How Long Does It Take to Walk a Mile?

Time to walk a mile, by speed

At walking speeds of 2.5 to 4 mph a mile takes 15 to 24 minutes: 24:00 at 2.5 mph, 20:00 at 3 mph, 17:09 at 3.5 mph and 15:00 at 4 mph. For any other speed, divide 60 by the speed in mph.

The chart covers 2.0 to 4.5 mph in steps of 0.1 mph, with the same speed in km/h, the pace per kilometer and the time for a 5K and a 10K at that speed.

Times are rounded to the nearest second. The CDC’s example of brisk walking is 2.5 mph or faster, which is the 24:00 row and every row below it.

Walking time by distance

Time to walk common distances at four steady speeds, with no stops.

On a phone, swipe the table sideways for the 4.0 mph column.

Usual walking speed by age

These are the speeds adults walk at when left to their own normal pace. Bohannon and Williams Andrews (2011) pooled 41 studies that timed 23,111 healthy adults walking at their normal pace over a short course of 3 to 30 meters, and averaged the results by age and sex. The averages ran from 143.4 cm per second for men aged 40 to 49 down to 94.3 cm per second for women aged 80 to 99.

Speeds in meters per second are as published, to two decimals. The mph and per-mile figures are worked out from them, so the times are good to within 10 seconds. These are speeds measured over a few meters in a test, not paces held for a whole mile.

By these figures, adults under 60 walk at 2.9 to 3.2 mph on average, which is a mile in 18:45 to 20:29. For people in their 70s the averages are 21:17 for men and 23:44 for women.

How it works

Walking time is distance divided by speed. One mile at 3 mph is a third of an hour, which is 20 minutes.

Pace says the same thing the other way round: the minutes each mile or kilometer takes. Divide 60 by a speed in mph to get minutes per mile, so 3 mph is a 20:00 mile and 4 mph is a 15:00 mile.

The calculator works in both directions:

• Walking time. Give it a distance and your speed or pace, and it returns how long the walk takes.
• Pace for a time. Give it a distance and the time you have, and it returns the pace and speed you need to hold.

It assumes one steady speed and no stops. For a walk with breaks, add the time you spend standing still.

Switching between miles and kilometers converts the numbers already in the form, using 1 mile = 1.609344 km.

The formula

time  = distance ÷ speed
pace  = time ÷ distance
speed = distance ÷ time

min per mile = 60 ÷ mph
min per km   = 60 ÷ km/h
mph          = 60 ÷ min per mile

1 mile = 1.609344 km
5K     = 3.107 miles
10K    = 6.214 miles

Worked example

How long does a 5K take at 3.5 mph?

1. Distance in miles: 5 km ÷ 1.609344 = 3.107 miles.
2. Time: 3.107 ÷ 3.5 = 0.8877 hours.
3. In minutes: 0.8877 × 60 = 53.26 minutes, which is 53:16.
4. Pace: 60 ÷ 3.5 = 17.14 minutes, so 17:09 per mile, or 10:39 per km.

The other way round: to walk a mile in 15:00 you need 60 ÷ 15 = 4 mph, which is 6.44 km/h.

What counts as a brisk walk

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) puts “Walking briskly (2.5 miles per hour or faster)” first in its list of examples of moderate-intensity activity. 2.5 mph is a 24:00 mile, so by that example a mile walked in 24 minutes or less is brisk.

The CDC also describes intensity relative to the person: “an activity that is vigorous for a person of average fitness may only be moderate for a very fit person.” Its talk test needs no watch: “A person doing moderate-intensity aerobic activity can talk, but not sing, during the activity.”

Questions

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Sources

1. Bohannon RW, Williams Andrews A. Normal walking speed: a descriptive meta-analysis. Physiotherapy. 2011;97(3):182-189.
2. University of Toronto, Department of Physical Therapy. iWalk Guide, resource 11: Walking speed, age- and sex-specific normative values. The table from Bohannon and Williams Andrews, in meters per second.
3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. How to measure physical activity intensity. 4 December 2025.
4. Hoeger WWK, Bond L, Ransdell L, Shimon JM, Merugu S. One-mile step count at walking and running speeds. ACSM’s Health & Fitness Journal. 2008;12(1):14-19.
5. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, Howdy Health. How to count steps without a pedometer, watch, or phone. Prints the three equations from Hoeger and others and the study’s average for a walked mile.
6. National Institute of Standards and Technology. Guide for the Use of the International System of Units (SI), Special Publication 811, Appendix B.9: 1 foot = 0.3048 m, 1 inch = 2.54 cm and 1 mile = 1,609.344 m exactly, which makes a mile 5,280 feet.