies, government or institutional reports, and large typing-test datasets that publish their method. A study that reports several groups contributes one row per group.","exclude":"Typing on phones and tablets (in the text entry methods dataset instead), speeds without a stated measurement, marketing claims, and figures repeated from another source without their own data.","method":"Rows come from three streams: the facts already cited across the library, a structured search of the scholarly literature (OpenAlex and Semantic Scholar) with the queries below, and official and institutional pages. Each candidate is screened against the inclusion rule; each kept figure is stored as a fact with the exact words of its source, checked automatically against the live page. Speeds in characters per minute are converted at five characters per word, and the conversion is noted on the row.","limitations":"Studies measure different tasks (copying is faster than composing), count words differently, and recruit different people; online typing tests attract people who practise. Treat a median across studies as a typical reported figure, not a population average.","sources":6,"updated":"2026-10-19","license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/","credit":"Yap (2026). Typing speed on computer keyboards [Data set]. https://yapapp.cc/data/typing-speed"},"rows":[{"row":"Feit et al. 2016, non-touch","value":58.93,"low":null,"high":null,"as_written":"58.9","unit":"words per minute","group":"General adults","task":"Copying text","statistic":"Mean","country":null,"n":null,"year":2016,"conversion":"Touch-typing skill is not a listed group, and the source does not give participants' age or occupation, so this row is filed under General adults.","claim":"In the same task, typists who had not learned touch typing entered text at an average of 58.93 words per minute.","quote":"and 58.93 WPM and 168.91 ms for non-touch typists","where_in_source":"Typing Performance","fact_url":"https://yapapp.cc/facts/feit-2016-non-touch-typists-58-9-wpm","source_title":"How We Type: Movement Strategies and Performance in Everyday Typing","source_publisher":"Proceedings of the 2016 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems","source_year":"2016","source_url":"https://userinterfaces.aalto.fi/how-we-type/","source_doi":"10.1145/2858036.2858233","checked":"2026-10-16"},{"row":"Feit et al. 2016, touch typists","value":57.8,"low":null,"high":null,"as_written":"57.8","unit":"words per minute","group":"General adults","task":"Copying text","statistic":"Mean","country":null,"n":null,"year":2016,"conversion":"Touch-typing skill is not a listed group, and the source does not give participants' age or occupation, so this row is filed under General adults.","claim":"In the transcription task, touch typists entered text at an average of 57.8 words per minute.","quote":"were found to be 57.8 WPM and 176.39 ms for touch typists","where_in_source":"Typing Performance","fact_url":"https://yapapp.cc/facts/feit-2016-touch-typists-57-8-wpm","source_title":"How We Type: Movement Strategies and Performance in Everyday Typing","source_publisher":"Proceedings of the 2016 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems","source_year":"2016","source_url":"https://userinterfaces.aalto.fi/how-we-type/","source_doi":"10.1145/2858036.2858233","checked":"2026-10-16"},{"row":"Dhakal et al. 2018, average","value":51.56,"low":null,"high":null,"as_written":"51.6","unit":"words per minute","group":"General adults","task":"Online typing test","statistic":"Mean","country":null,"n":null,"year":2018,"conversion":"The online volunteers were mostly young adults, and the source names no narrower group, so the row is filed under General adults.","claim":"In a study of 136 million keystrokes from an online typing test, the average typing speed of participants was 51.56 words per minute.","quote":"The average WPM value for participants is 51.56 (SD = 20.2).","where_in_source":"Results: Words per minute","fact_url":"https://yapapp.cc/facts/dhakal-2018-average-51-56-wpm","source_title":"Observations on Typing from 136 Million Keystrokes","source_publisher":"CHI 2018, ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems","source_year":"2018","source_url":"https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/bitstreams/cd64d093-2fa5-49c0-8242-f5dbf3de2ca7/download","source_doi":"10.1145/3173574.3174220","checked":"2026-10-17"},{"row":"Ratatype 2026, median, 506k tests","value":35,"low":30,"high":40,"as_written":"30 to 40","unit":"words per minute","group":"General adults","task":"Online typing test","statistic":"Median","country":null,"n":506024,"year":2026,"conversion":"The page gives the median as the range 30 to 40 WPM and rounds it to roughly 35 WPM. The number is the midpoint of that range.","claim":"In an analysis of 506,024 typing speed tests taken on Ratatype in April 2026, the median typing speed fell in the range of 30 to 40 words per minute, which Ratatype rounds to about 35.","quote":"According to our test data, the median falls in the range of 30–40 WPM","where_in_source":"Section: So what is the average typing speed?","fact_url":"https://yapapp.cc/facts/ratatype-2026-median-30-40-wpm","source_title":"What typing speed is considered good? Real data from 506,000 