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Average steps per day: by age, men and women

The average adult takes 5,000 to 7,500 steps a day depending on country and study; the worldwide average measured by smartphone is about 5,000. Above 7,000 steps you are ahead of the average and already in the range where the health benefit is clear. Men usually walk slightly more than women, and the average falls with age.

Three benchmarks to remember

Sedentary: under 5,000 steps a day. This is where each extra step helps the most.
Active adult: 7,500 to 10,000 steps a day, the peak-benefit range before age 60 (8,000–10,000).
Senior: 6,000 to 8,000 steps a day gets most of the benefit after age 60.

Average steps per day by age

The values below are orders of magnitude: they vary a lot with country, measurement method (pedometer, phone, wristband) and how active the sample was. The right-hand column is not an average: it is the range where mortality risk stops falling sharply, from the Paluch (2022) meta-analysis.

Age	Typical observed average (steps/day)	Peak benefit range (Paluch 2022)
20–29	7,000–9,500	8,000–10,000
30–39	6,500–9,000	8,000–10,000
40–49	6,000–8,500	8,000–10,000
50–59	5,500–8,000	8,000–10,000
60–69	5,000–7,500	6,000–8,000
70+	3,000–6,000	6,000–8,000

Indicative ranges drawn from the Tudor-Locke (2011) review and Bassett (2010) pedometer data; they are not official medians by age band.

Men and women: is there a gap?

In most studies men take slightly more steps than women of the same age, by a few hundred steps a day. The gap is small next to the difference between age groups or lifestyles (standing vs sitting work, city vs countryside, driving vs walking). For health, the benefit of steps is similar in both sexes.

And worldwide?

The Stanford study (Althoff, 2017), covering 717,527 people in 46 countries, found a worldwide average of about 4,961 steps a day. Hong Kong leads (≈ 6,880); the US is at ≈ 4,774, Germany ≈ 5,205 and the UK ≈ 5,444. Pedometer studies in more active samples (Switzerland, Australia) reach nearly 9,700 (Bassett, 2010).

How to work out your own average

Add up your steps over the period and divide by the number of days. On iPhone, the Health app shows a 7-day or monthly average. To also see how many steps a day you still need to hit your goal, use the monthly step goal calculator.

Why the monthly average matters more than today's count

One 4,000-step day says almost nothing: a weekend hike makes up for it. What counts for health is the repeated habit, so the average over several weeks. Tracking the month turns a vague goal into a concrete number: "I need 8,200 steps a day from here." That is exactly what Walkever computes. For age-based thresholds, read the guide on how many steps a day.

Sources

Paluch A.E. et al. "Daily steps and all-cause mortality: a meta-analysis of 15 international cohorts". The Lancet Public Health, 2022.
Ding D. et al. "Daily steps and health outcomes in adults: a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis". The Lancet Public Health, 2025.
Althoff T. et al. "Large-scale physical activity data reveal worldwide activity inequality". Nature, 2017.
Bassett D.R. et al. "Pedometer-measured physical activity and health behaviors in U.S. adults". Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 2010.
Tudor-Locke C. et al. "How many steps/day are enough? For adults". International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 2011.

FAQ

What is the average number of steps per day?

Roughly 5,000 steps worldwide (Althoff, 2017) and 5,000 to 7,500 for adults in most studies. Active adults exceed 7,500. Averages vary by country, age and measurement method.

What is the average number of steps at age 60?

Around 5,000 to 7,500 steps a day, with wide variation. After 60, the health benefit levels off around 6,000 to 8,000 steps (Paluch, 2022).

How many steps does a woman take on average per day?

At the same age, women usually take a few hundred fewer steps a day than men. The health benefit of steps is comparable in both sexes.

How do I calculate my own monthly step average?

Add up your steps for the month and divide by the days elapsed. Walkever does it automatically from Apple Health and also shows the average needed to finish the month.

7,000 or 10,000 steps a day: what does science say?

Most of the gain comes up to 7,000–8,000 steps. Beyond that, up to 10,000 before age 60, benefit keeps rising more slowly (Paluch 2022, Ding 2025).