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What Is a Good Typing Speed? Typing-Speed Benchmarks

This guide expands on our homepage FAQ: What's a good typing speed? Whether you're preparing for a job interview, checking student progress or benchmarking against professional typists, use the structured tiers below to find exactly where your current WPM lands.

Job interviewsStudent speedFast typingAccuracyFAQ

WPM benchmarks — every skill tier

Corrected (net) WPM, 5-keystroke word standard.

User groupTypical WPM rangeNotes
Beginner
20–30 WPMNew to touch typing, still looking at the keyboard.
Average typist
30–40 WPMRegular computer users, everyday office work pace.
Job applicant
40–60 WPMCommon hiring requirement for admin & data-entry roles.
Skilled / Office worker
60–70 WPMComfortable daily work speed, rarely pauses.
Professional typist
70–100+ WPMTranscriptionists, closed-caption editors, data entry experts.
100 WPM
~99th percentileElite everyday typists; rare in hiring screens.
120 WPM
>99th percentileCompetitive / heavy keyboard users; verify accuracy.
132–140 WPM
Top competitiveExcellent raw speed — keep 95%+ accuracy so corrected WPM stays honest.
01

Good typing speed for job interviews

Most employers that require typing as part of the role — customer-support agents, secretaries, administrative assistants, transcriptionists, data-entry clerks — set a minimum 40 WPM bar to screen applicants. Specialist roles such as medical transcription or closed-captioning typically demand 70+ WPM with very high accuracy (97%+).

If you're just below the threshold for the role you want, short daily sessions on Typetap's timed tests are the fastest way to bridge the gap: focus first on accuracy, then let speed grow as muscle memory builds.

02

Average student typing speed

Middle-school students typically type 20–30 WPM; by high school this rises to 30–40 WPM for students who use computers daily in class. Students who practice touch-typing drills (home-row muscle memory, proper finger-to-key mapping) routinely exceed 50 WPM before graduation.

Students preparing for college essay writing, STEM coursework or coding assignments benefit the most from improving WPM early, because it directly cuts down time spent on homework and exams.

03

What counts as a "fast" typing speed?

Any speed above the global average (~40 WPM corrected) is better than most people. 60 WPM is a comfortable, skilled office worker's speed that lets you keep pace with your own thinking while writing. 80 WPM is the point where most people describe the typist as "genuinely fast". Above 100 WPM you're in the top 1% of all typists — good enough for professional stenography, live captions and competitive typing contests.

04

Accuracy matters as much as WPM

WPM without accuracy is a vanity metric. In the real world, every typo has to be corrected later — on a job, that's time spent editing, spell-checking and proofreading. A 60 WPM typist with 98% accuracy produces more usable output per hour than an 80 WPM typist who makes a mistake every 15 characters.

Typetap's corrected (net) WPM metric always penalises errors, and the AI-powered error analysis surfaces exactly which keys you're mistyping so you can eliminate the bottlenecks dragging your corrected score down.

FAQ

Typing-speed questions, answered

01

What is a good WPM for a job interview?

For most entry-level office jobs, 40+ WPM with 95%+ accuracy is considered a good baseline. Administrative assistant, transcription and data-entry roles often require 60–80 WPM.

02

What is the average typing speed for high-school students?

Most high-school students type between 30–40 WPM. Students who practice touch typing regularly can reach 50–60 WPM before graduation.

03

Is 60 WPM considered fast?

60 WPM is already well above the global average (~40 WPM) and counts as a skilled office-level speed. 70–80 WPM is considered genuinely 'fast' for a professional typist.

04

How important is accuracy alongside WPM?

Accuracy matters at least as much as raw WPM. In most typing tests, corrected (net) WPM penalises errors, so a 60 WPM typist at 98% accuracy usually outperforms an 80 WPM typist at 85% accuracy on the job.

05

Is 100 WPM a high percentile?

Yes. Around 100 corrected WPM puts you near the top ~1% of everyday typists. Roughly: 40 WPM ≈ average (~50th percentile), 60 WPM ≈ skilled office (~80–85th), 80 WPM ≈ expert (~95th), 100 WPM ≈ elite (~99th), 120 WPM ≈ top competitive hobbyists.

06

What percentile is 120 WPM?

120 corrected WPM is typically above the 99th percentile of regular computer users — rare outside competitive typing, stenography practice, or heavy daily keyboard work. Confirm with accuracy: 120 WPM at 90% accuracy is weaker usable output than 90 WPM at 98%.

07

Is 132 WPM good?

Yes — 132 WPM is excellent. It sits well above professional office expectations (usually 40–70 WPM) and into competitive territory. Most hiring screens never require this; focus on keeping accuracy at 95%+ so corrected WPM stays close to raw.

08

Is 140 WPM fast?

140 WPM is very fast — among the fastest non-steno typists on English prose tests. Treat it as elite/competitive speed. For jobs, 60–80 WPM with high accuracy matters more than chasing 140.

09

What WPM is fast?

Above the global average (~40 WPM) is already better than most people. 60 WPM is skilled office speed; 70–80 WPM is what most people call “fast”; 100+ WPM is exceptional. See the benchmark table above for every tier.

Keep reading ↓

How is WPM actually measured?

Not sure how corrected WPM is calculated, or why raw WPM always looks higher? Our metric deep-dive breaks down the formula with worked examples.

What is WPM? Raw vs corrected words-per-minute explained

Benchmark your own WPM in 30 seconds

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