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Ultimately, the number of steps in a mile depends on the individual. Taller people cover more ground with each step, so a 7-year-old would take more steps than someone like Shaquille O'Neal. Height isn’t the only factor—speed also influences the total step count.
On average, walking a mile requires around 2000 steps, though this can vary by a few hundred. In a 2008 study, according to The Calculator Site, researchers observed 44 participants walking on a treadmill at speeds of 15 and 20 minutes per mile. For a 15-minute pace, the average step count was 1935, while for a 20-minute pace, it was 2252.
Generally, men, being taller, took longer strides: their averages were 1868 steps for the 15-minute mile and 2176 for the 20-minute mile. Women’s averages were 1987 and 2310, respectively. Other participants also ran miles at different speeds, from 6 to 12 minutes per mile. For an 8-minute mile, the average was 1400 steps—1469 for women and 1360 for men.
The researchers also measured participants' heights and combined that data with step counts to create a detailed chart estimating how many steps people of varying heights would need to walk a mile at different speeds. For example, a 5-foot-tall woman walking an 18-minute mile would take approximately 2244 steps, while a 6-foot-4-inch man walking a 14-minute mile would take 1732 steps. If that same man were running a 6-minute mile, he’d only need about 920 steps. The full chart can be found in the study here (it’s table four), published in the American College of Sports Medicine’s Health & Fitness Journal.
While the number of steps in a mile can vary, the number of feet in a mile is fixed at 5280. As for why that is, the story traces back to ancient Romans, oxen, and British Parliament.
