Average Reading Speed by Age, Grade and Language
Every figure on this page comes from published research, and most from the largest review so far. Sources are at the bottom.
Updated
The average adult reads about 238 words per minute (WPM) when reading English non-fiction silently, and most adults read at 175–300 WPM. Fiction is a little faster, at about 260 WPM, and reading aloud is slower, at about 183 WPM (Brysbaert, 2019).
Test your reading speed →Average Reading Speed for Adults
These figures are for adults aged 18 to 60, reading in their first language, with no reading problems.
| Type of reading | Average | Most adults |
|---|---|---|
| Silent reading, non-fiction | 238 WPM | 175–300 WPM |
| Silent reading, fiction | 260 WPM | 200–320 WPM |
| Reading aloud | 183 WPM | — |
Who you test matters too. Most studies use university students. In one study that compared groups directly, students read short texts at 248 WPM and a wider community sample read them at 218 WPM (Henry et al., 2018, reported in Brysbaert, 2019).
You may have seen 300 WPM given as the normal rate. The review finds that figure too high: it says setting 300 WPM as a target is unrealistic for most people.
Average Reading Speed by Grade
Reading speed rises steadily through school. These silent reading rates, measured with comprehension, come from Taylor's (1965) study of at least 1,000 readers per grade. Ages are approximate US school ages.
| Grade | Age | WPM | Bar chart of words per minute |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 1 | 6–7 | 80 | |
| Grade 2 | 7–8 | 115 | |
| Grade 3 | 8–9 | 138 | |
| Grade 4 | 9–10 | 158 | |
| Grade 5 | 10–11 | 173 | |
| Grade 6 | 11–12 | 185 | |
| Grade 7 | 12–13 | 195 | |
| Grade 8 | 13–14 | 204 | |
| Grade 9 | 14–15 | 214 | |
| Grade 10 | 15–16 | 224 | |
| Grade 11 | 16–17 | 237 | |
| Grade 12 | 17–18 | 250 | |
| College | 18+ | 280 |
Treat these as a guide, not a target for a child. A 2011 replication using the same materials found lower speeds in most grades (Spichtig et al., 2016), though the review points out that speeds from short texts vary a lot. Taylor's college group was also a more selective sample than the rest. If you're worried about a child's reading, talk to their teacher.
Reading Speed and Adult Age
The review found no real change from 18 to 60. After about 60 to 65, silent reading tends to slow down. Eye movements change with age, including longer stops and more looking back, and changes in vision often play a part. One small study of highly educated readers found no clear drop with age, so this varies from person to person.
Average Reading Speed by Language
Words per minute isn't a fair way to compare languages, because they use different numbers of words to say the same thing. That's why the review also gives the number of words each language needs to translate 1,000 English words.
| Language | Silent reading | Words per 1,000 English |
|---|---|---|
| Italian | 285 WPM | 1,006 |
| Spanish | 278 WPM | 1,025 |
| Chinese | 260 WPM | 980 |
| German | 260 WPM | 975 |
| English | 236 WPM | 1,000 |
| Dutch | 228 WPM | 1,005 |
| Korean | 226 WPM | 692 |
| Hebrew | 224 WPM | 782 |
| Swedish | 218 WPM | 897 |
| French | 214 WPM | 1,062 |
| Finnish | 195 WPM | 764 |
| Arabic | 181 WPM | 822 |
Most languages here are based on only a few studies, so small differences don't mean much. Portuguese isn't listed because the review doesn't have enough silent reading studies for it.
Reading in a second language is slower. In one study, reasonably proficient Dutch–English bilinguals read a novel 17% more slowly in their second language (Cop et al., 2015).
Why the Text Matters: The Word Length Formula
Your speed changes with what you read, mostly because longer words take longer. Brysbaert gives a simple way to estimate the average speed for any English text:
Expected WPM = 238 × 4.6 ÷ average word length
| Example | Letters per word | Expected speed |
|---|---|---|
| Typical English fiction | 4.2 | 261 WPM |
| Typical English non-fiction | 4.6 | 238 WPM |
| A research article | 5.1 | 215 WPM |
| Dense academic writing | 6.0 | 182 WPM |
This matters for any reading test. If a test's passage has longer words than usual, comparing you with 238 WPM makes you look slower than you are. Our test applies this formula to each English passage, so you're compared with what's expected for the text you read.
