Average walking speed: about 3 mph
Healthy adults walk at roughly 3 mph (4.8 km/h, 1.3–1.4 m/s) when nobody's rushing them. Brisk walking starts around 3 mph and runs to 4 mph; above that you're power walking.
Walking speed by age and sex
Comfortable (self-selected) gait speed from a meta-analysis of 41 studies and over 23,000 participants: Bohannon & Andrews, Normal walking speed: a descriptive meta-analysis, Physiotherapy 2011.
| Age | Men mph | Men km/h | Women mph | Women km/h | Avg pace / mile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20–29 | 3.04 | 4.9 | 3.00 | 4.8 | 19:53 |
| 30–39 | 3.21 | 5.2 | 2.99 | 4.8 | 19:22 |
| 40–49 | 3.21 | 5.2 | 3.11 | 5.0 | 19:00 |
| 50–59 | 3.21 | 5.2 | 2.94 | 4.7 | 19:32 |
| 60–69 | 3.00 | 4.8 | 2.78 | 4.5 | 20:48 |
| 70–79 | 2.82 | 4.5 | 2.53 | 4.1 | 22:24 |
| 80–99 | 2.17 | 3.5 | 2.11 | 3.4 | 28:04 |
Walking pace chart: stroll to race walk
| Category | mph | km/h | Min / mile | Min / km | What it looks like |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stroll | under 2.5 | under 4.0 | 24:00+ | 15:00+ | Window-shopping, walking the dog |
| Average | 2.5–3.0 | 4.0–4.8 | 20:00–24:00 | 12:26–15:00 | Commuting without hurry |
| Brisk | 3.0–4.0 | 4.8–6.4 | 15:00–20:00 | 9:19–12:26 | Can talk, can't sing |
| Power walk | 4.0–5.0 | 6.4–8.0 | 12:00–15:00 | 7:27–9:19 | Pumping arms, short fast steps |
| Race walk | 5.0+ | 8.0+ | under 12:00 | under 7:27 | Technique walking; elites exceed 9 mph |
Would you make it across before the signal runs out?
US crossing signals are timed with a walking speed in mind. The federal Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices sizes the flashing-hand clearance interval so a pedestrian walking 3.5 ft/s (2.4 mph) can get from the curb to the far side.
That is well below the 3 mph adult average — deliberately, because the signal has to serve children, older people and anyone with a cane. Set the road width and a walking speed, then press Cross.
You need 15.4 s; the signal gives 16 s. You clear it.
What affects how fast you walk
Height and leg length set your natural stride; taller people cover more ground per step at the same cadence. Age matters most after 60, as the table shows. Purpose matters too: people walk faster in large cities and on the way to work than on a leisure loop. And fitness is the variable you control — interval training is the quickest way to lift your comfortable speed.
Find your own number with the walking pace calculator, or see how long a mile takes at each speed.
Questions walkers ask
What is the average walking speed?
About 3 mph (4.8 km/h), or 1.3–1.4 metres per second, for healthy adults under 60 walking at a comfortable pace. That works out to a 20-minute mile or a 12½-minute kilometre.
What is a brisk walking pace?
Brisk walking is generally 3 to 4 mph (4.8–6.4 km/h), or 15–20 minutes per mile. The CDC treats walking at 3 mph or faster as moderate-intensity activity; a common check is that you can talk but not sing.
What is the average walking speed in km/h?
Roughly 4.8–5.1 km/h for adults in their 20s to 50s, falling to around 4.1–4.5 km/h in the 70s.
Does walking speed matter for health?
Yes. Gait speed is widely used in geriatric medicine as a simple vital sign. A large pooled analysis by Studenski et al. (JAMA, 2011) found that faster comfortable walking speed in older adults was associated with longer survival.
How fast do people walk across the street?
US traffic signal timing in the MUTCD assumes a walking speed of 3.5 feet per second (about 2.4 mph) for the pedestrian clearance interval, with 3 ft/s recommended where many slower walkers cross.