The short answer: in a 2023 meta-analysis of 51,248 healthy adults, average comfortable walking speed was about 3.0 to 3.1 mph (4.9 to 5.0 km/h) for adults under 50, slowing to roughly 2.2 to 2.3 mph by 80. The earlier page's chart (3.2 to 3.4 mph in the 20s) ran about 5 to 10% faster than the measured averages for adults under 70, and it said 3.0 to 3.4 mph is the average for adults, which is the top of the range.
Average walking speed by age and sex
These are weighted mean comfortable gait speeds from a systematic review in the Journal of Physiotherapy (Andrews, Vallabhajosula, Boise and Bohannon, 2023), which updated an earlier meta-analysis by Bohannon and Andrews (2011). The review pooled 79 articles covering 51,248 apparently healthy, community-dwelling adults, and we converted its figures from centimetres per second.
| Age | Women, average comfortable speed | Men, average comfortable speed |
|---|---|---|
| 18 to 29 | 3.1 mph (5.0 km/h) | 3.0 mph (4.9 km/h) |
| 30 to 39 | 3.1 mph (5.0 km/h) | 3.1 mph (5.0 km/h) |
| 40 to 49 | 3.0 mph (4.8 km/h) | 3.1 mph (5.0 km/h) |
| 50 to 59 | 2.8 mph (4.5 km/h) | 3.0 mph (4.8 km/h) |
| 60 to 69 | 2.7 mph (4.4 km/h) | 2.8 mph (4.5 km/h) |
| 70 to 79 | 2.5 mph (4.1 km/h) | 2.7 mph (4.3 km/h) |
| 80 and over | 2.2 mph (3.5 km/h) | 2.3 mph (3.8 km/h) |
Women's speeds started to slow after about 30 and men's after about 50, and the review found little difference between continents. In the youngest group women were as fast as men or slightly faster; from the 40s on, men averaged roughly 0.1 to 0.2 mph faster. The earlier page's decline of "5 to 15 percent per decade after 60" is about right: men fell about 5% from their 60s to their 70s and about 12% into their 80s, and women about 7% and 14%.
What the averages don't tell you
The speeds were measured over short walkways (2 to 30 metres) with people told to walk at a comfortable pace, and the review excluded the acceleration and slowing phases. A sustained outdoor walk, with crossings, hills and stops, usually averages less, and a brisk walk is faster. Results also vary between studies: for women aged 60 to 69, the review's prediction interval for the average of a new study was about 83 to 160 cm/s, roughly 1.9 to 3.6 mph, and the spread among individuals is wider still. So treat the table as a reference point, not a target.
Walking speed and health
Walking speed is sometimes called a "vital sign." In a 2011 pooled analysis in JAMA (Studenski and colleagues) of 34,485 community-dwelling adults aged 65 and over, each 0.1 m/s of faster usual gait speed went with about 12% lower mortality (hazard ratio 0.88). We take that figure from a reference summary rather than the paper. It is an association: slower walking can signal illness, weakness or frailty, so it doesn't show that training yourself to walk faster would lower risk. The earlier page said fast walkers have "lower rates of cognitive decline" and healthier hearts "independent of age"; we haven't verified those claims, so we've removed them. See walking for seniors for the research on older adults.
Is a normal pace enough?
The earlier page said research recommends "brisk walking (3.5 to 4.0 mph)." We couldn't source that range. By the Compendium of Physical Activities, walking at 2.5 mph is rated 3.0 METs (moderate intensity) and 3 mph is 3.5 METs, so a typical adult's comfortable pace already counts as moderate-intensity for most people. Cadence is another measure: the CADENCE-Adults research found about 100 steps a minute is moderate and about 130 is vigorous. Intensity is relative, so for an older person walking at 2.2 mph the effort may feel harder than it is on paper. See the walking pace chart and power walking.
What affects your speed
Height matters, but the advantage of taller stature fades with age in one large analysis (Elbaz and colleagues, 2018). Illness and conditions affecting muscles and joints slow people down, as do hills, soft ground, crowds and carrying loads. The earlier page's points about footwear and purpose are plausible but untested here. For stride length and height, see steps in a mile.
How to measure your own speed
Clinical tests time you over a short, straight course at your comfortable pace, ignoring the first and last few metres. For a rougher everyday figure, time yourself over a measured route: four laps of a 400 m track is 1,600 m (slightly short of a mile), so covering 1,600 m in 24 minutes is about 2.5 mph. Your phone's pace readout over a normal walk includes stops, so it will usually be slower than your comfortable speed.
Should you walk faster?
This part is opinion. If you're healthy and walking at a normal pace, you're getting moderate-intensity activity already, and adding a few faster stretches is a reasonable way to raise the effort; interval walking has trial support (see power walking). The earlier page claimed an 8-week program takes most people to a brisk pace, which we couldn't verify. If your speed has dropped noticeably, talk to a doctor, since it can reflect a health change.
Sources
- Andrews AW, Vallabhajosula S, Boise S, Bohannon RW. Normal gait speed varies by age and sex but not by geographical region: a systematic review. Journal of Physiotherapy. 2023;69(1):47-52. sciencedirect.com
- Bohannon RW, Williams Andrews A. Normal walking speed: a descriptive meta-analysis. Physiotherapy. 2011;97(3):182-189. researchgate.net
- Studenski S, Perera S, Patel K, et al. Gait speed and survival in older adults. JAMA. 2011;305(1):50-58 (figures cited from a reference summary). kinetically.ai summary
- Ainsworth BE, Haskell WL, Herrmann SD, et al. 2011 Compendium of Physical Activities: a second update of codes and MET values. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. 2011;43(8):1575-1581. pacompendium.com
- Tudor-Locke C, et al. Walking cadence (steps/min) and intensity in 21-40 year olds: CADENCE-adults. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity. 2019. PMC
Correction note: an earlier version of this page gave an age chart that ran about 5 to 10 percent faster than the measured averages for adults under 70, said the average adult speed is 3.0 to 3.4 mph, said research recommends brisk walking at 3.5 to 4.0 mph, said fast walkers have lower rates of cognitive decline and healthier hearts independent of age, and said an 8-week program takes most people to a brisk pace. We replaced the chart with the 2023 meta-analysis and removed claims we could not verify. The Studenski figure is cited from a reference summary, not the paper. The speeds were measured over short indoor walkways and do not describe sustained outdoor walking. This article is for informational purposes and does not replace medical advice. This is general information, not medical advice.