Typing Speed by Age and Grade

Typing speed by grade: what is normal?

These ranges are planning guides from Typing.com, a typing program used in many schools. They are words per minute (wpm) on a computer keyboard. Typing.com says they are guidance, not rules, and that students of the same age vary a lot.^[1]

Speeds and grade 3+ accuracy from Typing.com's grade-level guidelines.^[1] K–2 accuracy from Typing.com's own learner data.^[2] Ages are typical US ages for each grade.

What about adults? Typing.com puts the average at about 40 wpm.^[2] In a large online study of 168,000 volunteers, the average was 52 wpm and the fastest typed about 120 wpm.^[3] People who choose to take a typing test are probably faster than average, so read 52 as a high-end average.

Accuracy matters more than speed at first

Typing.com says accuracy matters more than speed early on, because speed comes with practice.^[1] It also points out that 90% accuracy is not an A in typing: one wrong key in ten means most five-letter words have a mistake.^[1]

A simple rule for home: raise the speed goal only when the student meets the accuracy goal for their grade. A student who types 25 wpm with 95% accuracy is in better shape than one who types 35 wpm and fixes every third word.

Typing vs handwriting speed

Typing helps a student most once it is at least as fast as their handwriting. A Maryland school district's assistive technology team puts it this way: keyboarding speed should match handwriting speed or better to be useful for classroom writing.^[4] Their sheet lists handwriting copying speeds from a study of students in grades 1 to 9:^[4]

A Virginia school district's keyboarding guidance aims higher: one and a half times the student's handwriting speed.^[5] For a 4th grader who writes 13 wpm by hand, that is about 20 wpm on the keyboard.

Phone typing vs computer typing

Phones are closer to computers than most people think. In a 2019 study of more than 37,000 volunteers typing on their own phones:^[6]

• The average speed was 36.2 wpm, with 2.3% of errors left uncorrected.
• Typing with two thumbs averaged 38 wpm. Typing with one finger averaged 29 wpm.
• People aged 10 to 19 were the fastest group, at about 40 wpm.
• On average, phone typing was about 15 wpm slower than computer typing.
• The fastest phone typists went over 80 wpm. People who used autocorrect were faster on average.

So a teen who is quick on a phone may still be slow on a keyboard, and the reverse. They are different skills. School assignments, tests and most jobs still use a keyboard, so it is worth practicing both.

When should students start typing?

The Common Core writing standards expect students to type a minimum of one page in a single sitting by 4th grade, two pages by 5th grade and three pages by 6th grade.^[7] A US Department of Education practice guide on elementary writing recommends teaching students to be fluent with handwriting, spelling, sentence construction, typing and word processing.^[8]

Touch typing vs hunt-and-peck

Touch typing means using all ten fingers from the home row without looking at the keys. Hunt-and-peck means looking for each key and pressing it with one or two fingers.

Typing.com reports that students who hunt and peck average about 27 wpm, compared with about 40 wpm for typists overall.^[2] To be fair, the large 2018 study found that some self-taught typists who use fewer than ten fingers can be as fast as touch typists.^[3] The fast ones had built steady habits and did not look down.

Our advice: teach touch typing from the start. It is easier to learn the right way once than to fix habits later, and keeping eyes on the screen means a student can watch what they write. If an older student already types fast and accurately with fewer fingers, do not force a full restart. Work on accuracy and not looking at the keys.

How to practice 10 minutes a day

Short, regular practice beats long, rare sessions. Spreading practice over time is one of the two study methods with the strongest support in a major review of learning techniques.^[10] The Virginia district guidance keeps keyboarding focus to no more than 15 minutes at a time.^[5]

1. 2 minutes: warm up on the home row.Fingers on A S D F and J K L ;. Type a few short words slowly, without looking down.
2. 6 minutes: type real sentences.Stories and sentences keep it interesting and practice capitals, spaces and punctuation together. This is where a game helps.
3. 2 minutes: check accuracy, then stop.Look at the accuracy number first. If it is below the goal for the grade, slow down tomorrow. If it is at or above the goal, try a little faster.
4. Once a week: a 1-minute test.Write down wpm and accuracy on the same day each week. Progress is easier to see on paper.

Five days a week is plenty. Stop before the student is tired or frustrated.

Read more

• How fast should my child type? WPM goals by grade
• When should kids learn to type, and how to start at home
• Phone typing vs keyboard typing: do students still need touch typing?

Questions parents ask

Sources

1. Typing.com Help Center. WPM / averages by grade level. support.typing.com/en/articles/9045953Used for: speed by grade, accuracy goals for grade 3 and up, accuracy before speed
2. Typing.com Blog. How to know how fast your students should be typing. typing.com/blog/how-fast-typing-speed-kidsUsed for: K–2 accuracy, average adult speed, hunt-and-peck speed
3. Dhakal, V., Feit, A. M., Kristensson, P. O., & Oulasvirta, A. (2018). Observations on typing from 136 million keystrokes. Proceedings of CHI 2018. ACM. Summary: University of CambridgeUsed for: adult computer speeds, self-taught vs touch typists
4. Montgomery County Public Schools (MD), HIAT. Handwriting speeds, citing Graham, S., Berninger, V., Weintraub, N., & Schafer, W. (1998). Development of handwriting speed and legibility in grades 1–9. Journal of Educational Research, 92, 42–52. montgomeryschoolsmd.org (PDF)Used for: handwriting speed by grade, typing at least as fast as handwriting
5. Newport News Public Schools (VA), Assistive Technology. Keyboarding. sbo.nn.k12.va.us (PDF)Used for: 1.5 times handwriting speed, starting at grade 3, sessions of 15 minutes or less
6. Palin, K., Feit, A. M., Kim, S., Kristensson, P. O., & Oulasvirta, A. (2019). How do people type on mobile devices? Observations from a study with 37,000 volunteers. MobileHCI '19. ACM. doi.org/10.1145/3338286.3340120Used for: phone typing speeds, two thumbs vs one finger, age
7. Common Core State Standards, English Language Arts. Writing standards W.4.6, W.5.6 and W.6.6.Used for: one, two and three pages in one sitting by grades 4, 5 and 6
8. Graham, S., et al. (2012, revised 2018). Teaching Elementary School Students to Be Effective Writers. Institute of Education Sciences, What Works Clearinghouse. ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/PracticeGuide/17Used for: teaching typing as part of writing fluency (Recommendation 3, moderate evidence)
9. Kiefer, M., Schuler, S., Mayer, C., Trumpp, N. M., Hille, K., & Sachse, S. (2015). Handwriting or typewriting? The influence of pen- or keyboard-based writing training on reading and writing performance in preschool children. Advances in Cognitive Psychology, 11(4), 136–146. doi.org/10.5709/acp-0178-7Used for: keeping handwriting for young students
10. Dunlosky, J., Rawson, K. A., Marsh, E. J., Nathan, M. J., & Willingham, D. T. (2013). Improving students' learning with effective learning techniques. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 14(1), 4–58. Summary: Association for Psychological ScienceUsed for: short, spread-out practice

This page is general information for families. Students grow at different paces, and these numbers are guides, not tests. Last updated October 23, 2026.