Average steps per day
6,500steps a day for the typical adult
Measured with research step counters, across 15 studies and a US national survey. Most national averages fall between about 5,000 and 8,000. Phones record fewer, around 5,000, because they only count while you carry them.
Updated
How your steps compare
For 6,000 steps a day at age 40:
Measured averages for adults under 60 run from about 6,600 to 8,600 steps a day, in the latest national surveys that report by age (Canada, Japan) and 15 pooled studies. You’re about 600 below that range.
Choose your country to see its own figure, measured as well as it has been.
For health: in the same 15 studies, more steps went with a lower risk of dying, levelling off at about 8,000 to 10,000 steps a day for under-60s (Paluch, 2022).
On the TDEE calculator, your count is “Some walking” (5,000 to 7,499 steps a day). If it includes walks or runs you’ll add there as exercise, take their steps off first, or they count twice.
Phones only count steps while you carry them. In one study, iPhones recorded about 12% fewer steps than a pedometer worn at the waist (Amagasa, 2019), so your real count may be a little higher.
Average steps per day: the key numbers
- The typical adult takes about 6,500 steps a day when steps are measured with research step counters: 6,495 across 15 studies (Paluch, 2022) and 6,540 in a US national survey (Tudor-Locke, 2009).
- National averages measured this way range from about 5,100 to 8,100 steps a day across the US, Canada, Japan, Australia and Norway.
- Adults under 60 average about 6,600 to 8,600 steps a day, and people 60 and over about 5,400 to 6,700 (Canada 2022–24, Japan 2024, 15 pooled studies).
- About a third of adults take fewer than 5,000 steps a day, the usual cut-off for a sedentary lifestyle: 36% in the US (Sisson, 2012). Among Canadians aged 60 to 79 it’s 46 to 48% (Colley, 2026).
- Fewer than 1 in 5 adults average 10,000 steps a day: 16% in the US (Sisson, 2012), 9 to 15% across Canada’s age and sex groups (Colley, 2026) and 19% in Australia (Bureau of Statistics, 2013).
- Phones record fewer steps, about 5,000 a day, because they only count while carried: 4,961 on average across 717,527 iPhone users in 46 countries (Althoff, 2017).
- Across 15 studies, more steps went with a lower risk of dying, levelling off at about 8,000 to 10,000 steps a day for under-60s and 6,000 to 8,000 for people 60 and over (Paluch, 2022).
Average steps per day in national surveys
National surveys that gave people pedometers or accelerometers, the most reliable kind of step count.
| Where and when | Steps a day | How it was measured |
|---|---|---|
| United States, 2005–06 | 6,540 | Hip accelerometer, filtered to count like a pedometer. Unfiltered: 9,676. Tudor-Locke, 2009 |
| United States, 2003 | 5,117 | Pedometer, 2 days. Men 5,340, women 4,912. Bassett, 2010 |
| Canada, 2022–24 | 5,709 to 7,051 | Accelerometer worn 24 hours a day for 7 days; by age and sex, below. Colley, 2026 |
| Japan, 2024 | 7,071 | Three-axis pedometer, one weekday. Men 7,763, women 6,495. A larger survey than 2023. Health ministry, 2024 |
| Japan, 2023 | Men 6,628, women 5,659 | Pedometer, one weekday. Women 65 and over: 4,419. Health ministry, 2023 |
| Australia, 2011–12 | 7,400 | Pedometer, 4 days or more. 19% reached 10,000. Bureau of Statistics, 2013 |
| Norway, 2008–09 | Men 7,951, women 8,113 | Accelerometer, 7 days. Hansen, 2012 |
| 15 study groups, Pooled | 6,495 (median) | Mostly hip devices; under 60: 7,803, 60 and over: 5,649. Paluch, 2022 |
Surveys that change method can’t be compared with their earlier rounds. Canada’s figures before 2022 were higher, about 6,200 to 10,000 by age and sex, on an older device (Clark, 2026). Japan’s 2024 survey was larger and weighted differently from 2023, so its rise may not all be real.
