Fact · Typing and writing speed
39.5words per minute
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 found word for word on the live source, last checked October 19, 2026
In the source's own words
“Less than 5 percent of typists primarily looked at the keyboard and trailed the other two methods with a lackluster 39.5 wpm”
The Time Savings of Fast Typists, Typing.com, Typing.com, n.d., Findings on where workers looked.
Open the original- What it measures
- 980 full-time employees who typed on computers at work took a one-minute typing speed and accuracy test on Typing.com. Where people looked was asked of a subset of respondents, and the page does not state how many.
- What it does not show
- Computer-literate full-time employees only, recruited online. The group is very small (under 5 percent of the sample), so the average is less stable than the others. The test is a one-minute test, not work typing.
In the data
A row of Typing Speed Statistics: Average WPM by Group, as Typing.com workers, look at keys: 39.5 words per minute.
- Who
- Office and professional workers
- Task
- Online typing test
- Figure
- Mean
A row of Speech vs Typing Speed: Text Entry Rates Compared, as Typing.com, mainly looked down: 39.5 words per minute.
- Method
- Computer keyboard
- Who
- Full-time workers who type on computers at work, mainly looked at the keyboard
- Includes fixing errors
- Not stated
Source
Used to calculate
- In the text entry speed by input method dataset, the 19 published figures for “Computer keyboard” have a median of 51.6 words per minute, ranging from 15 to 163.
- The text entry speed by input method dataset holds 57 data points, each a published figure traced to its source.
- The text entry speed by input method dataset draws on 25 distinct sources.
- In the typing speed on computer keyboards dataset, the 5 published figures for “Office and professional workers” have a median of 54.6 words per minute, ranging from 38 to 61.
- The typing speed on computer keyboards dataset holds 14 data points, each a published figure traced to its source.
- The typing speed on computer keyboards dataset draws on 6 distinct sources.