# how many steps per minute is brisk walking? · Angel Step > About 100 steps a minute is the research threshold for moderate walking and 130 for vigorous. What each pace means in mph and km/h at your height. Canonical: https://angelstep.app/steps-per-minute Language: en Updated: 2026-09-30 Whole site in one file: https://angelstep.app/llms-full.txt This file is the markdown twin of the page at the canonical address above: the same words, without markup. Cite the canonical address, not this file. --- steps per minute, and what counts as brisk About 100 steps a minute is where walking becomes moderate intensity in every age group tested, from 21 to 85, and about 130 is where it becomes vigorous in adults up to 60. How fast that is depends on your height: at 170 cm, 100 steps a minute is about 2.6 mph, or 4.2 km/h. Angel StepCute Pedometer, Daily StepsFree · In-App Purchases · iPhone Scan with your iPhone camera ### The thresholds, by age Intensity is measured in METs, multiples of the energy you use at rest: 3 METs is moderate and 6 METs is vigorous. Three studies from the same research group measured it directly while adults walked at set paces, one age group at a time. Walking cadence thresholds from the CADENCE-Adults studies, in steps per minute | age group | moderate, 3 METs | vigorous, 6 METs | study | | 21–40 | 100 | 130 | 76 adults, published 2019 | | 41–60 | 100 | 130 | 80 adults, published 2020 | | 61–85 | 100 | not set | 98 adults, published 2021; most did not reach vigorous intensity walking | In the oldest group the same study also tied 110 steps a minute to 4 METs and 120 to 5 METs. These are rounded, practical thresholds rather than exact cut points: in the 21–40 group one model put them at 102 and 129 steps a minute, another at 96 and 120. ### Is 100 steps a minute brisk walking? Yes, by this research: 100 steps a minute is the rounded threshold for moderate intensity, and moderate is what a brisk walk means in physical activity guidelines. The US guidelines give walking briskly, at 2.5 to 4 mph, as their example of moderate-intensity activity; at 170 cm, 2.5 mph works out to about 96 steps a minute. 120 steps a minute is brisk too, comfortably above that line and still under the 130 that marks vigorous intensity in adults up to 60. ### Steps per minute to mph and km/h Speed is cadence times step length, and a step is about 0.413 of your height, so at the same cadence a taller walker covers more ground. The table works it out for five heights. Walking speed by steps per minute and height, in mph with km/h below | steps a minute | 4′11″ · 150 cm | 5′3″ · 160 cm | 5′7″ · 170 cm | 5′11″ · 180 cm | 6′3″ · 190 cm | | 80 | 1.8 mph · 3.0 km/h | 2.0 mph · 3.2 km/h | 2.1 mph · 3.4 km/h | 2.2 mph · 3.6 km/h | 2.3 mph · 3.8 km/h | | 90 | 2.1 mph · 3.3 km/h | 2.2 mph · 3.6 km/h | 2.4 mph · 3.8 km/h | 2.5 mph · 4.0 km/h | 2.6 mph · 4.2 km/h | | 100 | 2.3 mph · 3.7 km/h | 2.5 mph · 4.0 km/h | 2.6 mph · 4.2 km/h | 2.8 mph · 4.5 km/h | 2.9 mph · 4.7 km/h | | 110 | 2.5 mph · 4.1 km/h | 2.7 mph · 4.4 km/h | 2.9 mph · 4.6 km/h | 3.0 mph · 4.9 km/h | 3.2 mph · 5.2 km/h | | 120 | 2.8 mph · 4.5 km/h | 3.0 mph · 4.8 km/h | 3.1 mph · 5.1 km/h | 3.3 mph · 5.4 km/h | 3.5 mph · 5.6 km/h | | 130 | 3.0 mph · 4.8 km/h | 3.2 mph · 5.2 km/h | 3.4 mph · 5.5 km/h | 3.6 mph · 5.8 km/h | 3.8 mph · 6.1 km/h | An estimate from height, not a measurement: most people lengthen their step as they speed up, so at a brisk pace the real speed tends to run a little above these figures. The other way round, at 170 cm: 3 mph takes about 115 steps a minute, and 4 mph about 153. ### How many steps are in a 30-minute walk? At 100 steps a minute, 30 minutes is 3,000 steps. A 2009 study proposed exactly that as a practical goal: at least 3,000 steps in 30 minutes, on five days each week. Its own cut points for moderate intensity varied by method and by sex, from 91 to 115 steps a minute, which is why 100 is best read as a round line rather than an exact one. For any other length of walk, the distance and time calculator does the arithmetic. ### What this means in Angel Step Angel Step counts steps, not pace: it shows the day's count from Apple Health, and a brisk minute simply adds to it faster. ### Sources - Tudor-Locke et al. (2019), International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity — walking cadence and intensity in adults aged 21–40. PubMed - CADENCE-Adults (2020), the same journal — adults aged 41–60. PubMed - CADENCE-Adults (2021), the same journal — adults aged 61–85, with thresholds for 3, 4 and 5 METs. PubMed - Marshall et al. (2009), American Journal of Preventive Medicine — 3,000 steps in 30 minutes as a pedometer goal. PubMed - US Department of Health and Human Services (2018) — Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, 2nd edition; walking briskly at 2.5 to 4 mph is its example of moderate intensity. HHS Updated 30 September 2026 a brisk minute just adds up faster. Angel Step shows the day's count from Apple Health, whatever pace it came at.