Walking
Average Walking Speed
Updated 7 Nov 2026 · Source: Bohannon and Andrews (2011) ↗
Enter a distance and the time it took you. The calculator shows your speed in mph and meters per second and your pace per mile, so you can compare it with the age table below.
Worked example
- 2.0 ÷ 0.667 h = 3.00 mph
- × 0.447 = 1.34 m/s
Normal walking speed of healthy adults by age
| Age | Men (mph) | Women (mph) | Men (m/s) | Women (m/s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 to 29 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 1.36 | 1.34 |
| 30 to 39 | 3.2 | 3.0 | 1.43 | 1.34 |
| 40 to 49 | 3.2 | 3.1 | 1.43 | 1.39 |
| 50 to 59 | 3.2 | 2.9 | 1.43 | 1.31 |
| 60 to 69 | 3.0 | 2.8 | 1.34 | 1.24 |
| 70 to 79 | 2.8 | 2.5 | 1.26 | 1.13 |
| 80 to 99 | 2.2 | 2.1 | 0.97 | 0.94 |
Average comfortable pace over short indoor walkways, from a 2011 meta-analysis of 41 studies (23,111 healthy adults, Bohannon and Andrews).
Walking speed in mph, km/h and m/s
| mph | km/h | m/s | Per mile |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.0 | 3.2 | 0.89 | 30:00 |
| 2.5 | 4.0 | 1.12 | 24:00 |
| 3.0 | 4.8 | 1.34 | 20:00 |
| 3.5 | 5.6 | 1.56 | 17:09 |
| 4.0 | 6.4 | 1.79 | 15:00 |
| 4.5 | 7.2 | 2.01 | 13:20 |
| 5.0 | 8.0 | 2.24 | 12:00 |
What the research says about normal walking speed
The best summary we found is a 2011 meta-analysis by Bohannon and Andrews: 41 studies and 23,111 healthy adults, each walking at a comfortable pace over a short walkway of 3 to 30 meters. The table below the calculator shows their averages for each age decade.
Healthy adults aged 20 to 69 walked at about 1.2 to 1.4 m/s, or roughly 2.8 to 3.2 mph. The fastest group was men aged 40 to 49 at 1.43 m/s. Speed drops more clearly after 70, and the slowest group, women 80 to 99, averaged 0.94 m/s (about 2.1 mph).
Short walkway versus a real walk outside
A lab walkway of a few meters is not the same as a walk around the block. A 2021 review of 35 studies on outdoor walking found an average of 1.31 m/s at a usual pace and 1.72 m/s when people were asked to walk fast (about 2.9 and 3.8 mph).
So if your calculator result is near 3 mph, you are walking at a very ordinary adult pace. Use the table as a reference point, not a pass or fail grade.
How fast is brisk walking?
U.S. federal activity guidance uses brisk walking as a standard example of moderate activity. The 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines name 2.5 mph or faster, while an older CDC table starts at 3 mph, so the honest answer is about 2.5 to 3 mph or faster.
The same guidelines call walking at 2 mph or less light activity and very fast walking of 4.5 to 5 mph vigorous. In clock terms, brisk starts around a 20 to 24 minute mile.
A no-gadget check: steps per minute
You can also judge intensity by cadence. Studies of adults aged 21 to 60 settled on about 100 steps per minute as a rounded threshold for moderate-intensity walking and about 130 steps per minute for vigorous walking.
Count your steps for 15 seconds and multiply by 4. If you land at 100 or more, your pace is in the moderate range for most adults, whatever your exact mph.
Getting a clean speed reading
Time yourself over a measured distance, such as laps of a standard track, rather than a route with stops. Phone GPS can drift on short walks, so use at least a mile if you can.
To turn your speed into a mile time, see how long it takes to walk a mile. If you would rather plan by minutes per mile, the walking pace calculator does that. Full references are on our sources page.
Related pages
Questions
What is the average walking speed in mph?
For healthy adults aged 20 to 69 at a comfortable pace, about 2.8 to 3.2 mph. It is lower after about 70.
Do men walk faster than women?
In the 2011 meta-analysis, men were slightly faster in most age groups, by roughly 0.1 to 0.3 mph. In the 20 to 29 group the two were almost equal.
Is 4 mph a fast walk?
Yes. It is a 15-minute mile, faster than the average fast outdoor pace of about 3.8 mph in the 2021 review.
How do I convert mph to meters per second?
Multiply mph by 0.447. So 3 mph is about 1.34 m/s.
How we calculate: every formula, with its author and year, is on our method page; data sources and their licenses are on sources.
gymnical.com gives estimates from published formulas and public data. It is not medical advice and not a training prescription. Last reviewed November 2026.