Average steps per day by age and sex
Steps fall with age in every survey; the gap between men and women is small and not always the same way round. The 15 studies were volunteers in high-income countries, with an average age of 65.
| Group | Steps a day | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 15 studies: under 60 | 7,803 | Middle of the study groups, research step counters. Paluch, 2022 |
| 15 studies: 60 and over | 5,649 | Middle of the study groups, research step counters. Paluch, 2022 |
| Japan: 20 to 64 | Men 8,564, women 7,287 | National survey, pedometer, 2024. Health ministry, 2024 |
| Japan: 65 and over | Men 6,667, women 5,429 | National survey, pedometer, 2024. Health ministry, 2024 |
| Canada: 18 to 39 | Men 6,878, women 6,619 | Research accelerometers, 2022–24. Under 5,000: men 26%, women 31%. Colley, 2026 |
| Canada: 40 to 59 | Men 7,051, women 6,767 | Research accelerometers, 2022–24. Under 5,000: men 25%, women 30%. Colley, 2026 |
| Canada: 60 to 79 | Men 5,709, women 5,915 | Research accelerometers, 2022–24. Under 5,000: men 46%, women 48%. Colley, 2026 |
Average steps per day by country (phone data)
From 717,527 iPhone users of one app in 2013–14 (Althoff, 2017). Phones only count while they’re carried, so these run low, and app users aren’t a cross-section of each country. Use them to compare countries, not as each country’s true average.
| Country | Steps a day |
|---|---|
| Hong Kong | 6,880 |
| China | 6,189 |
| Ukraine | 6,107 |
| Japan | 6,010 |
| Russia | 5,969 |
| Spain | 5,936 |
| Sweden | 5,863 |
| South Korea | 5,755 |
| Singapore | 5,674 |
| Switzerland | 5,512 |
| Czech Republic | 5,508 |
| United Kingdom | 5,444 |
| Italy | 5,296 |
| Ireland | 5,293 |
| Denmark | 5,263 |
| Hungary | 5,258 |
| Poland | 5,249 |
| Norway | 5,246 |
| Germany | 5,205 |
| Finland | 5,204 |
| Chile | 5,204 |
| France | 5,141 |
| Netherlands | 5,110 |
| Turkey | 5,057 |
| Israel | 5,033 |
| Taiwan | 5,000 |
| Belgium | 4,978 |
| Australia | 4,941 |
| Canada | 4,819 |
| United States | 4,774 |
| Thailand | 4,764 |
| Romania | 4,759 |
| Portugal | 4,744 |
| Mexico | 4,692 |
| New Zealand | 4,582 |
| United Arab Emirates | 4,516 |
| Greece | 4,350 |
| Egypt | 4,315 |
| India | 4,297 |
| Brazil | 4,289 |
| Qatar | 4,158 |
| South Africa | 4,105 |
| Philippines | 4,008 |
| Malaysia | 3,963 |
| Saudi Arabia | 3,807 |
| Indonesia | 3,513 |
Short answers
How many steps does the average person take a day?
Measured with research step counters, the typical adult takes about 6,500 steps a day: a median of 6,495 across 15 studies (Paluch, 2022) and 6,540 in a US national survey (Tudor-Locke, 2009). Phones record fewer, about 5,000, because they only count steps while you carry them.
How many steps does the average American take a day?
It depends on what counts them. A national survey using research hip devices found 6,540 a day in 2005–06 (Tudor-Locke, 2009). A pedometer survey in 2003 found 5,117 (Bassett, 2010). iPhone users in 2013–14 averaged 4,774 (Althoff, 2017).
Is 10,000 steps a day normal?
No, it’s well above average. Fewer than 1 in 5 adults average 10,000 steps a day: 16% in a US national survey (Sisson, 2012), 9 to 15% across Canada’s age and sex groups (Colley, 2026) and 19% in Australia (Bureau of Statistics, 2013). The goal itself traces to Japanese walking clubs and a business slogan (Tudor-Locke and Bassett, 2004).
How many steps a day is sedentary?
Fewer than 5,000. Researchers’ step bands call under 5,000 steps a day a “sedentary lifestyle index” (Tudor-Locke and Bassett, 2004). About a third of US adults were below it in a national survey (Sisson, 2012), and nearly half of Canadians aged 60 to 79 (Colley, 2026).
How many steps a day do you need?
