A fitness band or phone motion sensor can measure how many steps a person takes walking, and the
average individual takes between 2,000 to 2,500 steps every mile.Running steps have a greater stride
length, allowing for a mile to contain 1,000–2,000 steps.
A total of 10,000 steps equals 4 to 5 miles. The number of steps per mile varies from person to person
and depends on your stride length. Once you know how many steps a mile typically consists of, you can
start to estimate how far you'll need to walk in order to reach 10,000 steps a day.How Many Steps Are in
a Mile?
It is also backwards compatible. When you consider how many miles you actually manage to log during
your regular activities, the distance may not appear as far.You will reach your daily objective if you don't
stop moving.
Average Steps Per Day: How Many Miles Adults Walk
Walking and Running
For a quick rule of thumb, an older research study found these average steps per mile at walking and
running speeds:2
Walking 20 minutes per mile (3 miles per hour): 2,252 steps per mile
Walking 15 minutes per mile (4 miles per hour): 1,935 steps per mile
Running 12 minutes per mile (5 miles per hour): 1,951 steps per mile
Running 10 minutes per mile (6 miles per hour): 1,672 steps per mile
Running 8 minutes per mile (7.5 miles per hour): 1,400 steps per mile
Using these averages, here is how far you might go using various step totals. Keep in mind this will vary
depending on your individual step length.How Many Steps Are in a Mile?
Steps
Walk
(Shorter
Stride)
Brisk Walk/Jog
(Moderate
Stride)
Run
(Long Stride)
Fast Run
(Very Long
Stride)
1,000 0.4 miles 0.5 miles 0.6 miles 0.7 miles
2,000 0.9 1.0 1.2 1.4
3,000 1.3 1.5 1.8 2.1
4,000 1.8 2.1 2.4 2.9
5,000 2.2 2.6 2.9 3.6
6,000 2.7 3.1 3.5 4.3
7,000 3.1 3.6 4.1 5.0
8,000 3.6 4.1 4.7 5.7
9,000 4.0 4.6 5.3 6.4
10,000 4.4 5.1 5.9 7.1
12,000 5.3 6.2 7.1 8.6
15,000 6.7 7.7 8.8 10.7
20,000 8.9 10.3 11.8 14.3
25,000 11.1 12.8 14.7 17.9
30,000 13.3 15.4 17.6 21.4
40,000 17.8 20.5 23.5 28.6
Estimations by Height
Many fitness trackers use estimates based on height and ask for your height during setup. Rough
estimates of steps per mile based on a stride-to-height ratio are:
Height Steps per
Mile
4 feet 10
inches 2,601 steps
4 feet 11
inches 2,557 steps
5 feet even 2,514 steps
5 feet 1 inch 2,473 steps
5 feet 2 inches 2,433 steps
5 feet 3 inches 2,395 steps
5 feet 4 inches 2,357 steps
5 feet 5 inches 2,321 steps
5 feet 6 inches 2,286 steps
5 feet 7 inches 2,252 steps
5 feet 8 inches 2,218 steps
5 feet 9 inches 2,186 steps
5 feet 10
inches 2,155 steps
5 feet 11
inches 2,125 steps
6 feet even 2,095 steps
6 feet 1 inch 2,067 steps
6 feet 2 inches 2,039 steps
6 feet 3 inches 2,011 steps
6 feet 4 inches 1,985 steps
Measuring Your Steps
You can use a step-counting fitness tracker or the step-counting function of your mobile phone to count
your steps, or you can count them in your head. The best way to find your average steps per mile is to
count them several times for a known distance and see your average:How Many Steps Are in a Mile?
Running Track
To find a measured mile, you can use a regulation quarter-mile track at a local school. You may have to
ask the coach to ensure it is a quarter-mile track (1,320 feet) rather than a 400-meter track (1,308 feet).
Walk in the inside lane only. Count your steps.How Many Steps Are in a Mile?
It's best to go around four times to get a full mile on a quarter-mile track, so you won't need to do any
math. For a 400-meter track, go around four times and multiply your steps by 1.009.
Use a Football Field
A football field is 300 feet from the goal line to opposite goal line. Count your steps as you walk or run at
your usual pace from the goal line to the goal line. Multiply your steps by 17.6 to get your steps per mile.
Fitness Trackers
Fitness trackers, such as Fitbits or sports watches, will do the counting for you and can be a convenient
way to track steps and a variety of other data, such as heart rate or stress scores, just by wearing it on
your wrist. However, wearable devices tend to be an investment and reliable options can cost about
$100 to $300 or more depending on the style and features included in it.How Many Steps Are in a Mile?
Apps
You can use a mobile app such as MapMyWalk that will count your steps and measure a mile with your
phone's GPS at the same time. However, the mile distance can be off by 10% using GPS.
GPS signals travel between your phone and multiple satellites in orbit. They can get confused by
buildings, trees, and hillsides, resulting in less accurate distance measurement. For better accuracy,
choose a place to walk in an open area with a clear view of the sky and no twists or turns.
Measured Mile
Another method is to use an online mapping site to map a mile course in your local area, then walk it
with a fitness tracker. For the best accuracy, choose a straight path without turns and curves.How Many
Steps Are in a Mile?
We Walked for Weeks to Find the 9 Best Pedometers of 2024
Stride Length
An average stride length that you will see listed in many places is 2.2 feet (0.67 meters) for women and
2.5 feet (0.762 meters) for men, but it depends very much on height. Measuring your stride length will
give you a much more accurate number of steps per mile.How Many Steps Are in a Mile?
Your stride length is the distance from the heel print of one foot to the heel print of the other foot. This
is the distance traveled forward by a single leg.
Your stride length varies depending on whether you are walking or running and whether you are on hills
or rough trails or crossing streets with starts and stops. To measure your stride length, you can use
various methods such as walking a football field (300 feet) and stride length equations.How Many Steps
Are in a Mile?