tests","source_publisher":"Ratatype","source_year":"2026","source_url":"https://www.ratatype.com/typing-tips/3004-what-typing-speed-is-considered-good-real-data-from-506000-tests/","source_doi":null,"checked":"2026-10-19"},{"row":"Dhakal et al. 2018, slowest 10%","value":26,"low":null,"high":null,"as_written":"26","unit":"words per minute","group":"General adults","task":"Online typing test","statistic":"Percentile","country":null,"n":null,"year":2018,"conversion":"The paper gives the slowest tenth of its sample as below about 26 WPM. It is a percentile of the whole online sample, so it is filed under General adults rather than a separate slow-typist group.","claim":"In the same online study, the slowest 10 percent of typists were those below about 26 words per minute.","quote":"Slow Typists are those whose performance is among the slowest 10% (less than approx. 26 WPM in our data)","where_in_source":"Section 'Typist Groups'","fact_url":"https://yapapp.cc/facts/dhakal-2018-slow-typists-bottom-10-percent-26-wpm","source_title":"Observations on Typing from 136 Million Keystrokes","source_publisher":"CHI 2018, ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems","source_year":"2018","source_url":"https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/bitstreams/cd64d093-2fa5-49c0-8242-f5dbf3de2ca7/download","source_doi":"10.1145/3173574.3174220","checked":"2026-10-16"},{"row":"Houser, desktop PC","value":23,"low":null,"high":null,"as_written":"23","unit":"words per minute","group":"Students","task":"Copying text","statistic":null,"country":null,"n":24,"year":null,"conversion":"Japanese text on desktop PCs. The paper writes Japanese:English results as 23:14, so 23 is the Japanese figure.","claim":"In a two-minute transcription task, Japanese university students typed Japanese at 23 words per minute on desktop PCs.","quote":"In 2-minute transcription tasks, 24 Japanese university students typed Japanese:English at 8:7 wpm on miniature QWERTY thumb keyboards, 10:9 on onscreen QWERTY keyboards, 17:5 on cellphones, 23:14 on desktop PCs, and 31:30 with pencil and paper.","where_in_source":"Abstract","fact_url":"https://yapapp.cc/facts/houser-japanese-desktop-pc-23-wpm","source_title":"Japanese college students' typing speed on mobile devices","source_publisher":"Kinjo Gakuin University (conference paper, copy hosted by Universidade Federal de Pernambuco)","source_year":"n.d.","source_url":"https://www.cin.ufpe.br/~mlearning/intranet/m-learning/Japanese%20college%20students'%20typing%20speed%20on%20mobile%20devices.pdf","source_doi":null,"checked":"2026-10-17"},{"row":"Typing.com workers, eyes on screen","value":61,"low":null,"high":null,"as_written":"61","unit":"words per minute","group":"Office and professional workers","task":"Online typing test","statistic":"Mean","country":null,"n":null,"year":null,"conversion":null,"claim":"In Typing.com's survey of full-time workers, those who mainly typed without looking down at the keyboard averaged 61 words per minute on a one-minute typing test, about 17 words per minute faster than those who looked at both the keyboard and the screen.","quote":"averaging 61 wpm and almost 17 words faster than those who looked at both the keyboard and screen when typing","where_in_source":"Findings on where workers looked","fact_url":"https://yapapp.cc/facts/typing-com-undated-no-keyboard-look-61-wpm","source_title":"The Time Savings of Fast Typists","source_publisher":"Typing.com","source_year":"n.d.","source_url":"https://www.typing.com/articles/the-time-saving-of-fast-typists","source_doi":null,"checked":"2026-10-19"},{"row":"Typing.com workers, 5 to 9 fingers","value":54.7,"low":null,"high":null,"as_written":"54.7","unit":"words per minute","group":"Office and professional workers","task":"Online typing test","statistic":"Mean","country":null,"n":null,"year":null,"conversion":null,"claim":"In Typing.com's survey of full-time workers, those who typed with five to nine fingers averaged 54.7 words per minute on a one-minute typing test, just faster than those who used all 10 fingers.","quote":"Workers who used five to nine fingers comprised just over a quarter of those surveyed but averaged 54.7 wpm","where_in_source":"Findings on typing method","fact_url":"https://yapapp.cc/facts/typing-com-undated-five-to-nine-fingers-54-7-wpm","source_title":"The Time Savings of Fast Typists","source_publisher":"Typing.com","source_year":"n.d.","source_url":"https://www.typing.com/articles/the-time-saving-of-fast-typists","source_doi":null,"checked":"2026-10-19"},{"row":"Typing.com workers, 10 fingers","value":54.6,"low":null,"high":null,"as_written":"54.6","unit":"words per minute","group":"Office and professional workers","task":"Online typing test","statistic":"Mean","country":null,"n":null,"year":null,"conversion":null,"claim":"In Typing.com's survey of full-time workers, those who typed with all 10 fingers averaged 54.6 words per minute on a one-minute typing test, and 61 percent of respondents used that method.","quote":"Typing with all 10 fingers was the method used by 61 percent of respondents, allowing them to produce an average of 54.6 wpm","where_in_source":"Findings on typing method","fact_url":"https://yapapp.cc/facts/typing-com-undated-all-ten-fingers-54-6-wpm","source_title":"The Time Savings of Fast Typists","source_publisher":"Typing.com","source_year":"n.d.","source_url":"https://www.typing.com/articles/the-time-saving-of-fast-typists","source_doi":null,"checked":"2026-10-19"},{"row":"Typing.com