Is 55 WPM Good?
55 WPM is good: clearly above average and enough for most office jobs. It is 3 WPM above the 51.6 WPM average in the largest typing study and faster than about 56.8% of the people tested.
Scale 0–150 WPM. The tick marks the 51.6 WPM study average.
What 55 WPM means in practice
- A 150-word email: about 3 minutes of typing.
- A 500-word essay: about 9 minutes.
- 1,000 words of notes or transcription: about 18 minutes.
Jobs that 55 WPM qualifies for
Typical requirements from job listings (they vary by employer, and most also want 90–98% accuracy):
| Role | Typical ask | At 55 WPM |
|---|---|---|
| General office / receptionist | 35–45 WPM | Comfortably meets |
| Customer service / chat support | 40–60 WPM | Meets the lower end |
| Administrative assistant | 45–60 WPM | Meets the lower end |
| Legal or medical secretary | 60–75 WPM | Short by 5 WPM |
| Transcriptionist | 65–80 WPM | Short by 10 WPM |
For numeric roles scored in keystrokes per hour, use the 10 key test or the data entry test.
How to move past 55 WPM
From here, speed comes from rhythm and accuracy rather than pressing keys harder. Short daily sessions on your most-missed keys and common letter pairs move the number fastest. Practice drills target the keys you miss, and how to type faster explains why slowing down slightly often raises net WPM.
Next milestone: is 70 WPM good?
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Frequently asked questions
Is 55 WPM a good typing speed?
55 WPM is good: clearly above average and enough for most office jobs. In the largest typing study (Dhakal et al., CHI 2018, about 168,000 volunteers) the average was 51.6 WPM, so 55 WPM is 3 WPM above that average and faster than roughly 56.8% of participants.
Is 55 WPM good enough for a job?
It meets the typical listed requirement for: general office / receptionist; customer service / chat support; administrative assistant. Employers usually also expect 90 to 98 percent accuracy, and many test you themselves.
How many characters per minute is 55 WPM?
Typing tests count a word as 5 characters, so 55 WPM is 275 characters per minute, or about 16,500 keystrokes per hour.
How long does it take to type 1,000 words at 55 WPM?
About 18 minutes of pure typing. A 500-word essay takes about 9 minutes. Real writing takes longer because you also stop to think.
How do I get faster than 55 WPM?
From here, speed comes from rhythm and accuracy rather than pressing keys harder. Short daily sessions on your most-missed keys and common letter pairs move the number fastest.
Percentiles are a normal approximation (mean 51.56, SD 20.2) of the data in Dhakal, Feit, Kristensson & Oulasvirta, "Observations on Typing from 136 Million Keystrokes", CHI 2018. Volunteers on a typing site are likely faster than the general public, so treat percentiles as approximate. See average typing speed.