The tiers
Under 30 WPM: hunt-and-peck or early touch-typing — the fastest gains in all of skill-building live here, and ten focused days typically doubles it. 40–60: the adult average to productive range — most knowledge work is comfortable here. 60–80: professional; typing stops being the bottleneck in writing and coding. 80+: top decile. 100+: competitive territory where keyboard choice and technique drills matter.
Why accuracy outranks raw speed
An 80 WPM typist at 90% accuracy delivers fewer correct words per minute than a 65 WPM typist at 98% — corrections eat speed invisibly. The counterintuitive practice rule: deliberately slowing to 90% of your max while holding 98%+ accuracy raises your effective speed within weeks. Speed follows accuracy; it never leads.
What speed is worth, practically
Going from 40 to 70 WPM saves a prolific writer 20–30 minutes daily — and more importantly, keeps thoughts ahead of the keyboard, which changes writing quality, not just quantity. Past ~80 WPM, further speed buys little for most work; accuracy and comfort (ergonomics) become the better investments.