Screens vs Paper
Reading times on modern screens are very similar to paper. Comprehension is slightly better on paper (Clinton, 2019; Delgado et al., 2018).
How Many Pages Can You Read in an Hour?
About 48 pages of a typical paperback at 238 WPM, assuming 300 words per page. Most adults manage 35 to 60 pages an hour. See how long it takes to read any number of pages, such as 100 pages, or a book like the Bible. You can also use the words per minute chart to compare reading with speaking and typing.
How To Measure Your Own Speed
Short tests are useful but noisy, and longer tests are more reliable. One standardized test has a reliability of about 0.7, while two long texts of 7,300 words reached 0.95 (Brysbaert, 2019). That's why it's better to take a few short tests and look at the middle result than to trust one.
Always check comprehension too. A speed with no comprehension score can't tell reading from skimming (Rayner et al., 2016).
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the average reading speed?
Adults read English non-fiction silently at about 238 words per minute (WPM), and fiction at about 260 WPM. Most adults read non-fiction at 175–300 WPM. These figures come from a meta-analysis of 190 studies with 18,573 participants (Brysbaert, 2019).
What is a good reading speed?
For an adult reading non-fiction in their first language, anything from 175 to 300 WPM with good comprehension is normal. Above 300 WPM with good comprehension is faster than most people. Speed only means something alongside comprehension, because reading much faster usually means understanding less (Rayner et al., 2016).
What is the average reading speed by age?
Reading speed rises through school, from about 80 WPM in first grade to about 250 WPM by the end of high school (Taylor, 1965). It stays about the same from 18 to 60, then tends to fall after about 60–65 (Brysbaert, 2019). Children today may read somewhat slower than these figures: a 2011 replication found lower speeds in most grades (Spichtig et al., 2016).
How many pages can you read in an hour?
At 238 WPM, you read about 14,300 words in an hour. That is about 48 pages of a book with 300 words per page, or 57 pages at 250 words per page.
Why do people read faster in some languages?
Mainly because languages use different numbers of words to say the same thing. Italian and Spanish use slightly more words than English, so they have higher words-per-minute figures. Korean and Finnish use far fewer words, so their figures are lower. The amount of information taken in per minute seems to be more similar than the word counts suggest (Brysbaert, 2019).
Do people read more slowly on screens?
Not much. Reading times on modern screens are very similar to paper, though comprehension is slightly better on paper (Clinton, 2019; Delgado et al., 2018).
Can you really read 1,000 words per minute?
Not with full understanding. At that speed most words are never looked at, so you are skimming (Rayner et al., 2016). Skimming is useful, but it is a different thing from reading.
Sources
- Brysbaert, M. (2019). How many words do we read per minute? A review and meta-analysis of reading rate. Journal of Memory and Language, 109, 104047. doi:10.1016/j.jml.2019.104047
- Rayner, K., Schotter, E. R., Masson, M. E. J., Potter, M. C., & Treiman, R. (2016). So much to read, so little time: How do we read, and can speed reading help? Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 17(1), 4–34. doi:10.1177/1529100615623267
- Taylor, S. E. (1965). Eye movements in reading: Facts and fallacies. American Educational Research Journal, 2(4), 187–202. Reported in Brysbaert (2019), Table 4.
- Spichtig, A. N., et al. (2016). The decline of comprehension-based silent reading efficiency in the United States. Reading Research Quarterly, 51(2), 239–259. Reported in Brysbaert (2019).
- Cop, U., Drieghe, D., & Duyck, W. (2015). Eye movement patterns in natural reading: A comparison of monolingual and bilingual reading of a novel. PLOS ONE, 10(8), e0134008. Reported in Brysbaert (2019).
- Clinton, V. (2019). Reading from paper compared to screens: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Research in Reading, 42(2), 288–325. Delgado, P., et al. (2018). Don't throw away your printed books. Educational Research Review, 25, 23–38. Both reported in Brysbaert (2019).