workers, look at keys","value":39.5,"low":null,"high":null,"as_written":"39.5","unit":"words per minute","group":"Office and professional workers","task":"Online typing test","statistic":"Mean","country":null,"n":null,"year":null,"conversion":null,"claim":"In Typing.com's survey of full-time workers, the fewer than 5 percent who mainly looked at the keyboard while typing averaged 39.5 words per minute on a one-minute typing test, the slowest of the three methods the survey compared.","quote":"Less than 5 percent of typists primarily looked at the keyboard and trailed the other two methods with a lackluster 39.5 wpm","where_in_source":"Findings on where workers looked","fact_url":"https://yapapp.cc/facts/typing-com-undated-keyboard-look-39-5-wpm","source_title":"The Time Savings of Fast Typists","source_publisher":"Typing.com","source_year":"n.d.","source_url":"https://www.typing.com/articles/the-time-saving-of-fast-typists","source_doi":null,"checked":"2026-10-19"},{"row":"Typing.com male baby boomers","value":38,"low":null,"high":null,"as_written":"38","unit":"words per minute","group":"Office and professional workers","task":"Online typing test","statistic":"Mean","country":null,"n":null,"year":null,"conversion":null,"claim":"In Typing.com's survey of full-time workers, male baby boomers were the slowest group by generation and gender, averaging 38 words per minute on a one-minute typing test.","quote":"male baby boomers were the slowest ... averaging only 38 wpm","where_in_source":"Findings on generation and gender","fact_url":"https://yapapp.cc/facts/typing-com-undated-baby-boomer-men-38-wpm","source_title":"The Time Savings of Fast Typists","source_publisher":"Typing.com","source_year":"n.d.","source_url":"https://www.typing.com/articles/the-time-saving-of-fast-typists","source_doi":null,"checked":"2026-10-19"},{"row":"UCT 2017, gamified group","value":25,"low":null,"high":null,"as_written":"25","unit":"words per minute","group":"Children and teens","task":null,"statistic":"Mean","country":null,"n":null,"year":2017,"conversion":"The context says Grade 11 learners at one school, mapped to Children and teens. The fact does not state the keyboard type, so the row assumes a computer keyboard for this computer science dissertation.","claim":"In a 2017 master's dissertation, the average typing speed of the gamified group rose from 8 to 25 words per minute by the end of the training, and its accuracy rose from 43 to 93 percent.","quote":"By the end of the training, the average speed had improved from 8 wpm to 25wpm, while accuracy had shot up from 43% to 93% for the sample group.","where_in_source":"Conclusions section, results paragraph","fact_url":"https://yapapp.cc/facts/uct-2017-gamified-sample-8-to-25-wpm","source_title":"Typing Training Through Gamification (Master of Science dissertation)","source_publisher":"University of Cape Town, Department of Computer Science","source_year":"2017","source_url":"https://open.uct.ac.za/server/api/core/bitstreams/3ec6bd53-aabf-4375-ace5-fc14b917e6ff/content","source_doi":null,"checked":"2026-10-16"},{"row":"Dhakal et al. 2018, fastest","value":120,"low":null,"high":null,"as_written":"120","unit":"words per minute","group":"Fastest typists","task":"Online typing test","statistic":"Maximum or record","country":null,"n":168960,"year":2018,"conversion":"The paper says the fastest typists reach 120 WPM or more, so 120 is a floor, not an exact maximum.","claim":"The fastest typists in the online study reached 120 words per minute or more.","quote":"The fastest typists in the dataset reach speeds of even 120 WPM or more.","where_in_source":"Performance Measures: Words per minute","fact_url":"https://yapapp.cc/facts/dhakal-2018-fastest-120-wpm","source_title":"Observations on Typing from 136 Million Keystrokes","source_publisher":"CHI 2018, ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems","source_year":"2018","source_url":"https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/bitstreams/cd64d093-2fa5-49c0-8242-f5dbf3de2ca7/download","source_doi":"10.1145/3173574.3174220","checked":"2026-10-16"},{"row":"Dhakal et al. 2018, fast typists","value":78,"low":null,"high":null,"as_written":"78","unit":"words per minute","group":"Fastest typists","task":"Online typing test","statistic":"Percentile","country":null,"n":null,"year":2018,"conversion":"The paper gives the threshold as approx. 78 WPM: the speed faster than 90 percent of participants, which defines the group.","claim":"In a study of 136 million keystrokes from an online typing test, typists faster than 90 percent of participants were those above about 78 words per minute.","quote":"Fast Typists are the typists with speeds higher than that of 90% of participants (above approx. 78 WPM in our data)","where_in_source":"Section 'Typist Groups'","fact_url":"https://yapapp.cc/facts/dhakal-2018-fast-typists-top-10-percent-78-wpm","source_title":"Observations on Typing from 136 Million Keystrokes","source_publisher":"CHI 2018, ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems","source_year":"2018","source_url":"https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/bitstreams/cd64d093-2fa5-49c0-8242-f5dbf3de2ca7/download","source_doi":"10.1145/3173574.3174220","checked":"2026-10-16"}]}