Across 15 studies of 47,471 adults, more steps went with a lower risk of dying during the studies, levelling off at about 6,000 to 8,000 a day for people aged 60 and over and 8,000 to 10,000 for younger adults (Paluch, 2022). These studies followed people over time, so they show a link, not proof that the steps caused it.
Do women walk less than men?
In most surveys, a little. Japan’s 2024 survey found 7,763 for men and 6,495 for women. In Canada’s 2022–24 survey the gap was a few hundred steps, and women aged 60 to 79 walked slightly more than men. In Norway, men and women walked about the same (Hansen, 2012).
Do people walk less as they get older?
Yes. Across 15 studies the median was 7,803 steps a day under 60 and 5,649 at 60 and over (Paluch, 2022). In Canada, almost half of people aged 60 to 79 took fewer than 5,000 steps a day (Colley, 2026).
Why do my phone and my watch give different step counts?
Phones only count while you carry them: in one study iPhones recorded about 12% fewer steps than a waist pedometer (Amagasa, 2019). Wrist devices vary with how they count. The same US survey data, counted five ways, gave averages from about 2,500 to 12,200 steps a day (Koffman, 2025).
What is the average number of steps a day in the UK?
No national survey has measured it with research devices. iPhone users in the UK averaged 5,444 in 2013–14 (Althoff, 2017). UK Biobank volunteers aged 40 to 79 wearing wrist devices came out at a mean of 7,198 with one counting method and a median of 9,156 with another (del Pozo Cruz, 2022; Small, 2024).
Sources
Checked against each source on 22 and 23 October 2026
- Paluch AE, et al. (2022). Daily steps and all-cause mortality: a meta-analysis of 15 international cohorts. Lancet Public Health 7(3):e219–28. PMID 35247352
- Tudor-Locke C, Johnson WD, Katzmarzyk PT (2009). Accelerometer-determined steps per day in US adults. Med Sci Sports Exerc 41(7):1384–91. PMID 19516163
- Sisson SB, et al. (2012). Characteristics of step-defined physical activity categories in U.S. adults. Am J Health Promot 26(3):152–9. PMID 22208412
- Bassett DR Jr, et al. (2010). Pedometer-measured physical activity and health behaviors in U.S. adults. Med Sci Sports Exerc 42(10):1819–25. PMID 20305579
- Colley RC, et al. (2026). Trends in physical activity among Canadian adults from 2007 to 2024. Health Rep 37(10):17–34. PMID 42905876
- Clark J, et al. (2026). Comparison of physical activity and sedentary time measured with the ActiGraph GT3X-BT and Actical accelerometers. Health Rep 37(2):3–15. PMID 41730515
- Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Japan. National Health and Nutrition Survey 2024: summary of results (in Japanese). mhlw.go.jp
- Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Japan. National Health and Nutrition Survey 2023: summary of results (in Japanese). mhlw.go.jp
- Australian Bureau of Statistics (2013). Australian Health Survey: Physical Activity, 2011–12. abs.gov.au
- Hansen BH, et al. (2012). Accelerometer-determined physical activity in adults and older people. Med Sci Sports Exerc 44(2):266–72. PMID 21796052
- Althoff T, et al. (2017). Large-scale physical activity data reveal worldwide activity inequality. Nature 547(7663):336–9. PMID 28693034
- Amagasa S, et al. (2019). How well iPhones measure steps in free-living conditions: cross-sectional validation study. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth 7(1):e10418. PMID 30626569
- Koffman L, Crainiceanu C, Muschelli J (2025). Comparing step counting algorithms for high-resolution wrist accelerometry data in NHANES 2011-2014. Med Sci Sports Exerc 57(4):746–55. PMID 39589008
- del Pozo Cruz B, et al. (2022). Prospective associations of daily step counts and intensity with cancer and cardiovascular disease incidence and mortality and all-cause mortality. JAMA Intern Med 182(11):1139–48. PMID 36094529
- Small SR, et al. (2024). Self-supervised machine learning to characterize step counts from wrist-worn accelerometers in the UK Biobank. Med Sci Sports Exerc 56(10):1945–53. PMID 38768076
- Tudor-Locke C, Bassett DR (2004). How many steps/day are enough? Preliminary pedometer indices for public health. Sports Med 34(1):1–8. PMID 14715035